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

I love books about explorers, for some reason - I've read about Magellan and Shackleton. I love books about ships - I really enjoy Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series. I have no idea what it is that draws me to these sorts of topics, but it's no surprise that I picked this book up. So much more was going on with Columbus than just bumping around in the Caribbean looking for new lands - he was caught up in political plots much larger than himself, and just when he thought he would settle down to a quiet life, he was essentially forced into this fourth voyage of exploration.

This was a really fast read - the only parts that slowed me down were keeping straight some of the various people who were conspiring against Columbus (there show more were a lot of them). Everyone in the book is presented as a multi-faceted human, from Isabella and Ferdinand, to members of Columbus' crew, to the natives they encountered in different parts of the New World. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in history and exploration, or anyone just looking for an engaging non-fiction read. show less

A great non-fiction read. I knew little about Columbus other than he sailed the ocean blue in 1492! I like this book because it shows the bravery, wisdom, and seamanship of Columbus as well as what we would call his racism; although for his day and age, he was very progressive. He was not above enslaving others, not for his personal economic gain, but to return to Spain and “show off” what manpower was available in what he thought was the Indies. A good read that shows both the good and bad in a 15th century explorer. 320 pages

As promised, this book details Christopher Columbus' fourth, final, and most cataclysmic voyage of exploration in the Caribbean. The book is a page-turner, informative as it fleshes out the spotty information we are given in school and popular culture and always entertaining, as will happen when a master storyteller is handed a compelling series of unfortunate events. The book contains quite a bit of backstory, and I think the author may have mixed up his directions a few times, but this book is not to be missed.

This is one of my favorites biographies with a surprising amount of detail and tension. At times it feels more like a thriller. It is both great history and a marvelous story. Dugard has brought Columbus to life with a fast paced, suspenseful account of his last voyage. You will likely come away with a new respect for the man that took such great risks, despite his many errors in judgment and geography.

I've read Martin Dugard before. His "Into Africa" traces Henry Morgan Stanley's search for British Explorer David Livingstone deep in the African jungle. "Farther Than Any Man" follows the career of Explorer James Cook. He wrote "The Murder of King Tut" with perennial fiction bestselling author James Patterson. While "Tut" is a bit of a mess and misses whatever target at which it's aiming, "Into Africa" is a thrilling ride, that's exhilarating to read and fulfilling to finish. "Farther Than Any Man" is somewhere in between...both enlightening and a little hard to follow at times. "The Last Voyage of Columbus" is both a historical survey, and at times a detailed narrative. It's not as strong as "Into Africa", and yet I'm finding it more show more lasting than the Cook bio.

The book outlines Columbus' first three expeditions to the New World, and about half way through delves deeply into his last journey. Columbus' final journey, in the very early 1500s, is successful with the benefit of historical hindsight. Columbus cruises the Central America isthumus and the northern peak of the South American continent. Columbus is still seeking his western water-based route to India, and as Dugard points out, comes tantilizingly close - less than 100 miles from the Pacific as he makes landfall on modern-day Panama. Columbus finds gold, but he's never able to fully bask in his ultimate validation of finding the New World. His expedition of about 150 men barely survives hurricanes, horrific wind storms, angry natives, a mutinous crew, and aggressively jealous Spaniards doing all they can to discredit the great captain.

Columbus comes across as a bit of a sad old man. He's clearly past his prime having failed at leading the Spanish colony at Santo Domingo in Hispanola (modern day Dominican Republic). Dugard portrays King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella's final approval of a fourth journey as a way to get rid of, and appease, the annoying and persistent explorer.

I'd rank this book three stars without a second thought if it weren't for the fact that I read it very quickly and, a few days after I've put it down, have found myself thinking about Columbus' horrid hardships, fierce loyalties he was able to instill, and polarizing effect he had on two different continents. Both of these indicate that the book was probably more than "good" at only 3 starts. If there was a "half" rating, I'd go with 3 and a half, but instead I'll just have to give Dugard and Columbus the benefit of the doubt. show less

My second Martin Dugard book. I really enjoy the style of this author. I knew a little of Columbus, but not too much and this book really filled in the gaps. I must admit I am very interested in the early explorers and found this book to be a great companion to the others I have on Cook, Magellan and co.

For a short book focused on Columbus' last voyage, this served as a pretty good overview of his career as a whole and the political machinations that saw him fall in and out of favor with the Spanish hierarchy. My one frustration with the book is that the author seems to delve into detail on some matters, while skimming over others that deserve much more attention.