Was Christopher Columbus a visionary or an opportunist, a rapacious colonist or a Christian mystic? The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Mapmakers gives us a truly judicious portrait of the great navigator--one that is as much about the accretion of the Columbus mythos as it is an absorbing account of his life and character.

In the year 1444, near long-lost Constantinople, a Christian monarch treacherously breaks his truce with the Muslims, but Fate double crosses him. He is crushed in battle. All of his personal knights are slain, and he vanishes without a trace. Some years later, on Madeira Island, 2,500 miles to the west, a mysterious Knight of Saint Catherine of Mount Sinai marries into the Portuguese elite . . . and has a son. Astonishing as it may seem, these two impossibly remote events have been connected -- and the clouded genesis of Christopher Columbus is thereby once and forever resolved. The key to unlocking the mystery was waiting in a place where nobody had ever looked before. 25 years of research has pieced together a stunning array of artifacts and data, from one end of Europe to another, from Asia, Africa and the Americas: a chapel ruin, a ceiling mural in a private palace, DNA test results, an impressive diversity of documents, keenly analyzed . . . and a sword, unearthed by a 19th century Bulgarian peasant, that found its way to a museum in Saint Petersburg. The study and comparison of carefully censored State archives also helped explain this life -- hitherto enshrouded in the deceitful machinations of power politics, false identities, and false discoveries in the Age of Exploration. Myth has at last been separated from fact, exposing what actually transpired. Being extremely fond of writing memoirs, journals and letters, the man known as Columbus left a great deal of this overwhelming proof himself. Many other clues have been painstakingly gathered and analyzed. Some were cryptically displayed in the details of portraiture and esoteric writings, others in the most obvious features of one of the greatest works of Spanish Baroque drama, on heraldry, on a gravestone, via signatures and pseudonyms. What emerges is the picture of a consummate double-agent, with a bold and grandiose agenda. Enter this 500-year-old labyrinth and discover the unimaginable: a medieval conspiracy so audacious, so massive, and so well executed that it fooled the world for half a millennium.The Christopher Columbus you knew will be history.

On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus set foot on the shore of a new island in a New World. Columbus named that island San Salvador, but the native inhabitants called it Guanahani. For five hundred years, the location and identity of Guanahani remained a mystery. This book is the story of that mystery and of those who tried to solve it.

Chasing Columbus is the first in a breathtaking new series of four books bringing the past into the present. Never have the events of history seemed as pertinent to the modern day as Guy Trepanation battles against evil forces of conspiracy intent on destroying him and changing the course of history. A fast paced adventure thriller that takes the reader on a journey from the Caribbean to Asia. CHASING COLUMBUS Adventure devotees will love this one as the author creates a host of ruthless, ambitious characters. Who, for both good and evil reasons are all intent on possessing the legendry 'Columbus and Tucker Crosses'. Originally discovered by Columbus on his epic voyage of discovery and mysteriously spirited away amidst a background of deceit and intrigue, the hunt is on for these two ancient legendary religious icons. The priceless value and power which these crosses allegedly posses is the theme and lure of for this action packed thriller, which carries you through a host of different historical times, facts and places, which the author skillfully and gradually brings together via a roller coaster ride of complex and exciting escapades transporting you from Europe to the Caribbean in this nail biting story.

In this unique volume, hundreds of archival and specially commissioned photographs accompany a penetrating analysis to fit together the pieces of the many puzzles surrounding Christopher Columbus. The controversial revelations of this book, derived from the interpretation of ancient maps and the results of underwater exploration, will thrill armchair adventurers and intrigue history buffs who have long craved more information on the mysterious identity of the legendary explorer.This fascinating volume takes readers on a voyage of discovery into the mysterious life of Christopher Columbus. The authors present fresh insight into the identity of Columbus, revealing new and surprising discoveries into his lineage and true identity. The latter part of the book is devoted to one of the most important events in modern archaeology: the search for the diving bell of the flagship of Columbus expedition, The Santa Maria, discovered in 1994."