Author's Note

The life of Columbus can be divided into two parts: (1) his early life, before he made his famous voyage, and (2) his later life, after he discovered the New World.  In order to find out everything possible about his early life, scholars and historians have searched old records in Spain and Italy. From these records they have learned certain facts about Columbus's family, his activities as a young man, his marriage, his deep love for the sea, and his persistence in seeking help in order to make the voyage of his dreams.

To such facts an author adds thoughts and feelings. When I visited Barcelona and stood on the very steps—in the palace courtyard—where the King and Queen welcomed Columbus on his triumphal return from the New World, I began to think of him as a living person, not just a name in a history book. From visiting other cities in Spain, Italy and Portugal, I gained further understanding of the background of his life.

Using this background and the known facts about Columbus, I have written the chapters about his boyhood and young manhood. In the first two chapters I had to imagine what a boy like Columbus would think and say and do. We know what kind of boy he must have been, because we know what kind of man he became.

Beginning with Chapter 3 the story tells what he really did. Columbus kept a careful diary on all his voyages, so we know exactly what happened after he sailed from Palos in the summer of 1492.

After reading this book I hope that you, too, will think of Columbus as a real man who had a great vision and who never gave up until he had reached his goal.Bernadine Bailey