This is the story of Christopher Columbus' exploration based mostly on the writings of Christopher Columbus as told by a fan in celebration of the 400th anniversary of sailing the ocean blue. Hale presents Columbus as an imperfect hero explorer doing the work of God. This is the story of Columbus that I learned in school -- one that presents Columbus' own words written to extol himself to his financiers as the truth in spite of raising some concerns about the accuracy of his reporting. ( )