Terra Incognita: The True Story of How America Got Its Name [Hardcover]

Rodney Broome (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001

Most of us learned that the New World was named after the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed here in 1499. As we investigate the last 25 years of the 15th cent., we realize that a new continent was visited by explorers & merchants alike A series of recent discoveries reveal a new & intriguing theory about how America got its name. The worlds of Waldseemuller, Vespucci, Cabot, Columbus, & a Welshman named Richard Amerike are unraveled & enumerated to create a spellbinding book. Tantalizing new evidence is presented here in a gripping account that is both educational & entertaining. Introduces new events & characters that blend into the age of discovery to create a compelling story of adventure & learning. Illustrations.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Broome has done an excellent job of putting all the pieces together. This book could end up re-writing history. -- Alan Caruba, Editor, www.Bookviews.Com

Given Cod's success and the popularity of works like 'Longitude' I suspect that Terra Incognita will meet with like reception. -- James Taylor, PublishingOnline.com 3/15/2001

Product Details

• Hardcover: 188 pages
• Publisher: Educare Pr (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0944638228
• ISBN-13: 978-0944638224
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,216,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amerigo Who?, August 13, 2006

By 

Mario M. Vittone (Hampton Roads - Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terra Incognita: The True Story of How America Got Its Name (Hardcover)

If you think Amerigo Vespuci is the continents namesake, then you probably believe that Christopher Columbus discovered it as well. Wrong on both counts.

I held back a star only because I think I learned too much about the salt and fish trades than I needed to know to fully grasp the idea, but Rodney Broome wrote a well researched hard to dispute winner here. Very much worth the read.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what's in a name?, April 4, 2003

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terra Incognita: The True Story of How America Got Its Name (Hardcover)

TERRA INCOGNITA is the telling of history from another point of view, connecting the dots between voyages, ships, cargoes & paymasters.

If you like to know the who, why, when & how of historical things & events, then TERRA INCOGNITA will thrill you. Into this little book is packed a ton of trivia that is both fascinating & extra-ordinary, about the exploration of the world from the "Twelve Wooden Plates" upon which a new map was secured for printing & what Amerigo Vespucci had to do with them, to "The Commercial Revolution" in which the Black Plague had people sailing away in fleets to the farthest reaches of the globe, to "A Young Genoan Arrives in Bristol" being excerpts from journals of the icon of exploration to "Bristol Ships in Lisbon and Huelva" where Christopher Columbus had been dwelling, to "Shipshape and Bristol Fashion" wherein a medieval proverb comes to life & so on into the stuff of legends, all the facts & the fictions.

Very well done...a superb history of mapmakers & voyagers...certainly for every history buff, & anyone interested in writing about merchant seamen, explorers & maps.