Laurence Bergreen's new biography - the first complete portrait in half a century - takes the full measure of Columbus's remarkable career from the world-changing events of 1492 and beyond, portraying events we thought we knew in a dramatic new light. Everywhere he went, Columbus left his mark, and not always for the better. He established what became the city of Santo Domingo, caused 50,000 indigenous people to commit mass suicide, and encountered the sophistication of Mayan civilization. He brought on the convergence of flora, fauna, bacteria, and behaviors that had evolved on separate continents for millions of years. Meanwhile, everything he knew about geography was dead wrong, with maps that were a combination of fantasy and delusion. He set out looking for China, thought he discovered India, and never admitted his mistake. Best-selling biographer Laurence Bergreen shows the madness and genius that only those who traveled with Columbus could have seen.
