The history of exploration and development of the vast expanses of the World Ocean is a story of courage, enterprise, and perseverance. At the center of the grand concept of the popular French writer Georges Blon is Man and the Sea in their diverse, complex, and almost mystical relations. All great navigators were, in a certain sense, prisoners of the sea, which forever conquered their hearts: no matter how terrible the hardships of a sea voyage were, they each time yearned again towards the fierce element, towards new dangers and discoveries. Columbus, Magellan, Heyerdahl - all of them, like the ancient Vikings or Phoenicians before them, were obsessed with the sea, dreaming of new sea routes and unknown lands. The sea epic of Georges Blon tells of the great conquerors of the world's ocean. This edition includes captivating stories about the history of human exploration of the Mediterranean Sea and the polar seas, as well as the history of piracy. The book is illustrated with reproductions of paintings, engravings, maps, photographs - historical images related in one way or another to the thrilling plots of Georges Blon, and is also equipped with extensive reference material, including maps, dictionaries of names, maritime terms, and names of ships and aircraft.
