Media Room Media professionals are invited to use the items presented within this website. Higher resolution photos can be emailed upon request. Christine's speaking engagements, which she welcomes and enjoys, have included appearances on television and radio, in the press, and at conferences, festivals, book club gatherings, book stores, museums, and schools (from university to elementary). Please email to arrange for an appearance on your show or at your function. SAILS OF FORTUNE is a novel detailing the harrowing and heroic 1519 voyage of Ferdinand Magellan’s fleet. Novelist Christine Echeverria Bender’s painstaking research and vivid prose reveals the hardship endured and the courage affirmed by the sixteenth century Spanish, Portuguese, and Basque explorers who left their homes to sail into the history books. Among the officers on the Magellan expedition was shipmaster Juan Sebastian de Elcano, for whom the voyage offered the chance to reclaim his stolen honor. Hopeful and determined as they set sail, Elcano could not foresee the twists of fate that would pit him against his commander in a struggle to save their threatened venture, or the heavy price the journey would demand from the men endeavoring to cross the Pacific Ocean for the first time. ISBN# 0-87004-449-4, 400 pages, Price $16.95 True or False 1. (T or F) Ferdinand Magellan was a Spanish nobleman who sailed on his famous voyage with funding from the king of Spain. 2. (T or F) Magellan left Spain in 1519 with hopes of being the first European to circumnavigate the globe. 3. (T or F) Magellan completed the voyage in 1522. 4. (T or F) Magellan's fleet sailed with five ships, four of which returned safely to Spain. 5. (T or F) King Manual of Portugal sent armed ships after Magellan's fleet with orders to destroy it. 6. (T or F) Magellan's men resorted to cannibalism to survive the harsh Patagonian winter. 7. (T or F) There were six Irishmen aboard the Magellan fleet. 8. (T or F) The youngest cabin boy to sail with Magellan was a fifteen year old Basque. 9. (T or F) While at anchor in the Molucca Islands, Magellan traded with the locals for pepper and cloves. 10. (T or F) Magellan was given a male elephant by the sultan of Brunei. Partial Answer: Only one of the above statements is true. Discover which one as you read SAILS OF FORTUNE.