The first topographical Drake biography - the only biography to describe every landfall, anchorage, trail and town worldwide.
Outline:
There are hundreds of Drake biographies but this one is unique. Michael Turner, a Sherlock Holmes of the sea, is the first Drake author to go beyond the archives to test the entire primary sources in the field. The text is laced with research techniques, ground-breaking discoveries and perilous adventures in reaching nearly all the Drake places. This book reveals the ultimate geographical Drake knowledge, written on location by an intrepid traveller with a Drake's-eye view. The Drake scholar and the armchair traveller alike will learn much and enjoy this book.
Visit the author's websites: Indrakeswake.co.uk and The Drake Exploration Society.co.uk
Detail:
It has taken thirty-two years to write this authorative biography because I had to visit nearly all the Drake locations to complete the story. Since 1980 I have composed 350,000 words divided into five volumes. This is the first biography to put Drake's achievements into a geographical context. This book is the pinnacle of accuracy and thoroughness which is assured by the support of other Drake scholars.
Each location is lavishly written from the primary sources - often whilst in the field to provide a greater feel of ambience. I have included my research techniques and efforts to reach the often remote Drake locations at the cutting edge of history. I hope my sleuthing will also attract readers who enjoy travel mysteries; especially if they wish to visit some of the Drake sites.
Field studies include discovering the sites of: the stockade at "Port Pheasant;" the treasure mule train ambush, also in Panama; Drake's discovery of Cape Horn, Chile and "Crab-iland," Indonesia. Fieldwork has also revealed the hermit's house in the Cape Verde Islands; where Drake resided in Cartagena, Colombia and the Spanish cannon that ruptured when fired against Drake in Panama.
The extremely detailed and objective biography contains new geographical Drake information that can only be assembled by conducting fieldwork in forty-two countries and four overseas dependencies. This is not just another Drake biography: but is the final dimension.
Other available titles:
The Early Voyages
The Later Voyages
Drake In England
A Tabulated Chronology
REVIEWS:
“There can be little left to know about Sir Francis Drake’s seafaring exploits after the penning of two biographical volumes so thoroughly researched that they leave barely a tide unturned, a landfall untouched…Michael Turner combines the best elements of research and swashbuckling adventure.” This England, Winter, 2006
“The author is a Drake specialist. He is also a SCUBA enthusiast who has explored all the Drake relics and locations both on the surface and underwater. This lends a certain additional quality to his very extensive researches. Bear in mind that this is a three-volume voyage set. The author’s researches are incredibly comprehensive. In many ways these books are much wider ranging and imaginative than the traditional academic histories. They are a new, personal and very exciting approach. The books very effectively bring Drake to life.”
Ships and Shipping, March 2011, Australia
Outline:
There are hundreds of Drake biographies but this one is unique. Michael Turner, a Sherlock Holmes of the sea, is the first Drake author to go beyond the archives to test the entire primary sources in the field. The text is laced with research techniques, ground-breaking discoveries and perilous adventures in reaching nearly all the Drake places. This book reveals the ultimate geographical Drake knowledge, written on location by an intrepid traveller with a Drake's-eye view. The Drake scholar and the armchair traveller alike will learn much and enjoy this book.
Visit the author's websites: Indrakeswake.co.uk and The Drake Exploration Society.co.uk
Detail:
It has taken thirty-two years to write this authorative biography because I had to visit nearly all the Drake locations to complete the story. Since 1980 I have composed 350,000 words divided into five volumes. This is the first biography to put Drake's achievements into a geographical context. This book is the pinnacle of accuracy and thoroughness which is assured by the support of other Drake scholars.
Each location is lavishly written from the primary sources - often whilst in the field to provide a greater feel of ambience. I have included my research techniques and efforts to reach the often remote Drake locations at the cutting edge of history. I hope my sleuthing will also attract readers who enjoy travel mysteries; especially if they wish to visit some of the Drake sites.
Field studies include discovering the sites of: the stockade at "Port Pheasant;" the treasure mule train ambush, also in Panama; Drake's discovery of Cape Horn, Chile and "Crab-iland," Indonesia. Fieldwork has also revealed the hermit's house in the Cape Verde Islands; where Drake resided in Cartagena, Colombia and the Spanish cannon that ruptured when fired against Drake in Panama.
The extremely detailed and objective biography contains new geographical Drake information that can only be assembled by conducting fieldwork in forty-two countries and four overseas dependencies. This is not just another Drake biography: but is the final dimension.
Other available titles:
The Early Voyages
The Later Voyages
Drake In England
A Tabulated Chronology
REVIEWS:
“There can be little left to know about Sir Francis Drake’s seafaring exploits after the penning of two biographical volumes so thoroughly researched that they leave barely a tide unturned, a landfall untouched…Michael Turner combines the best elements of research and swashbuckling adventure.” This England, Winter, 2006
“The author is a Drake specialist. He is also a SCUBA enthusiast who has explored all the Drake relics and locations both on the surface and underwater. This lends a certain additional quality to his very extensive researches. Bear in mind that this is a three-volume voyage set. The author’s researches are incredibly comprehensive. In many ways these books are much wider ranging and imaginative than the traditional academic histories. They are a new, personal and very exciting approach. The books very effectively bring Drake to life.”
Ships and Shipping, March 2011, Australia
