Explorations In America Before Columbus

In 1492, Christopher Columbus led an expedition sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to find the passage to the west to the riches of India.

These are the stories you never learned in school. Ice Ace voyagers, Chinese, Viking, Phoenician, Hebrew, Libyan, and Irish explorers came to America years before Columbus. This book outlines eighteen different waves of adventurers who came to America, some to settle permanently, others just to trade for natural resources of the New World. Many of these stories are controversial, but taken in their entirety, they make for a compelling argument that the simplistic story of Columbus "discovering" America can no longer be accepted.

It's something many Americans are certain is a solid fact: Columbus discovered America. While he is not with us to prove or disprove this fact, we now know that Columbus just wasn't the guy. First, Columbus never landed on the North American mainland. Second, how can someone "discover" a place that's already home to millions of people? In this lively and engaging book, readers will uncover the truth behind many myths about explorers in the Americas. Accessible text addresses important elementary social studies topics. Vivid images enliven the design, while captions, fact boxes, and a graphic organizer enrich the main content.

Greatly expanding on his blockbuster 1421, distinguished historian Gavin Menzies uncovers the complete untold history of how mankind came to the Americas—offering new revelations and a radical rethinking of the accepted historical record in Who Discovered America? The iconoclastic historian’s magnum opus, Who Discovered America? calls into question our understanding of how the American continents were settled, shedding new light on the well-known “discoveries” of European explorers, including Christopher Columbus. In Who Discovered America? he combines meticulous research and an adventurer’s spirit to reveal astounding new evidence of an ancient Asian seagoing tradition—most notably the Chinese—that dates as far back as 130,000 years ago. Menzies offers a revolutionary new alternative to the “Beringia” theory of how humans crossed a land bridge connecting Asia and North America during the last Ice Age, and provides a wealth of staggering claims, that hold fascinating and astonishing implications for the history of mankind.

Discusses the possibility that America was discovered by someone other than Columbus.