School Library Journal Review

this handsome and well - written biography that incorporates recent scholarship and presents Columbus' character in an objective way. Levinson's portrait of Columbus' early life includes a description of the books that influenced him and looks briefly at the political and cultural milieu of the time. Without fictionalizing dialogue or thoughts, as was done in Lino Monchieri's Christopher Columbus (Silver Burdett, 1985), Levison conveys the excitement and danger that accompanied Columbus' voyages through previously uncharted waters with crews that were unhappy if not actually mutinous. She does not avoid or gloss over the Spaniards' cruel treatment of the Indians or Columbus' failure to prevent this bloodshed. She shows how, through his desperation and fear of reprisals in Spain, he overlooked the actions of his men and drove many Indians to suicide by assigning unreasonable quotas in his relentless quest for gold. She portrays his tragic later years in a way that is dignified but shows an awareness of the irony of Columbus dying without realizing the genuine greatness of his achievement. Liberally illustrated with maps and reproductions of paintings, engravings, and photographs, the book is authoritative, attractive, and eminently readable. --Jean H. Zimmerman, Willett School, South River, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.