Pulitzer Prize Biography Winner
Admiral of the Ocean Sea
by Samuel Eliot Morison
Summary
Samuel Eliot Morison tells the story of Christopher Columbus and his Atlantic voyages with the authority of a sailor as well as a historian. To research the book, Morison retraced Columbus's routes by ship, which let him describe the navigation, winds, and landfalls with unusual precision. The result combines vivid seafaring detail with careful scholarship to reassess the explorer's achievements and failings.
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Historical Context & Significance
Morison sailed the actual routes Columbus had followed before writing the book, an unusual research method that shaped its nautical accuracy.