Author Description

The invigorating story of a real-life race to sail around the world--and break the fictitious record set in Jules Verne's 1873 novel--in seventy-nine days. In Jules Verne's historic novel "Around the World in Eighty Days," Phileas Fogg and Jean Passepartout race at break-neck speed to circle the globe in eighty days. "Around The World In Seventy-Nine Days" is the true story of Cam Lewis, who set out to better the impossible pace set by Verne's illustrious characters. Along with Bruno Peyron, one of France's most famous sailors, and a small crew of Frenchmen aboard the Commodore Explorer, Lewis set sail. A world champion sailor, Lewis's spirits and patience were often tested by communication difficulties with the French-speaking crew, midnight steering shifts, fatigue, frustration, and fifty-foot waves that threatened to smash the boat. Fearing for his life, Lewis grappled with the idea that he might never again see his fiance--or the unborn child that she was carrying. This fascinating chronicle of a world-class journey illuminates not only the struggle to maintain endurance and faith, but the will to achieve greatness no matter what the odds.