The Christopher Columbus encyclopedia /

This encyclopedia contains much useful historical, ethnographic, and archeological information; but it lacks sufficient focus. Coverage sprawls beyond the life of the navigator, his background and impact, to such marginal topics as Naples and Catherine of Aragon. Even the articles on the later Spanish explorers and conquerors belong in a different sort of work. Most of the articles are interesting and useful; but some could have been more clearly thought out, like that on disease, which distances infection from the upheaval caused by conquest and exploitation. There also is excessive repetition, like a separate entry on dead reckoning atop one on navigation. Certain things, however, will not be found readily in other sources. The material on seamanship, the archeological evidence for ships and settlements, the data on Columbus and his family all are made available here. No peculiar theses about the navigator are propounded, and alternative solutions to unsolved problems are presented fairly. The illustrations are well chosen and well presented. What might have been an outstanding reference tool for the study of Columbus appears here as a flawed attempt to cover much of the Age of Exploration. Potentially useful to academic libraries, despite the price and these flaws.-T. M. Izbicki, Johns Hopkins University

This work is significant for several reasons. It accepts Spanish usage and accentuation for Spanish and Indian names. It contains signed articles by authorities in the field. It enters confidently and authoritatively into the usual controversies surrounding Columbus: spirituality of enterprise versus materialism; the voyage routes; landfall; and the questions of his Jewishness and of his prior knowledge of routes and maps. The excellent bibliographic essays are comprehensive, as is the article on Columbus in Hispanic literature, which is up to date and includes the Indigenista view on Columbus and those who followed him. In addition, there are numerous maps and document facsimiles. All future research on Columbus will have to recognize this work. Highly recommended for all levels and libraries. Previewed in ``Rediscovering Columbus,'' LJ 8/91.-- Rene Perez-Lopez, Virginia Wesleyan Coll. Lib., Norfolk (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.