Intended as an antidote to potted biographies and piecemeal reconstructions of his voyages, this volume draws on judicious selections from Christopher Columbus's own writings--chronologically arranged, and translated into idiomatic English--to relate his self-perception and personal history, as far as is possible, in his own words. The result is a full and vivid (and often surprising) portrait of this complex man and the role he thought he was destined to play as God's instrument on earth. Twenty-four illustrations, maps of Columbus's routes across the Atlantic and his travels in the West Indies, and an index further enhance this introduction to his life and discoveries.