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amandasbookreview's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to JKS Communications and the author for an opportunity to read this book!
Encounters Unforeseen 1492 Retold by Andrew Rowen is exactly that. 1492 Retold but with some added dramatization. The book begins in 1455 to give background to the Christopher Columbus journey. You get to read about his youth but also the political background of Isabella and Ferdinand. However, when Columbus lands, the book also goes to the perspective of the natives. Then the book ends in 1493, before the slaughter of the natives by Christopher Columbus.
So, everyone knows the story of Christopher Columbus. In America, he even has a holiday…why??? I have no idea. I have never liked the fact that we have a holiday celebrating a man who slaughtered natives for his own political gain. I mean Lief Erickson landed in North America long before Christopher Columbus anyway. I have a degree in history. So in elementary school, I got the typical teaching of the greatness and perseverance of the Christopher Columbus journey. Then in college, I studied the real history of Christopher Columbus.
I was hoping this book would bring something new to the table. Unfortunately, it didn’t. The author tried not to take a side politically. He tried to show all points of view. It felt like the same information just rehashed in a new format. So this did not feel like a novel for me. It felt like a history book with a little dialogue. I appreciate all the history and research that was obviously done. It is an incredible amount of research. However, while reading the book, it was like the book didn’t know where it fell in regards to the genre. There is no development or characterization. There is a lot of historical detail. I think this book would have made a great historical nonfiction book instead.
I do applaud the author for the momentous amount of research he did. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars
Encounters Unforeseen 1492 Retold by Andrew Rowen is exactly that. 1492 Retold but with some added dramatization. The book begins in 1455 to give background to the Christopher Columbus journey. You get to read about his youth but also the political background of Isabella and Ferdinand. However, when Columbus lands, the book also goes to the perspective of the natives. Then the book ends in 1493, before the slaughter of the natives by Christopher Columbus.
So, everyone knows the story of Christopher Columbus. In America, he even has a holiday…why??? I have no idea. I have never liked the fact that we have a holiday celebrating a man who slaughtered natives for his own political gain. I mean Lief Erickson landed in North America long before Christopher Columbus anyway. I have a degree in history. So in elementary school, I got the typical teaching of the greatness and perseverance of the Christopher Columbus journey. Then in college, I studied the real history of Christopher Columbus.
I was hoping this book would bring something new to the table. Unfortunately, it didn’t. The author tried not to take a side politically. He tried to show all points of view. It felt like the same information just rehashed in a new format. So this did not feel like a novel for me. It felt like a history book with a little dialogue. I appreciate all the history and research that was obviously done. It is an incredible amount of research. However, while reading the book, it was like the book didn’t know where it fell in regards to the genre. There is no development or characterization. There is a lot of historical detail. I think this book would have made a great historical nonfiction book instead.
I do applaud the author for the momentous amount of research he did. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars
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