Sale, Kirkpatrick <br/><br/>
The conquest of paradise  : Christopher Columbus and the Columbian legacy 
/ Kirkpatrick Sale. 
 - 1st ed. 
 - New York  : Knopf  : Distributed by Random House  , 1990. 
 - viii, 453 p.  : maps  ; 24 cm. 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (p. [393]-428) and index. 
<br/><br/> What distinguishes this book from numerous others (some 150) published on Columbus in this century is Sale's attempt to separate the man from the legend. He returns to the original sources to take stock of the ``historical Columbus'' and then traces the growth of the ``heroic Columbus.'' Overall, his portrait of Columbus is not flattering. A rootless man who never fully understood the enormity of his discovery, Columbus spent his declining years making unreasonable demands of his sovereigns for his heirs. Sale reminds us that part of the Columbian legacy was environmental despoliation and destruction of native cultures. Most fascinating is his tracing of the Columbus legend from its origins in the 16th century to the present. The story of his transformation from a simple sea captain to a tragic hero is an engaging one, well told and copiously documented here. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9780452266698 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>90053069 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Personal Names: </label><br/>Columbus, Christopher (, 1451-1506) ---Influence
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Geographic Terms: </label><br/>America----Discovery and exploration
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>E112  / .S16 1990 
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>LAS 973.16 SAL