A brilliant story, exquisitely told - Peter Frankopan

A wonderful book - Sunday Telegraph, 5*

Triumphant - Literary Review

During the Age of Discovery, in the fall of 1550, an anonymous work containing rich geographical information that was new to Europeans was published in Venice under the title Navigationi et Viaggi (Navigations and Travels). Two more volumes quickly followed, which, when combined, constitute the largest publication of geographical data in history and could be considered the birth of modern geography.

The editor of these volumes was a little-known public servant of the Venetian government, Giovanbattista Ramusio. He gathered a vast array of popular and closely guarded narratives, from the journals of Marco Polo to detailed reports by the Muslim scholar and diplomat Leo Africanus.

In a thrilling narrative, Andrea di Robilant brings to life the man who used all his political skill, along with the help of cunning diplomats and spies, to democratize knowledge and show how the world was much larger than anyone had previously imagined.

Pages: 272, Dimensions: 15.2x15.2cm