Westward With Columbus

Time Quest

by John Dyson

Retells the story of Columbus's first voyage, and uses the experiences gained by sailing a replica of the Nina to describe what that trip must have been like

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens, Adventure

64 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1991

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part nonfiction, part historical-fiction. Dyson describes how he and his cohorts got this crazy-ass idea to sail the ocean just like Columbus did, with no modern conveniences. I personally think that's insane but to each his own.

The book covers the author's own experience sailing the ocean juxtaposed next to the fictional account of Pedro, a ship's boy that sailed with Columbus. I believe the fictional account was meant to be filled with facts, but I would've preferred just hearing it straight, not mixed into a story. When it's in story form it's harder to see where the author exaggerated.

The author covered Columbus's legendary bad temper and how he was basically a terrible person when it came to the Native Americans. It was interesting reading about how the captains on the other ships stood up to him. I didn't know about him sailing into Portuguese waters, that seems like a pretty stupid risk.

I don't know, it could just be that I don't particularly care for Columbus. Cool, he sailed where no Europeans had gone before (maybe) but he was a brute when it came to the Native peoples and I can't really forgive that. Someone else would've found the route if he hadn't, and maybe they would've been a better person. I know there's the whole "you can't judge history from a modern perspective" and I say, "why the hell not?" Shouldn't we learn from the mistakes and assholery of our ancestors?

I think this book was basically well done. I thought it was interesting, but I still hate Columbus and the more I learn about him the more I dislike him.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book alternates between a historical fictional story of a young boy and his voyage with Columbus and a modern group of men who recreated the journey in 1990. It has many maps, art, and photographs. The book clearly shares about some of the negative aspects of the journeys such as slavery.

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book full of illustrations about the recreation of the Columbus ships in 1990, which we had visited in nearby Corpus Christi, Texas.

[Kelsey Nauert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was about Columbus' sail to the New World. This book gives information about everything from the ships' names to maps that Columbus possibly used. I personally thought this book was too long and tedious for me, let alone a child. I would probably use a smaller book in my class if I was talking about Columbus.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Older kids - photos and pictures on each page, lots of text. More like a textbook.

[Theo Girvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it.