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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 970.015092
EAN num: 9780471211891
ISBN number: 0471211893
Label: Wiley
Manufacturer: Wiley
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 172
Printing Date: August 30, 2002
Publishing house: Wiley
Sale Popularity Level: 351259
Studio: Wiley
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A stirring tale of adventure and tragedy
'They brought balls of spun cotton and parrots and javelins and other little things that it would be tiresome to write down, and they gave everything for anything that was given to them. I was attentive and labored to find out if there was any gold.'
With these portentous words, Christopher Columbus described one of his very first encounters with Native Americans on the island of Guanahani, which he had named San Salvador and claimed for Spain the day before. In Columbus in the Americas, bestselling author William Least Heat-Moon reveals that Columbus’s subsequent dealings with the cultures he encountered not only did considerable immediate harm, but also set the pattern of behavior for those who followed him.
Based on the logbook of Columbus and numerous other firsthand accounts of his four voyages to the New World, this vividly detailed history also examines the strengths and weaknesses of Columbus as a navigator, explorer, and leader. It recounts dramatic events such as the destruction of Fortress Navidad, the very very first European settlement in the New World; a pitched battle in northern Panama with the native Guaymi people; and an agonizing year Columbus and his men spent marooned on a narrow spit of land in southern Jamaica.
Filled with stories of triumph and tragedy, courage and villainy, Columbus in the Americas offers a balanced yet unflinching portrait of the most famous and controversial explorer in history.
TURNING POINTS features preeminent writers offering fresh, personal perspectives on the defining events of our time.
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Rated by buyers 
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This is a terrific history of Columbus' four trips to the Americas taken mostly from his journals and other contemporary accounts. It is better than good for several reasons.
First, it is novel in that it describes the very first voyage beyond the histroy we get in grade school. It describes Columbus' luck as well as his skill which when combined enabled him to make the journey and how he kept the crew thinking that land was always just over the horizon. He establishes every sailour of the time knew the world was round - the fear was the unknown size of the sphere and what lay beyond the horizon.
Next, it describes Columbus' subsequent three voyages. I had seen maps showing them, but never read any accounts.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the book, though, was Mr. Least-Moon's accounts of how Columbus treated and perceived what he named Indians. The author puts these acts and attitudes into the context of the impending slaughter by the Spaniards of the Indians in the name of Christianity. The most remarkable aspect of the author's accounts and comments is that he makes the observations without a hint of political correctness or bias. His nearly emotionless rendition makes the reader's own conclusions more poignant.
This book is a terrific historical account of events about which most of us only have a superficial knowledge. It is strongly recommended.
Rated by buyers 
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As an introduction to the voyages of Columbus, this book by William Least Heat-Moon serves the task well. In its brief 180 pages, an overview of where and when Columbus travelled is well chronicled.
There are perhaps too many people who know of Columbus only that "in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue". Yet Columbus did more than just sail. Although he never discovered America and constantly thought he had arrived in Asia, he nonetheless served as the spark to the later journeys that would fully reveal the New World. Unfortunately, both his journeys and those of his followers would do much to injure the indigenous people with the introduction of disease and slavery.
If you are searching for a primer on Columbus and the New World, Least Heat-Moon's book serves that purpose well. If, however, you are looking for something of greater substance, look to other sources.
Rated by buyers -
I received this book "Columbus in the Americas" as a present and enjoyed it very much. I previously read Heat-Moon's Blue Highways as well as River-Horse and this is a quite a departure from those books. Frankly I enjoyed Blue Highways and River-Horse more because Heat-Moon has such a great way of telling stories of his experiences. With Columbus he had to rely upon historical fact and obviously could not put in the first-person details that makes the other books so wonderful.
Considered on its own merits though, Columbus is an excellent interpretation of his voyages. The book has emphasis on the qualities Columbus had that make reading of his accomplishments worthwhile even 500 years after the fact. This book has stirred my interest in learning more about the life and times of Columbus.
Rated by buyers -
Given the recent uproar over traditional accounts of Columbus' "discovery", it is particularly refreshing to read so balanced and unpoliticed a narrative as this, especialy from one who's ancestors were among the "discovered". This story comes as close as I could imagine to taking the reader aboard on all four voyages.
Rated by buyers -
Least Heat-Moon has turned in a small book about several voyages of discovery that continue to the present. Like the author's own voyages, we are properly briefed in the historical context, brought into the narrative of a 15th Century ocean crossing, shown glimpses of what we as a species believe is real, then are left to discover how we feel about what we are shown and who we are. This timely account of the voyages illustrates the cupidity of the discoverer and includes the author's macabre wit and razor sharp sense of historical irony. Not to be missed, while we wait...
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