Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus may be one of the most well known sailors of all time but much of his actual life is shrouded in mystery. Celebrate Columbus Day by getting the facts about the man and the myth with one of these great biographies.

A goal of Columbus was to raise money for a crusade against the Muslim occupiers of the Holy Land. Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem by Carol Delaney tells of Columbus' desire to secure Jerusalem before the second coming of Christ.

After Columbus returned from the New World,a corrupt bridge builder named John Cabot smelled possibility. Cabot convinced the English king to sponsor a voyage of his own. Read all about it in Douglas Hunter's The Race to The New World: Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, and a Lost Hour of Discovery.

We all know that in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He actually sailed to the New World 4 times. Get the scoop on the other three trips and find out why Columbus died penniless and destitute in Columbus: The Four Voyages by Lawrence Bergreen.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Christopher Columbus

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