
Admiral of the Ocean Sea
A Life of Christopher Columbus
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Narrated by:
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Frederick Davidson
About this listen
Winner of the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
Admiral of the Ocean Sea is Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison's classic biography of the greatest sailor of them all, Christopher Columbus. It is written with the insight, energy, and authority that only someone who had himself sailed in Columbus's path to the New World could muster.
Morison undertook this expedition in a 147-foot schooner and a 47-foot ketch, the dimensions of these craft roughly matching those of Columbus's Santa Maria and Nina. The result is this vivid and definitive biography that accurately details the voyages that, for better or worse, changed the world.
Samuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve (1887–1976), was an American historian noted for his works of history, especially maritime history, that were both authoritative and highly readable. At various times he held teaching positions at Berkeley, Oxford, and Harvard. A sailor as well as a scholar, he garnered numerous literary prizes, military honors, and national awards from both foreign countries and United States, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His Admiral of the Ocean Sea won the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for biography.
©1942 Samuel Eliot Morison; Renewed 1970 by Samuel Eliot Morison (P)1995 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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The Climb
- Tragic Ambitions on Everest
- By: G. Weston DeWalt, Anatoli Boukreev
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger, Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In May 1996, three expeditions attempted to climb Mount Everest on the Southeast Ridge route pioneered by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Crowded conditions slowed their progress. Late in the day twenty-three men and women—including expedition leaders Scott Fischer and Rob Hall—were caught in a ferocious blizzard.
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No Hype. Pure facts.
- By P. Grech on 07-29-15
By: G. Weston DeWalt, and others
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Journal of the First Voyage of Columbus
- By: Christopher Columbus
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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These are the words of Christopher Columbus - the record of his first voyage to America. His private journal from the trip was lost, but not before being studied and condensed by later writers like Spanish historian and Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas, whose abridgement has been changed to first person perspective for this production (Columbus' actual words were often included by the friar). The result is a personal record of an enterprise which changed the whole face of history.
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Excellent adventure!
- By Anonymous User on 01-21-20
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Theodore Roosevelt
- A Strenuous Life
- By: Kathleen Dalton
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 27 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Esteemed Harvard University historian and Associate Fellow Kathleen Dalton has been studying Theodore Roosevelt since 1975. This authoritative work, incorporating the latest scholarship, paints a compelling portrait of the president in all his robust glory.
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Excellent Biography
- By viennacoup on 10-18-05
By: Kathleen Dalton
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In Search of a Kingdom
- Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire
- By: Laurence Bergreen
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In this grand and thrilling narrative, the acclaimed biographer of Magellan, Columbus, and Marco Polo brings alive the singular life and adventures of Sir Francis Drake, the pirate/explorer/admiral whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history.
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Better than the text
- By Bramante on 04-07-21
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Island of the Blue Foxes
- Disaster and Triumph on the World's Greatest Scientific Expedition
- By: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of the world's largest, longest, and best-financed scientific expedition of all time, triumphantly successful, gruesomely tragic, and never before fully told. The immense 18th-century scientific journey, variously known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition or the Great Northern Expedition, from St. Petersburg across Siberia to the coast of North America, involved over 3,000 people and cost Peter the Great over one-sixth of his empire's annual revenue.
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Vivid History of Russia's First Contact In Alaska
- By Neil Ring on 09-01-18
By: Stephen R. Bown
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Conquistador
- Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs
- By: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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It was a moment unique in human history: the face-to-face meeting between two men from civilizations a world apart. In 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived on the shores of Mexico, determined not only to expand the Spanish empire but to convert the natives to Catholicism and carry off a fortune in gold. That he saw nothing paradoxical in his intentions is one of the most remarkable and tragic aspects of this unforgettable story.
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A Great Book
- By Victor on 02-27-11
By: Buddy Levy
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Conquerors
- How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Conquerors tells the almost forgotten story of how Portugal's navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East - then set about creating the first long-range maritime empire.
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Beautifully balanced
- By Nigel Roberts on 05-08-16
By: Roger Crowley
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The Last Days of the Incas
- By: Kim MacQuarrie
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 21 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1532, the 54-year-old Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led a force of 167 men, including his four brothers, to the shores of Peru. Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, the Inca rulers of Peru had just fought a bloody civil war in which the emperor Atahualpa had defeated his brother, Huascar. Pizarro and his men soon clashed with Atahualpa and a huge force of Inca warriors at the Battle of Cajamarca.
