Who Was Ferdinand Magellan?

When Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain in 1519, he believed he could get to the Spice Islands by sailing west through or around the New World. He was right, but what he didn't know was that the treacherous voyage would take him three years and cost him his life.

S. A. KRAMER is the author of many nonfiction early readers on topics as varied as submarines and the first summit of Mount Everest. She has written many sports readers, including the recently revised edition of Basketball’s Greatest Players. Kramer lives in Brooklyn, New York.