I thought I knew a lot about Columbus. I took several classes on European expansion in school and I know I've read at least most of Columbus's diary of his first voyage, so I was surprised by how little I knew about his subsequent voyages, especially the fourth trip. This isn't a revisionist history, but nor is it entirely harsh. Bergreen walks a fine line and depicts both Columbus the brilliant navigator and the European discoverer of a new world (even if he never understood what he had found) and Christopher, middle name All Your Gold Are Belong To Me And Also Your Women And Personal Liberties, Columbus.

I would have liked to see more current research on Columbus's voyages and the world he found. Also, while the book was very detailed about Columbus's voyages, there was a bit of tunnel vision and Bergreen overlooked or glossed over contemporary developments in the Americas that didn't involve Columbus, which made the latter chapters a bit confusing. The whole context of the story is important too. Still, a well researched and well written biography of an undeniably fascinating man.