The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco Da Gama

HistorianNigel Cliff delivers a sweeping, radical reinterpretation of Vasco da Gama'spioneering voyages, revealing their significance as a decisive turning point inthe struggle between Christianity and Islam--a series of events which foreveraltered the relationship between East and West. Perfect for readers of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, Galileo'sDaughter, and Atlantic, this first-ever completeaccount of da Gama's voyages includes new information from the recentlydiscovered diaries of his sailors and an extraordinary series of lettersbetween da Gama and the Zamorin, a king of modern-dayKerala, India. Cliff, the author of The Shakespeare Riots, draws uponhis own travels in da Gama's footsteps to add detail, authenticity, and acontemporary perspective to this riveting, one-of-a-kind historical epic.

Author: Nigel Cliff
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 08/28/2012
Pages: 560
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.03lbs
Size: 8.26h x 5.17w x 0.98d
ISBN: 9780061735134

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 09/23/2012 pg. 24

About the Author
Cliff, Nigel: -

Nigel Cliff writes narrative nonfiction about encounters between peoples and cultures that shaped our shared history. He is the author of The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America; The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da Gama; and Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story--How One Man and His Piano Transformed the Cold War, as well as the translator and editor of Marco Polo's Travels. His books have been finalists for awards including the National Book Critics Circle Award, named Books of the Year by the New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe, and translated into a dozen languages. He has written widely for publications including The Times of London, The Economist, and The New York Times Book Review. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Geographical Society and holds the degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Oxford.