jjares reviewed Christopher Columbus: A Captivating Guide to the Life of an Italian Explorer and His Voyages to the Americas on + 3278 more book reviews
Christopher Columbus was a complex man who was willing to die trying to do the impossible. This book brought out some interesting, less-known facts about Columbus. He was generally a self-taught man who was a captain in the Mediterranean Sea before engaging in longer trips. Another aspect of Columbus was that he was an 'advertiser and a salesman of extraordinary ability.' (p. 3)
He may have had a silver tongue but it still required the assistance of others to get a commission for Columbus to explore. I felt this book excelled over others because it spent time explaining the interactions between the Europeans and the indigenous peoples. I was surprised to see that the Europeans expected, from the first, to find gold. From the information offered in this book, Columbus was virtually left in the dust, in the European's endeavors to rush westwardly.
This book didn't try to sugar-coat what happened to the indigenous peoples. However, the author made an effort to show things within the framework of the times: European countries were Catholic and felt their responsibility was to educate those who did not know about God (rather, the European vision of God). This is a very interesting, yet quick read about a figure still argued over today.
He may have had a silver tongue but it still required the assistance of others to get a commission for Columbus to explore. I felt this book excelled over others because it spent time explaining the interactions between the Europeans and the indigenous peoples. I was surprised to see that the Europeans expected, from the first, to find gold. From the information offered in this book, Columbus was virtually left in the dust, in the European's endeavors to rush westwardly.
This book didn't try to sugar-coat what happened to the indigenous peoples. However, the author made an effort to show things within the framework of the times: European countries were Catholic and felt their responsibility was to educate those who did not know about God (rather, the European vision of God). This is a very interesting, yet quick read about a figure still argued over today.
