A dazzling tale brilliantly told Peter Frankopan Marries the intrigue of Europe s most powerful royal courts with the globe trotting thrill of adventure and discovery Sunday Telegraph 5 review DURING THE AGE OF DISCOVERY in the autumn of 1550 a little known public servant in the Venetian government Giovambattista Ramusio anonymously published Navigationi et Viaggi Journeys and Navigations Containing a wealth of geographical information new to Europeans from the diaries of Marco Polo to detailed reports from the Muslim diplomat Leo Africanus it became the basis of the world map we still use today In an enthralling narrative This Earthly Globe brings to life the man who used all his political skill to democratize knowledge and show how the world was much larger than anyone previously imagined and in doing so chronicles the birth of modern geography