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The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus: Being His Own Log-book, Letters and Dispatches with Connecting Narrative Drawn from the Life of the Admiral ... Colon and Other Contemporary Historians
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320 pages, Paperback
First published April 28, 1988
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About the author
John Michael Cohen
64 books3 followersJohn Michael Cohen was a prolific translator of European literature into English.
Cohen launched his translation career with the first English translation of poems by Boris Pasternak, then unknown outside the Soviet Union. His translation of Pasternak garnered praise from American poet John Ashbery, in his book Other Traditions.
In 1946, on the strength of a commission from Penguin Books for a major translation of Don Quixote, Cohen quit his teaching job to dedicate himself full-time to writing and translation.
In addition to his translations of major works of Spanish and French literature for Penguin, Cohen also edited several important anthologies of Spanish and Latin American literature, as well as many of the Penguin Classics.
He played an instrumental role in the Latin Boom of the 1960s by translating works by Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, and Carlos Fuentes, and by bringing the works of Gabriel García Márquez to the attention of his future English publisher.
He also wrote a number of works of literary criticism and biography.
Cohen launched his translation career with the first English translation of poems by Boris Pasternak, then unknown outside the Soviet Union. His translation of Pasternak garnered praise from American poet John Ashbery, in his book Other Traditions.
In 1946, on the strength of a commission from Penguin Books for a major translation of Don Quixote, Cohen quit his teaching job to dedicate himself full-time to writing and translation.
In addition to his translations of major works of Spanish and French literature for Penguin, Cohen also edited several important anthologies of Spanish and Latin American literature, as well as many of the Penguin Classics.
He played an instrumental role in the Latin Boom of the 1960s by translating works by Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, and Carlos Fuentes, and by bringing the works of Gabriel García Márquez to the attention of his future English publisher.
He also wrote a number of works of literary criticism and biography.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 4, 2021
'Wait, let me get this straight, you think Columbus is a hero'
'I do. And I'm tired of pretending that he's not'.
The man literally jumped in a boat, based on his own (Wrong) convictions about the size of the Earth and sailed west. I don't think we understand just how totemic that was, both for world history but also as an individual act of heroism.
Was Columbus smart? No. Was he a humanitarian? A little, we can see this quote at the end of his second voyage
"For they were so near starvation that some wished to imitate the Caribs and eat the Indians they had aboard. Others, in order to economise the little food they had, were in favour of throwing the Indians overboard, which they would have done if the Admiral had not taken strict measures to prevent them. For he considered them as their kindred and fellow Christians, and held that they should be no worse treated'"
But obviously not as much as we'd like by our modern standards (these Indians were, after all, still slaves).
But he was a hero- in the proper Sopranos sense.
And tbh it seems the entire basis of Roldáns rebellion was personal beef, not much to do with Indians. Columbus getting imprisoned by the Spanish government only makes him more of a hero- the deep state is out to get everyone.
Anyway- the actual collation is good given much of the source base from the OG himself is missing. Could have done with better maps though- annoying to have to pull it up on Google everytime I wanted to know where Columbus was or what he discovered
'I do. And I'm tired of pretending that he's not'.
The man literally jumped in a boat, based on his own (Wrong) convictions about the size of the Earth and sailed west. I don't think we understand just how totemic that was, both for world history but also as an individual act of heroism.
Was Columbus smart? No. Was he a humanitarian? A little, we can see this quote at the end of his second voyage
"For they were so near starvation that some wished to imitate the Caribs and eat the Indians they had aboard. Others, in order to economise the little food they had, were in favour of throwing the Indians overboard, which they would have done if the Admiral had not taken strict measures to prevent them. For he considered them as their kindred and fellow Christians, and held that they should be no worse treated'"
But obviously not as much as we'd like by our modern standards (these Indians were, after all, still slaves).
But he was a hero- in the proper Sopranos sense.
And tbh it seems the entire basis of Roldáns rebellion was personal beef, not much to do with Indians. Columbus getting imprisoned by the Spanish government only makes him more of a hero- the deep state is out to get everyone.
Anyway- the actual collation is good given much of the source base from the OG himself is missing. Could have done with better maps though- annoying to have to pull it up on Google everytime I wanted to know where Columbus was or what he discovered
April 17, 2021
I love original source materials. Highly recommended, decide for yourself about Columbus rather than relying on Howard Zinn's half-truths. All kinds of random interesting info. I don't think we ever learned that he made 4 trips, that he sailed around a number of islands - I think my teachers weren't even sure if he found Bermuda or the Bahamas. Did not realize that ancient wooded boats got worms and were eaten apart from the inside; the currents and storms had so much influence on when one could sail; that syphilis was brought to Europe by Indians (who were apparently popular with the ladies at court); that many of the Indian tribes in the Caribbean were cannibals, but were nice about it; the importance of religion in daily life back then. The footnotes in the book are interesting in pointing out when Columbus had to be in error, or when he apparently lied in his logs/letters (or was at least contradicted by other sources).
This is a collection of excerpts from full documents, but gives a good overview of the four voyages, with maps of where he likely sailed based on his notes.
This is a collection of excerpts from full documents, but gives a good overview of the four voyages, with maps of where he likely sailed based on his notes.
October 10, 2021
A great book!
This is a modern compilation of contemporary writings about the voyages in question by men who were actually there. There is enough modern comment to enable the reader to understand some of the more obscure references and throwaway lines in the original texts but without unduly interrupting the flow of the narrative nor getting between the original writer and the modern reader.
Fascinting.
This is a modern compilation of contemporary writings about the voyages in question by men who were actually there. There is enough modern comment to enable the reader to understand some of the more obscure references and throwaway lines in the original texts but without unduly interrupting the flow of the narrative nor getting between the original writer and the modern reader.
Fascinting.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews