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Francis Drake: The Lives of a Hero (Phoenix Giants)
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10 new or used available from £4.24
Average customer review:
Product Description
this book shows an insight into the life of Drake and his terrifying acts through the eyes for his friends and enemies on both a national and personal level.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1370912 in Books
- Published on: 1997-02-10
- Original language: English
- Binding: Paperback
- 368 pages
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
John Cummins was born in Hull, and educated at the University of Manchester. He gained his Ph.D. at the University of Aberdeen, and is currently Reader in Spanish there. He lives in Aberdeen.
Customer Reviews
A well-written and surprisingly sympathetic portrait.
I started this book expecting to read of the charismatic sea dog and protestant zealot of school history lessons. Instead a far more complicated and contradictory picture of a man who to modern eyes is both admirable and despicable - much like the Queen he served.
Here Drake is a man of paradoxes. He started his career on slave ships but grew to despise the trade and became the first European to interact with the Cimarrons - escaped slaves - as equals. Drake was capable of fiery nationalism, and a passionate hatred of Spanish Catholicism but yet consistently treated his Spanish prisoners with the utmost courtesy. Perhaps the greatest duality of Drake was one that was apparent during his own lifetime - his dual service of personal fortune and national, English protestant, interest. To Drake these were not as distinct as they seem today, but perhaps it is the only fault of this book that they are not better resolved.
John Cummins' excellent book practically reads itself, a highly recommended look at an amazing and complicated man.
very intereresting and easy reading
I have read this book looking for the attack of Drake to Las Palmas in 1599 and I found in this book a very good information about it that I cannot find in spanish books,especially the relation between Drake and Hawkins.Sir John Hawkins was living in the Canaries when he met Drake for the first time and they became very good friends,sailors and very important perosns in elizabethan time.You can find this and much more in book of Cummings.