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Interesting but problematic
- By Matthew on 11-05-07
By: Kim MacQuarrie
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River of Darkness
- Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon
- By: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1541, the brutal conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro and his well-born lieutenant Francisco Orellana set off from Quito in search of La Canela, South America's rumored Land of Cinnamon, and the fabled El Dorado, "the golden man". Driving an enormous retinue of mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, hunting dogs, and other animals across the Andes, they watched their proud expedition begin to disintegrate even before they descended into the nightmarish jungle, following the course of a powerful river.
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Amazing!
- By Sammi on 02-17-18
By: Buddy Levy
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Mountain Man
- John Colter, the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and the Call of the American West
- By: David Weston Marshall
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1804, John Colter set out with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the first US expedition to traverse the North American continent. During the 28-month ordeal, Colter served as a hunter and scout, and honed his survival skills on the western frontier. But when the journey was over, Colter stayed behind. He spent two more years trekking alone through dangerous and unfamiliar territory, charting some of the West's most treasured landmarks.
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Piqued Curoisty
- By Julie on 01-30-22
Morrison offers authentic portrait of Columbus
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The best book on Columbus and his voyages.
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Where does Admiral of the Ocean Sea rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Samuel Elliot Morison,s volume is unsurpassed. Christopher Columbus was a truly great man deserving a great biography. He got it with Morison's Admiral of the Ocean Sea.Enjoyably read and great for young readers.
What other book might you compare Admiral of the Ocean Sea to and why?
I would compare it to Whitiker Chamber's autobiography Whitness. It is brilliantly written and deals with great courage.Which character – as performed by Frederick Davidson – was your favorite?
NAWas this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
NAFinest Columbus Biograghy
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It was boring sometimes
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Samuel Eliot Morison
I wanted to revisit this extensive biography of Christopher Columbus for two reasons. First is the rapacious hatred of the man within today’s woke culture. Second is the policy of academia to limit students to learning from only approved sources published recently. I wanted to know if this was justified in any way? If so, the completely flipped view of Columbus and the unquestionable honesty of Samuel Eliot Morison should be a good place to look.
The results may surprise you.
Morison is brutally honest about Columbus, presenting him with warts and all. The Admiral was a master navigator, seemingly able to find his way almost by instinct and documenting many locations in the Indies and Caribbean. At the same time, it took him years to figure out he had NOT made it to China and the Far East. On his third voyage, looking for a new continent (S. America) he sailed along its coast for a couple of weeks before realizing it was not a series of islands.
Most important for his detractors, Morison leaves no doubt it was Columbus’ decision to kidnap and enslave native men, women and children. First for display to royally at home, to train as interpreters, and then to sell into the slave trade. This was even after the Queen made clear to him she did not want slaves brought back to Europe. In any event, most of the Indians brought back died, as they were not accustomed to the climate or slave labor.
Columbus ended up fighting with disloyal crew on several occasions, and, not bringing back the riches he expected, not the path to the Orient he promised, he was mostly left in disfavor with the crown by the time of his death.
There is much more, if you have the desire for the great detail Morison provided. Including, of course, the honest fact that Columbus opened up a New World.
So back to my original questions. Yes, people have reason to hate Columbus and call out his decisions regarding the native population. I suppose it should be pointed out that the slave trade/mentality had been in place for centuries, and would be for centuries more.
The second question is the opposite. Modern academia has no justification for dismissing scholars like Morison out-of-hand. He published this work in 1942 after years of research, even following many of Columbus’ routes to learn the sailing difficulties involved. He was fair, detailed, and pulled no punches.
Honest, scholarly work
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Fascinating sailing details
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Great History told well!
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What made the experience of listening to Admiral of the Ocean Sea the most enjoyable?
This book is a real historian's work. It states clearly what the author knows from different sources and what he personally believes to be true. There are a lot of details about Columbus travels and how people reacted in Europe to the news of these discoveries. However, if you expect to be entertained all along, this might not be a great pick as the book really goes deep into each travel, with a lot of attention to life at sea. Great adventures are also made of some less exciting, or even boring parts and this book will give them to you too.Very detailed, not an easy one
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One of my favorites - a whole story I didn't know
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Complex
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