Our speaker, the noted historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto (Magdalen and St John's  Colleges, Oxford), will be talking to us about "Explorers´ Books: What Columbus, Vespucci, and Magellan Read for Pleasure". This is related to his new book, Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan.

Dr Fernández-Armesto, professor of history at Notre Dame University, is distinguished for his many books for the general reader that take in the broad sweep of history, some of them addressing matters of Spain and the New World in the Age of Exploration. These have been translated into many languages. A random sample of just a few of these books includes Millennium: A History of Our Last Thousand Years, Reformation: Christianity & the World 1500 – 2000, Truth: A History and a Guide for the Perplexed, and Amerigo: The Man Who Gave His Name to America. He has earlier taught at Tufts and Queen Mary College. He is the recipient of many awards and honours, including Spain's Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X.