The Last Voyage of Columbus: Being the Epic Tale of the Great Captain's Fourth Expedition, Including Accounts of Swordfight, Mutiny, Shipwreck, Gol

by Martin Dugard

Book Overview

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,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316828831
• ISBN13: 9780316828833
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

You thought you knew Columbus

This book is so well written and unlocks so many things you never learned about Columbus and his travels. I never imagined all the journies of this amazing man.

Amazing Story...and sadly never told in history class?!!?!

Dugard is a fantastic writer. Although the beginning of the book begins slowly, the tale of the fourth voyage is one of the most thrilling adventures I ever read. The fact that this was a true story and not fiction makes the reader hold onto their armchair as Dugard's narrative reads beautifully and steers the reader along, and it does so as masterfully as the great Columbus himself, who tenaciously led his frightened men to the New World. And despite Columbus' later misfortunes during this fourth voyage, he was an extremely clever man with outstanding resolve that although never found that elusive passage to Asia did manage to return home safely after a nerve-racking series of disasters. That is astounding by any mortal's standards. I was glad to see that the History Channel made a movie on Dugard's book, as it is a crucial piece of history and an amazing story. Despite Columbus' failed mission he led his crew through, while even being deathly sick, to finally being rescued. That so many men did follow him, regardless of the mutiny, which was understandable at that crisis, it seems the main issue many others and I have is about Columbus being a tyrant. This whole issue truly needs factual evidence to prove that it was Columbus rather than his officers who committed those gross misdeeds on Hispaniola that tarnished Columbus' name, honor and right to govern. In comparison to King Ferdinand's Spain, which was entering its most ugly period of pogroms by first expelling the Muslims and currently on a mission to begin the Inquisition, Columbus appears to have been an angel. If harsh punishments were meted out on Hispaniola, it seems the evil King Ferdinand, who was killing people in mass, was no one to reprimand Columbus or his men for harsh treatment. Many factors indicate that the King's aim was to demote Columbus and his monopoly on the New World, which he and his evil bishop, Fonseca, managed to do. They were ruthlessly expelling Muslims and Jews, and Columbus was just another expendable victim added to the list. Hence, this vital information needs to be finally resolved by ALL historians writing about Columbus. However, this book is titled "The Last Voyage of Columbus", so I can't criticize Dugard too much in this regard, yet his storyline does address this previous issue, and therefore should to some extent. But as for the tantalizing fourth voyage, this is nothing short of extraordinary and almost too unreal to believe. This was a fascinating tale, written in a fascinating and engaging style. Bravo Dugard! And thanks for bequeathing to the world this great and important tale. A MUST READ!

Enticing, energetic

Whereas the first half of this book is a summary of Columbus' prior three voyages and the Spanish political arena of those days, along with tales of other adventurous voyagers scouting the New World, the remaining half of the book plunges into an exciting examination of his fourth and final voyage. There was an obvious animosity thread towards Columbus, possibly starting at the top with King Ferdinand and permeating downward throughout every walk of life, including the men he commanded. Ultimately convincing the Royal Court of a fourth voyage to the New World for further exploration, this expedition was jarred by every imaginable misfortune one could envision. Hurricanes, shipworms, shipwreck, ship-loss, castaway, mutiny, native hostilities, not to mention the living conditions these men endured. Columbus has always been a debatable character and Dugard exercises equity to this courageous soul. A thrilling and educational read.

Focused and Satisfying

Dugard avoided innumerable potential tangents to give us the benefit of his research into this last voyage. I learned that info and mis-info about CC is not just a modern phenomenon. CC had a lot of enemies, and Dugard outlines a few, who benefited from having chaos surround his name. Dugard gives us facts. You can certainly conclude that CC's skills as a mariner are unparralled for his time. His land administration skills, seemingly leave a lot be be desired, but his peers failed as well. I lost count, but after the battles with native people, low supplies and the civil war of his crew, he still had 100 of the orginal 140 crew alive. This in itself is a pretty heady accomplishment. He must have been a total optimist in his expectation that help would arrive in Jamaica. I would have lost faith after not too many months, but he was right. There are many heroes here who certainly deserve treatment of their own. One very intriguing character is Mendez. His stealth capture of the native king is amazing as his rowing to Santo Domingo, particularly in light of how badly the mutineers failed in an identical mission.

Fantastic page turner

Wow. I learned so much from this book and enjoyed every page of it. If I were in the movie business, I'm be optioning the rights on this puppy for a movie with Harrison Ford as Columbus in a heartbeat. Yes, so we all know the general outline of the 1492 story. And we know some vague details that Columbus never found the western route to the orient. But Dugard brings this to life and puts in fascinating details about life at sea, the struggles Columbus and the crew faced, and just what really did happen to bring an end to Columbus' great career. Dugard's writing style is fantastic as is his approach. He doesn't try to mis-apply 20th (or 21st) century morality onto Columbus' actions, he's good at interpreting Columbus behavior in the right temporal light. He doesn't seek to justify or crucify Columbus, just to tell a great adventure story. The best fiction writers would have a hard time beating the twists of fate, politics, action, and tension of this real life drama. I also found this book especially interesting having recently read James Reston's excellent "Dogs of God." Dogs of God sets the stage very nicely to better understand Spain's politcal and religious climate at the time as well as the events leading up to Columbus' first voyage. Having read this, I'm anxious to read some of Dugard's other writing, possibly his "Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth" next.

Excellent account historically, Exciting to read

Highly recommended and easy to read. The writer worked hard to maintain a smooth narrative flow. You will meet some formerly unknown characters who round out the story well. This book makes you appreciate what Columbus accomplished in his voyages, but also makes you cringe at his treatment of the "native" people. However, Degard helps put Columbus' treatment in perspective by discussing the genocide carried out by his contemporary, Don Nicolas Ovando. Finally, you must read this book if for nothing else than the discussion of the origin of the nautical phrase "poop" deck. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this delightful book!