Mapping Christopher Columbus : an historical geography of his early life to 1492 /

Rocca's book focuses on Columbus's life and voyages prior to 1492 with the goal of determining how his idea of sailing west to reach Asia originated and evolved. During the age of sail, ocean-going ships depended on winds and currents to get where they needed to go and back. Rocca (California State Univ., Monterey Bay) contends that Columbus, during his voyages in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, used his observations to develop a model for how the winds and currents circulated. This knowledge made sailing west across the Atlantic to reach Asia feasible, if not for the existence of North and South America. The book includes 92 maps, and Rocca draws on many primary and secondary sources to support his conclusion, including evidence that proves Columbus was a native of Genoa. He also places Columbus's involvement with the slave trade in the context of the 15th century's faith-based slavery practiced by Christians and Muslims as well as the institution of slavery in pre-Columbian Caribbean and Mexican societies. Although other contemporaries also studied the Atlantic winds and currents and contemplated western voyages, a fact that may be missed here given the focus on Columbus, Rocca's account is persuasive. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. --Ronald Harold Fritze, emeritus, Athens State University