Columbus and Other Heroes of American Discovery

A sweeping portrait of the first Europeans to encounter the New World, this volume begins with the legends of ancient mariners and the daring Norse adventurers who first set foot on distant shores. It follows the young Genoese sailor whose ambition and perseverance led him to chart a course across the Atlantic, confronting mutiny, stormy seas, and the weight of royal expectations. Along the way, readers hear the voices of missionaries, cartographers, and court officials whose reports shaped the early picture of an unknown continent.

The narrative then widens to include the bold expeditions of the Spanish, French, and English who chased new horizons in the centuries that followed. From the discovery of the Gulf of Mexico to the first voyages up the Hudson, each chapter blends vivid storytelling with the scholarly sources that recorded these daring feats. Listeners are invited to travel alongside these early heroes, feeling the excitement and uncertainty of a world just beginning to be mapped.