In January 2003, Nicholas Sparks and his brother Micah set off on a three-week-trip around the world. It was to mark a milestone in their lives, for at 37 and 38 respectively, they were now the only surviving members of their family. As they travel the globe, the intimate story of their family unfolds in the details of the untimely deaths of their parents and only sister. Against the backdrop of the wonders of the world, the Sparks brothers band together...

Abby Sutherland grew up sailing. Her father, Laurence, a shipwright, and her mother, Marianne, wanted their kids to develop responsibility, to see other cultures, to experience the world instead of watching it on TV. So they took them sailing down the coast of Mexico... for three years. When Abby was thirteen, she began helping her father deliver boats and soon was sailing solo. She loved being on the open ocean, the spray in her face, the wind...

Examines the training and accomplishments of Captain James Cook and reconstructs his explorations and journeys to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia.

"Leo is a hardened old sea dog who knows not to trust anyone but himself after four ocean voyages. But when he sets sail with Magellan on a journey to find a westward route to the Spice Islands, he develops new friendships as they experience hunger and thirst, storms and doldrums, and mutinies and hostile, violent encounters. Will they ever find safe passage?"--