Customer Reviews

The Earthly Paradise

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C.S. Forester's fiftheenth novel, written in 1940, features Admiral Columbus in command of the Holy Name, on his third voyage to the Americas. The Columbus depicted is a character drawn from Greek tragedy; his greatness ill-conceals the seeds of his own distruction. Columbus and his brother, Bartholemew, introduce what amounts to a New World Inquisition, burning natives at the stake to save their souls. Forester is likely accurate in his portrayal of the first encounters between natives and Europeans, and also in the contradictions between Christianity's peaceful intent and it's bloody practice. This book is not as good as The Gun, or The African Queen, but it's good enough to make you feel salt water seeping into your boots as you jump from the ship's launch to the beaches of the New World.