ReadingGroupGuides.com - The Last Voyage of Columbus by Martin Dugard

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

List Price: $14.95
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0316154563
Publisher: Little, Brown

This thrilling adventure narrative recreates the epic, never-before-told story of Columbus's fourth and final journey to the New World--a voyage that was by far his most dangerous, unexpected, exhilarating, and consequential.

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1. It is quite possible that no historical figure has been more written about than Christopher Columbus. Some historians have asserted that he was a great hero, while others have painted him as a greedy villain. How did reading The Last Voyage of Columbus affect your view of him?

2. Christopher Columbus claimed that his fourth voyage was his greatest. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Columbus knew about the Inquisition and all of its attendant horrors, but he remained loyal to Ferdinand and Isabella. How would you characterize his relationship with them? How did his relationship with the king differ from his relationship with the queen?

3. Many Spanish people of Columbus’s time looked upon men of Genovese extraction with great suspicion. Indeed, foreigners were seen as a "destabilizing influence." To what degree did this prejudice contribute to Columbus’s fall from grace? Are there any modern-day equivalents to this scenario?

4. The Last Voyage of Columbus may be a "swashbuckling history," but it also features a very personal look at Columbus and his son Fernando. Did Fernando change throughout the voyage? How did his relationship with his father evolve?

5. "The Admiral of the Ocean Sea" was a good captain, but he made several questionable decisions on land.Would you characterize Columbus as a great leader? Why or why not?

6. To what extent were Columbus’s travails the result of poor decision making, hubris, or greed? To what extent were they the result of bad luck or meddlesome outside forces?

7. In 1495, Fonseca decreed that Columbus would no longer be the only explorer in Spain’s New World. Furthermore, he demanded that all individuals—including Columbus— obtain special governmental clearance.Columbus wasn’t happy, of course, as he had a proprietary feeling about the territories that he had discovered.Was Columbus justified in thinking he should be given special treatment in the New World?

8. Martin Dugard writes that, unlike Ojeda’s, "Columbus’s voyages had some measure of curiosity and purity." Do you agree with this assessment? Why?
10. Dugard writes that the only certainty about Columbus is that "for better or worse, he chose to live a bold life rather than settle for mediocrity." Did you find the tale of Columbus’s final voyage inspiring?

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"The Last Voyage of Columbus tells of the unknown voyages that Columbus braved as he tried to find new land and travel. It tells of the islands and ports that he visited. It focuses on the many disasters that occurred along the way. Though confusing due to the many crew members and locations, Dugard keeps the reader interested by allowing us into the difficult life that Columbus had led."
—Bookreviewcafe.com

"A writer of considerable skill. . . . Dugard describes the travails of Columbus and his men in an adventure story of high drama but without bombast, told in plain but exciting language that sticks to the facts."
—The Associated Press

"This swashbuckling tale makes for exciting reading and to some extent rehabilitates Columbus' reputation. . . . For lovers of a good adventure story and for a window on a time when brave men sought to make sense of the dimensions of a world that was new and uncharted, The Last Voyage of Columbus is a heady read."
—The Washington Times

"The kind of history book schoolkids dream about and critics wax enthusiastic over."
—The Orange County Register

"What's behind Columbus's disgrace, and how it led to his fourth and last voyage, becomes a veritable page-turner in the hands of Martin Dugard. . . . If you know as little about the great man as I do, The Last Voyage of Columbus is a darn good place to begin your education."
—The Toronto Star

"Masterly, as brisk and bracing as a stiff nor'easter. . . . Those content to sit back and enjoy the voyage will be richly rewarded and entertained. . . . A story told with brio and panache as Dugard weaves a powerful narrative of tension and suspense."
—The Sunday Los Angeles Times Book Review

"This is a book well worth reading --- not only for its historical value but for the sheer fun of reading about adventure on the high seas in a time when all men had to rely on was their courage and their leader."
—NightsandWeekends.com

"While the main events of history paint the picture of our past in broad strokes, it is often the lesser known stories that fill in the details and enrich our understanding of events. The Last Voyage of Columbus, a new book by Martin Dugard, is of the latter variety, and in it we find a figure who, while familiar, is more human and thus more interesting than the Christopher Columbus we know from history textbooks."
—Bookpage.com

"A book that reads like a David Lean movie. Martin Dugard combines adventure and history in a raw, powerful narrative that is impossible to put down. We see Columbus --- brilliant, determined, flawed, and ultimately tragic --- afresh through his eyes, and experience the horrors and triumphs of the Admiral's final voyage in vivid fashion. This book will forever alter your view of Columbus."
—Mark Burnett, executive producer of Survivor

Columbus was "a wildly dogged and jawdroppingly brave explorer whose eventual place in the historical spotlight overshadowed everything else he did."
—The Men's Journal

"We think we know our icons, but thanks to Dugard, this man from Genoa manages to surprise us still."
—Knight Ridder

"Riveting."
—The Oregonian