Intended as an antidote to potted biographies and piecemeal reconstructions of his voyages, this volume draws on judicious selections from Christopher Columbus's own writings—chronologically arranged, and translated into idiomatic English—to relate his self-perception and personal history, as far as is possible, in his own words. The result is a full and vivid (and often surprising) portrait of this complex man and the role he thought he was destined to play as God's instrument on earth.

Twenty-four illustrations, maps of Columbus's routes across the Atlantic and his travels in the West Indies, and an index further enhance this introduction to his life and discoveries.