Early praise for The Quest for El Dorado:
"If you didn't think it was possible to recount with fresh prose and insights the voyages of Walter Raleigh, think again. Like Sir Walter himself, David Gibbins deftly navigates a route between fact and fantasy, romance and reality. The result is engaging, engrossing, and thoroughly enjoyable.”
Description
A new history of the Renaissance’s greatest feat of exploration: Sir Walter Ralegh's search for the legendary city of El Dorado, by New York Times bestselling author David Gibbins.
In 1594, English adventurer Sir Walter Ralegh heard the story of a lost city in South America from a Spanish conquistador. Setting out from Plymouth in February 1595, Ralegh reached the mouth of the Orinoco River and traveled over four hundred miles inland to find it. Along the way, he captured galleons full of treasure, fought the Spanish, and befriended the indigenous peoples.
Hoping to win favor with Queen Elizabeth I, he was convinced that a "gold-rich empire more lucrative than Peru” lay just beyond reach. He vowed to return once more, so he could finally earn fame and fortune. The book that he wrote about his voyage, Discoverie, reveals the worldview of Europeans on the cusp of the modern era and the enormous drive that the search for unimaginable riches gave men such as Ralegh during the Age of Exploration. But, after he was imprisoned by James I, with a death sentence hanging over him, his hopes were put on hold for years until he was finally granted a second chance to try again.
The Quest for El Dorado is a compelling new narrative of one of the most enduring myths in history. Based on contemporary sources and his own researches as a maritime archaeologist, David Gibbins tells a story of exploration and plunder, shedding new light on Ralegh's famous voyages.
Reviews
"In The Quest for El Dorado, Gibbins shares his meticulous research with us through his compelling writing. Raleigh and his adventures are brought to life in this vivid and captivating read.”
"A lively and evocative portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh and his quest for fame and fortune. This is history at its most readable—thoughtful, well researched and beautifully told.”
Praise for David Gibbin’s A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks:
An Economist Best Book of the Year
“An imaginative and engrossing trip through three millennia, and a book that fully lives up to its bold title.”
