In 1507, European cartographers were struggling to redraw their maps of the world and to name the newly found lands of the Western Hemisphere. The ...
read full description
reviews
Jan 04, 2008
Grumpus
rated it: 
I have always wanted to know more about Amerigo Vespucci but have never stumbled upon anything until now. I guess it was because April 25, 2007 was the 500th anniversary of the naming of America that this book was released.
As there is surprisingly little documentation about Vespucci, the author attempted to paint the picture of his life by filling in the gaps with inferences based upon the sparse available facts. All of this is portrayed in that light and nothing is meant to be mis More...
As there is surprisingly little documentation about Vespucci, the author attempted to paint the picture of his life by filling in the gaps with inferences based upon the sparse available facts. All of this is portrayed in that light and nothing is meant to be mis More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 16, 2010
Chazzbot
rated it: 
An extraordinary work of scholarship, this book examines the life of Amerigo Vespucci in exhaustive detail, and corrects the errors of many earlier works. Vespucci is portrayed as an accident of history, a man whose ambitions often exceeded his grasp, but who was a skilled self-promoter, often, as Armesto points out, at the cost of historical accuracy. Indeed, the fat that two continents were named after Vespucci is shown here to be the result of distorted record-keeping, misinterpreted docume
More...
Sep 11, 2009
Julie
rated it: 
Such a enjoyable book. Fernández-Armesto is not out to glorify or demonize Amerigo Vespucci. He has written a clear-eyed post-colonial biography of the explorer. And his dry wit is a treat.
Quotes from Fernández-Armesto say it best:
From the intro:
"[A:]lthough Vespucci made no significant contribution to any art or science –as we shall see, his cosmography was amateurish, his navigation overrated, his writing feeble - he was an important figure in global history More...
Quotes from Fernández-Armesto say it best:
From the intro:
"[A:]lthough Vespucci made no significant contribution to any art or science –as we shall see, his cosmography was amateurish, his navigation overrated, his writing feeble - he was an important figure in global history More...
Jan 21, 2011
In 1507 the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, working at remote St. Dié in what is now northeastern France (500 miles away from the Atlantic Ocean), designed and printed two versions of a world map. One was designed to be pasted on a globe, the other is a huge wall map (the Library of Congress owns the only extant copy). These maps included the most up to date geographical information Europeans had at the time. Waldseemüller labeled the southern-most landmass of the Western Hemisphere, for the
More...
Aug 01, 2009
Sid
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book - not only for learning about an explorer that you would think we would know more about, as the American continents bear his name, but also because the authors style was very interesting. Using a very rich vocabulary that made it a little challenging but not overburdensome. I got really excited when I came across a passage where the author actually got to use the longest non-technical word in the English language - foccinaucinihilipilification. I found it most inter
More...
Sep 30, 2010
Molly
rated it:
So everyone knows Amerigo Vespucci- but all we know is the 1-2 sentences in our school history texts that said he was where the name 'America' came from. And this book, well-written as it was, really didn't lend anything more to the conversation. He admits that most information about Vespucci is speculation, and I respect that he won't play into the speculations. But... seriously- who was this guy? A whole half of the world was really named after some random explorer? I don't know much more
More...
Feb 28, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
Too much longitude and latitude for my liking for a few interseting facts.
Oct 10, 2011
Pearl
rated it:
I'm not sure who was more arrogant - Vespucci or the author. No big suprises. Dismiss.
Aug 01, 2008
George
rated it:
I loved the author's style, he is way to intelligent to hide his motives and the skepticism with which he approaches Amerigo controversial subject. As for A. himself it was interesting to learn about one more falls discoverer in this world.
Jul 23, 2011
David
rated it:
....actually, I had this book read to me while commuting to and from work. There were some interesting items. But, I know if I had to read (actually read it and not listen to it being read), I would have never made it through the book.
Jul 30, 2008
Linda
rated it:
An interesting account of the discovery of the Americas. The influence of other explorers and map makers make this particularly interesting. Politics were active then as they are now.
Jan 20, 2012
Jan 11, 2012
Dec 14, 2011
Nov 05, 2011
Sep 15, 2011
Aug 27, 2011
Aug 10, 2011
Aug 04, 2011
Aug 03, 2011
Jul 27, 2011
