"One Man Alone" William Manchester
Review of “One Man Alone”
In “One Man Alone” I think William Manchester was trying to use the story of Ferdinand Magellan to show how innovative thinkers can change the world. It fits in with the rest of the book, but was much more enjoyable to read because of the adventure-style it was written in. The other two sections were rather bland and factual; it emulated more of a documentary-type feeling. The third section, however, was written at a much faster pace which I found much more enjoyable to read. The story was really interesting and kept my attention for the most part. The section begins with Magellan, a small man who resides in the lower class of Portuguese society. Right off the bat we see Manchester using the character’s personality to enforce his theme. Magellan is a man who has no business going on a world-shattering adventure, but he has big dreams and a lot of heart and that proves to be enough. Eventually, he set sail to change the world with a fleet of 5: the San Antonio, the Trinidad, the Concepcion, the Victoria and the Santiago. Their destination- The Spice Islands. As the journey progressed, Magellan’s crew became more and more disgruntled. It was taking a long time to get around South America, and supplies were beginning to run low. After discovering what might have been the pass they were searching for, there was a big conflict. Much of the crew wanted to turn around and go back (Magellan should have listened) but Magellan chose to push on, which caused two of his five boats to turn back and leave him. Magellan would go on with his three boats and reach the Pacific. He then traveled for six months in the large Pacific Ocean with really bad navigation. He hardly even knew where they were most of the time. Eventually Magellan made it to Guam, and then reached the Philippians. Luckily, his indentured servant Enrique could understand the native language which allowed Magellan to communicate with them. This ability to communicate turned out
In “One Man Alone” I think William Manchester was trying to use the story of Ferdinand Magellan to show how innovative thinkers can change the world. It fits in with the rest of the book, but was much more enjoyable to read because of the adventure-style it was written in. The other two sections were rather bland and factual; it emulated more of a documentary-type feeling. The third section, however, was written at a much faster pace which I found much more enjoyable to read. The story was really interesting and kept my attention for the most part. The section begins with Magellan, a small man who resides in the lower class of Portuguese society. Right off the bat we see Manchester using the character’s personality to enforce his theme. Magellan is a man who has no business going on a world-shattering adventure, but he has big dreams and a lot of heart and that proves to be enough. Eventually, he set sail to change the world with a fleet of 5: the San Antonio, the Trinidad, the Concepcion, the Victoria and the Santiago. Their destination- The Spice Islands. As the journey progressed, Magellan’s crew became more and more disgruntled. It was taking a long time to get around South America, and supplies were beginning to run low. After discovering what might have been the pass they were searching for, there was a big conflict. Much of the crew wanted to turn around and go back (Magellan should have listened) but Magellan chose to push on, which caused two of his five boats to turn back and leave him. Magellan would go on with his three boats and reach the Pacific. He then traveled for six months in the large Pacific Ocean with really bad navigation. He hardly even knew where they were most of the time. Eventually Magellan made it to Guam, and then reached the Philippians. Luckily, his indentured servant Enrique could understand the native language which allowed Magellan to communicate with them. This ability to communicate turned out