Columbus: The Four Voyages Hardcover – September 20, 2011

I am really shocked at all of the positive reviews of this book. I was a fan of this author and was looking forward to this book but it is wholly unreadable. This book has no coherent timeline whatsoever and reads as if it has had zero editing or review. The author jumps around constantly, contradicts his own attempted timeline repeatedly, and fails to tell anything close to an engaging or understandable story. Honestly I can't even finish it it's so bad. Can someone really explain these positive ratings?

regardless of claims made by everybody (with subsequent retractions when Columbus became targetable), America was really discovered by Columbus. In 1492. This life is too detailed, even for Columbus, what he ate, drank etc., but it has been done carefully. Columbus (from a Genovese family) was a human being, and had his faults, but his sense of navigation was extraordinary, and we should be grateful that an up-to-date information has been made available.

I browsed a bit so far... and it feels a bit like going back in time and seeing a more pristine, untamed world, the Americas, in the 1400's. There is much harsh criticism of Columbus, who had many faults and died in poverty, but he did sail West into an infinite expanse of ocean in 3 tiny ships and hero or villain you will glimpse some of what this bold venture was about. It is a courage beyond those chorusing political correctness from their cushy living rooms in smug superiority. Whitewashing history and renaming Columbus Day is not superior, it's just dishonest. The author of this work has been described as vitriolic in his condemnation of CC, but I have not seen that yet in my browsings. I did see a man ecstatic to spot a sea bird so that he could tell his crew that land was ahead, not the edge of the Earth, so that he could keep his motley brigands in check for just a few days more-- so that they did not mutiny and toss him into the sea-- then there never would have been a Columbus day. But either way, Europe would have found a way West in any case and the Conquistadors would still have slaughtered countless innocents and the British and their small-pox blankets would have ravaged native Americans, all the same. Too much is placed at Christopher's door step, so do read on with an open mind and an inclination to preserve human history, with all its warts and failings.

Please note the four stars above signify I like the book. I'm not saying it is not a five star book. Prior to Lawrence Bergreen's new effort the best book on Christopher Columbus, as far as I'm concerned, has been "Christopher Columbus--Admiral of the Ocean Sea" by the late Dr. Samuel Eliot Morison of Harvard University.I did find myself reading through Dr. Morison's book on Columbus easier than Bergreen's new book on Columbus. Mr. Bergreen appears to have done considerable research in his book, but I did find myself being told in minute detail of every atrocity committed by Columbus and his men in their quest for the three goals: Gold, Glory, and God. Columbus and his Spaniards were first greeted as gods from the sky by the Tainos or Arawaks, but it wasn't long before violence raised its ugly head. Whereas Dr. Morison's book on Columbus casts a more favorable opinion on Columbus, author Bergreen exposes all the warts of Columbus and his men.Most people don't realize that Columbus made four trips to this new world, and not just the one that initially probably landed him on the island of San Salvador. It's interesting to note that Juan Ponce De Leon was one of those on the second trip. De Leon, as we know on a later voyage, landed on Florida. Columbus was cheated out of having this new world named after him by a scoundrel named Amerigo Vespucci. Read the book and find out how. Both Morison and Bergreen agree on this.Whatever you may think of Columbus he did believe he could reach the east by sailing west, and was willing to take the risk of crossing the ocean to get there. Had he not landed on land unknown to Europeans he and his men would have perished at sea, because their goal was thousands of miles beyond his estimation of the size of the earth.I am reminded of a poem written by Ogden Nash regarding Columbus that went like this:So Columbus said, Somebody show me the sunsetAnd somebody did and he set sail for it.And he discovered America and they put him in jail for it.And the fetters gave him welts,And they named America after somebody else.As an armchair navigator you will enjoy this book, and it is worth your time. Expect a lot of detail which isn't bad if you are comfortable with this.

The book it’s very informative, but the author expresses his opinion during the narrative of the book, I would rather read the diary and form my own opinions. Besides that it’s a very informative book. For me it’s like having a time machine while I’m reading the book, it transports me to 1492 and I can visualize everything that Columbus saw.

This is an interesting account of the 4 voyages of Columbus to the New World. Born in Genoa, he found the support he needed for his explorations from Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. They, as motivated as he, to find the riches of financed his voyages in search of a trade route to China. Columbus relying on highly inaccurate maps, and the writings of Marco Polo, instead found the Caribbean - although he though he had found India.Greedy, cruel, and full of his own self importance Columbus went in search of gold, and dabbled in slavery when gold was not found in the quantities he needed to meet his avarice. Mutinied against, shipwrecked, in and out of favour with the court in Span, he certainly led an interesting life. His voyages never touched North America and he never visited Colombia. His tomb may or may not be in Seville.All of this makes for fascinating reading - Columbus was a sailor of genius though flawed in so many ways, and the author brings all of this out in this excellent work

Goes into the detail of the 4 voyages , relating the events, fortunes and misfortunes not commonly known about the "Admiral", his intrepid crews and treacherous peers and presents an insight into the mindset of the man who opened up not only a whole new world, but a new age.

Interesting book on a fascinating subject

An eye -opening thoroughly researched account to put to rights those misconceptions of school days. A fascinating insight into the history of the Caribbean which I found difficult to put down.

This book reveals a lot more about Columbus than I knew. It's an adventure packed with historical detail.