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.

"A lively look at how each generation of Americans has reinvented Columbus in its own image and for its own purposes. Was Christopher Columbus a hero or a villain, discoverer or destroyer? ... By focusing on popular representation of the explorer and his story through the years, rather than the actual man or deeds, Bushman chronicles the invention of Columbian tradition. In doing so, she provides a historical and cultural context for the quincentennial debate over Columbus's legacy, demonstrating that the current questioning is only the latest in a long tradition of revising the explorer's reputation."--From publisher.

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."

On a beautiful April morning, a man is brought to an insane asylum in contemporary Spain, claiming to be the legendary navigator Christopher Columbus. Found in the treacherous Straight of Gibraltar, he is clearly delusional and has suffered a trauma so severe that he has turned away from reality. As he spins the tall tales of adventure and romance of someone who existed in the late fifteenth century, the lonely Nurse Consuela can’t help but be enchanted by his spirit. Who is Columbus? Where did he come from? This dazzling story about one man’s painstaking search for truth and loyalty will haunt the reader long after the final page.

Examines the voyages of Christopher Columbus and their impact on world history.

The untold story of the secret alliance behind the “discovery” of America • Reveals how a utopian dream of brotherhood among Christians, Muslims, and Jews fueled a murderous power struggle involving secret societies, popes, and kings • Explains why King Ferdinand of Spain supported Columbus’s voyages openly, but, secretly, sought to undermine their purpose • Shows how Columbus knew, sailing west, he would find the “New World,” not Asia Was Columbus a Templar? According to the historic documents and maps revealed by Ruggero Marino, Columbus shared their dream of Christians, Muslims, and Jews living in peace in a New Jerusalem, and his voyage across the Atlantic was both to find a new passage to Asia and to find the place where the New Jerusalem could be built. Marino draws parallels between Marco Polo’s journey east over the Silk Route and Columbus’s sea voyages and reveals that Columbus studied ancient texts and maps from the Vatican Library, access to which was granted by Pope Innocent VIII--who Marino shows to be Columbus’s true father. Innocent VIII (whose own father was Jewish and grandmother was Muslim) was the perfect individual to further the Templars’ plan to create a universal religion combining the spiritual wisdom of the three faiths. Marino shows that Innocent’s “disappearance” and the story that Columbus merely stumbled onto the New World were part of a calculated political and theological cover-up. While King Ferdinand (the model for Machiavelli’s The Prince) and Queen Isabella of Spain are heralded with funding Columbus’s “discovery” of America, it was Innocent VIII who was the main sponsor and master-mind of the expedition. To obscure the purpose of the voyages, and give Spain the credit for the New World discovery, Ferdinand and his agent Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), Pope Innocent VIII’s successor, initiated the disinformation campaign that has lasted for over 500 years.

Discusses the character of Columbus in the context of the world of the late fifteenth century.