Bear Earth

The Ends Of The Earth

Daniel Johnson | The Critic | 1st May 2022

Action-packed review of Straits, Felipe Fernández-Armesto's new biography of Ferdinand Magellan, the 16C Portuguese-born adventurer who sought a westward route to the Spice Islands, discovered the Straits of Magellan, lost 90% of his crew to mutiny and disease, gave the Pacific Ocean its name, came to believe that he had divine powers, and died in battle trying to conquer the Philippines (1,540 words)

The Story Of The Three Bears

Samuel Jay Keyser | Berfrois | 6th May 2022

When first recorded in 1837, The Story Of The Three Bears told how a "naughty old woman" broke into the house of some innocent bears, stole their food, and vandalised their goods. How did we get from there to our modern version in which the bears are the baddies and the trespasser is a nice girl called Goldilocks? What is the story's archetypal appeal? Why is there three of everything? (2,800 words)

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