Last Voyage of Columbus, The - Softcover

Dugard, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316154563 ISBN 13: 9780316154567

Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2006

Synopsis

The Year is 1500. Christopher Columbus, stripped of his title Admiral of the Ocean Seas, waits in chains in a Caribbean prison built under his orders, looking out at the colony that he founded, nurtured, and ruled for eight years. Less than a decade after discovering the New World, he has fallen into disgrace, accused by the royal court of being a liar, a secret Jew, and a foreigner who sought to steal the riches of the New World for himself. The tall, freckled explorer with the aquiline nose, whose flaming red hair long ago turned gray, passes his days in prayer and rumination, trying to ignore the waterfront gallows that are all too visible from his cell. And he plots for one great escape, one last voyage to the ends of the earth, one final chance to prove himself. What follows is one of history's most epic-and forgotten-adventures. Columbus himself would later claim that his fourth voyage was his greatest. It was without doubt his most treacherous. Of the four ships he led into the unknown, none returned. Columbus would face the worst storms a European explorer had ever encountered. He would battle to survive amid mutiny, war, and a shipwreck that left him stranded on a desert isle for almost a year. On his tail were his enemies, sent from Europe to track him down. In front of him: the unknown. Martin Dugard's thrilling account of this final voyage brings Columbus to life as never before-adventurer, businessman, father, lover, tyrant, and hero.

About this title

About the Author:

Martin Dugard has written for Esquire, Outside, Sports Illustrated, and GQ. He lives in Orange County, California, with his wife and three sons.

From AudioFile:

In October 1500, Christopher Columbus found himself confined to prison in Santo Domingo, with the gallows he himself had had built ironically threatening his own neck. He was soon freed, however, and found an opportunity to salvage his reputation as he began a fourth voyage in search of the route to the East. Simon Jones gives the story the tone of an adventure as Columbus deals with mutineers and political intrigue. Jones adds the occasional touch of wry humor--for example, when he describes the passion for spices among wealthy Europeans (which is why we say rich people do or don't have "taste"). The last disc has maps of the voyage among its computer goodies; you'll have to sit at your tube to follow them since they don't print, though. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0316154563
• ISBN 13: 9780316154567
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 322