Christopher Columbus was never one to give up. As a boy he longed to go to sea. His father said he must work in the family weaving shop instead. But in time Christopher became a sailor.

Once his ship was attacked, beaten in battle and set on fire by the enemy. Christopher was wounded, but he jumped into the water and managed to swim the six long miles to shore.

Later his courage and determination served him well. He had the dream of sailing west across the uncharted Ocean Sea. He was sure he would find a short new route to the East and the riches Marco Polo had described.

Kings laughed at him. They thought the trip impossible. After sixteen years, Columbus won over the King and Queen of Spain. He persuaded sailors to make the dangerous voyage. At last he sailed to the end of the Great Ocean Sea, not to the land he'd planned to reach but to a land of even vaster importance.

The striking illustration by Nathan Goldstein have the same vigor and careful detail as Mervyn Kaufman's forceful writing.

From the dust jacket