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Title: Latitude Zero: Tales of the Equator by Gianni Guadalupi, Antony Shugaar ISBN: 0-7867-1118-3 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers Pub. Date: 22 November, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: fascinating history
Comment: If you're into "interesting" history, this book is for you. The format of the book is interesting - many small vignettes grouped logically. The authors have done an excellent job.

Rating: 4
Summary: A Good Read on the Road
Comment: For Latitude Zero, Gianni Guadalupi and Anthony Shugaar have put together a collection of short historical essays recounting the exploration of the equator. The accounts are organized somewhat chronologically. Following a brief introduction to the ancient folklore, the authors tell some entertaining stories of the Spanish conquest in South America and their search for the mythical city of gold, El Dorado. The narrative then jumps to the English exploration of central Africa. Finally, the tales turn to Magellan and his successors' adventures in the East Indies.

The interconnecting theme of these tales, besides the equator, is the humor that can be found in the recurring naive arrogance of the West in its dealings with non-European peoples. The 16th century Conquistadors come off the worst. At least Richard Burton et al. tried to color their exploration of the upper Nile and the Rift Lakes as geographical science.

Guadalupi and Shugaar have produced a well written and interesting light read. The sole short-coming of their volume -- filled with place names -- is the absence of useful maps.

Rating: 5
Summary: A Sultry Delight
Comment: This is true hammock reading; a book to have champagne with. The author takes us through a series of vignettes (rarely more than six pages each) dealing with the Equator, from ancient Chinese explorers visiting Africa, to the British explorers Stanley, Livingstone and Burton, to the Spanish adventurers in Peru, to naked Austrian baronneses on Easter Island in the 1930s. The translation perfectly captures the author's wry humor and easy delivery. Other great moments include Walter Raleigh's search for El Dorado, Magellan's adventures in Asia, Krakatoa's eruptions and Robert Louis Stevenson's last days in the Pacific.