Rating: 
Summary: A colorful narrative, rich in detail.
Review: This book is the definitive work on Columbus. Morison is famous for making the same journey that Columbus made with largely the same equipment in order to prepare for writing this book. His experience shines through in the detail thatMorison lavishes on his subject.
As is the case with any great biography, Morison has become enamored with his subject, highlighting his strengths and successes while downplaying his weaknesses and failures, but you know that going into any biography and can adjust your interpretation accordingly.
The story here is told very well, keeping the reader engaged and turning pages. Additionally, the book dispells many of the myths and common misconceptions about Columbus and really fills in a complete picure of the man.
Well worth reading for any fan of history or biography.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book by a great historian and a great prose stylist
Review: This remains the definitive biography of Columbus. Morison was one of the greatest historians ever to practice the craft--his scholarship still holds up today. He was also a master of the written word, unlike most professional historians today. Morison enumerates the reasons why he admires Columbus, but he also catalogs the man's misdeeds--for example, Morison uses the word "genocide" to describe Columbus's treatment of the Indians as governor of Hispaniola. Morison gives his readers the facts they need to form their own opinion of Columbus. (I do not share Morison's admiration for the man.) I must correct the astonishingly ignorant remarks of the reviewer who identified himself as "A reader from New York City" and entitled his review "So much ignorance my God..." Here goes: 1) The reviewer asserted that Morison was not, in fact, an admiral. Actually, Morison did receive the title. FDR made Morison an honorary admiral when he commissioned the scholar to write the naval history of the US role in WWII. (Morison produced a 12-volume epic. It's still in print.) 2) The reviewer regurgitates a number of questions about Columbus's origins that he apparently drew from another book by a revisionist historian (Kirkpatrick Sale?). The questions the reviewer repeats are good ones, but they are questions that remain open because the evidence to answer them conclusively probably does not exist. If the reviewer were a trained historian, he might understand that.
Rating:
Summary: A great book by a great historian and a great prose stylist
Review: This remains the definitive biography of Columbus. Morison was one of the greatest historians ever to practice the craft--his scholarship still holds up today. He was also a master of the written word, unlike most professional historians today. Morison enumerates the reasons why he admires Columbus, but he also catalogs the man's misdeeds--for example, Morison uses the word "genocide" to describe Columbus's treatment of the Indians as governor of Hispaniola. Morison gives his readers the facts they need to form their own opinion of Columbus. (I do not share Morison's admiration for the man.) I must correct the astonishingly ignorant remarks of the reviewer who identified himself as "A reader from New York City" and entitled his review "So much ignorance my God..." Here goes: 1) The reviewer asserted that Morison was not, in fact, an admiral. Actually, Morison did receive the title. FDR made Morison an honorary admiral when he commissioned the scholar to write the naval history of the US role in WWII. (Morison produced a 12-volume epic. It's still in print.) 2) The reviewer regurgitates a number of questions about Columbus's origins that he apparently drew from another book by a revisionist historian (Kirkpatrick Sale?). The questions the reviewer repeats are good ones, but they are questions that remain open because the evidence to answer them conclusively probably does not exist. If the reviewer were a trained historian, he might understand that.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and entertaining
Review: This was one of the most enjoyable biographies I've read. The most distinguishing thing about this book of course is the fact that Morison recreated the voyages before his writing the book. This recreation lends credibility to his writing. But more than that, it makes much of the book, particularly those parts at sea, seem as if the reader is experiencing the voyages through the person of Columbus. Not only the particulars of what he saw, but the smells of land breezes, the feel of the trade winds, the motion of the boat. Morison's obvious love of the sea and of sailing work very much in his favor. Another strength is the historical perspective carefully provided by Morison. Knowing what was going on with Catholic Spain during Columbus' life (the defeat of the Moors, the expulsion of the Jews, political intrigue and conflict involving France, England, Portugal, and others) helps to explain the motivations of Columbus and his contemporaries. I was a bit wary of a 60-year old book, Pulitzer or no Pulitzer, in light of the more recent reconsiderations of Columbus. Some people would have us believe that the voyage of 1492 was some sort of original sin inflicted upon the paradise that was the western hemisphere. But in his preface, Morison makes it clear that he is concerned with Columbus, the "man of action", and is leaving analyses of his motivations to others. And at any rate, Morison's sensibilities are very much in tune with those of the year 2000. He makes few apologies for Columbus and takes him to task where warranted, particularly for his treatment of the natives. One chapter, "Hell in Hispaniola", is almost exclusively devoted to this area. One word of warning: If your knowledge of sailing isn't good, then you may want to bone up on some of the rudiments before starting this book. Morison provides an explanation of some of the terminology, but not enough for someone who knows as little about sailing as I did coming in. But please don't be put off by that - this book is a real pleasure.
Rating: 
Summary: So much ignorance my God...
Review: We have all heard it before: "Don't believe everything you read." First of all, Mr. Morison is no Admiral! Not on anyone's Navy. I forgot to check Rwanda's Navy but I think we can live with it. Mr. Morison makes no contribution to the study of Colon (by the way that was his real name). In fact, his nearly absurd allegations only serve to perpetuate the myth that Columbus was Genoese when the man didn't even speak Italian for Christ sake! Because there is no evidence to support his fantastic allegations Mr. Morison decided that the most important thing to deal in this sci-fi book is for people to hear/read him speak/write. Anybody can be a great speaker when he is only limited by his own fantasies. Why doesn't "The Admiral" explain why his Columbus did not know a word of Italian? Why did the author decided to omit the fact that although his sailor left from Palos, Spain for the first voyage he returned to Lisbon and spent a week with king John before meeting with Ferdinand and Isabella? What for? Why is it that there are no records in the Papal Bulls in the Vatican about Columbus? There are a hundred questions that Mr. Morison carefully decided to avoid. I would to if I was in love with my own voice.
Rating:
Summary: The Best on the subject...
Review: What other Author on Columbus was also an Admiral? ... and sailed the same pathways on a clipper ship?... Morison has written many books on Cristobal... and this one is the cadaliac. I have a slip-covered collectors edition, but have bought many used copies to give to friends as gifts (plus a few for myself). If you like truthful history written with style and professionalism... this in a book to own.
Rating:
Summary: The Best on the subject...
Review: What other Author on Columbus was also an Admiral? ... and sailed the same pathways on a clipper ship?... Morison has written many books on Cristobal... and this one is the cadaliac. I have a slip-covered collectors edition, but have bought many used copies to give to friends as gifts (plus a few for myself). If you like truthful history written with style and professionalism... this in a book to own.
Rating: 
Summary: Misleading entities...
Review: While Morison does admit to the genocide of the Indians lead by Columbus and his henchmen, it idolizes him for the duration of the book. A brief admittance of guilt, for Morison, is a surefire way of allowing a much more bias, idealistic portrayal of a man with "questionable" character traits. Bartolome De Las Casas, a European minister who lived in the same time as Colombus, gives a much more realistcally bleek look at the Spanish invasion of the Americas. Because Morison's focus shifts so rapidly from the bad to the good, it loses major points for realism. The book reads more like a 3rd grade textbook; Morison would have us believe Santa Claus and the toothfairy exists along side a saintly Christopher Columbus.
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