Columbus Was Last: From 200,000 BC to 1492, A Heretical History of Who Was First (Paperback)

~ Patrick Huyghe (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this engrossing narrative,the author assembles the research of archeologists, geographers, geologists, oceanographers, linguists, folklorists, ethnobotanists, and other scholars to convincingly dispell the simplistic legend that Columbus was the first to land on these shores.

From the Publisher

This is the first paperback edition of this highly praised book. Just look at what the reviewers have said:

"The best book so far to answer the question 'Who discovered America?'...This important, spell-binding report replaces sugar-coated myths about Columbus's invasion of America with indispensable history." --Publishers Weekly

"A thoughtful and challenging consideration of the many voyagers who might have reached the Americas by sea before the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria...Well informed and well written, always provocative if not conclusive, this is revisionist history with a vengeance --and about time, too." --Kirkus Reviews

"Persuasively and emphatically disputes the fact that Columbus actually discovered America...A long-overdue tribute to a score of forgotten and disregarded explorers, adventurers, and sailors. Highly recommended..." --Booklist

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Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Anomalist Books (November 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933665017
• ISBN-13: 978-1933665016
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #319,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable Compendium on Pre-Columbus Era, December 21, 2006

By	ancientexplorer (USA) - See all my reviews

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Huyghe begins by reviewing the growing evidence for early settlement of the Americas which is becoming the new paradigm. This establishes that civilization that had a longer time to advance than previously thought, but as Huyghe reminds us, the many differences among "native" populations suggest "the impact of transoceanic latecomers."

Readers will be fascinated by the possibility of Chinese surveyors Ta-Chang and Shu-Hai exploring America over 4000 years ago as recorded in the Chinese Shan Hai Ching texts. This isn't the voyage detailed in Gavin Menzies' book 1421: The year China Discovered America. As he does elsewhere, Huyghe usually doesn't shy away from controversy, here noting the problems with dating and difficulties with matching the text with real locales. The text does reveal locations and peoples that could very well be on this side of the Pacific.

Northeast of Toronto in Peterbourgh is an inscription attributed to early Norse traders 3500 years ago. Such voyages would explain where all of the tons of copper mined from the Lake Superior region went to: Bronze Age Europe. The author then reviews a large sampling of inscriptions found around the Western Hemisphere attributed to Celts, Libyans and others.

He includes more intriguing Chinese voyages, to possible Roman contacts to Polynesians who seem to have left their mark. Plant life found in countries other than their origin. Architecture and artifacts nearly identical to that of foreign lands. One begins to wonder why more scholars don't take such early voyages seriously. And of course, no book like this would be complete without the voyage of Irish monk St. Brendan.

If any voyage should be taken seriously, perhaps Brendan's is it. We know monks fled Ireland from the Vikings and traveled throughout the Atlantic. We know the Vikings found monks in Greenland. And Viking sagas detail Irish found in North America. We made the mistake of not trusting the Norse sagas once before.

This is only a sampling of the voyages of pre-Columbus explorations that Huyghe surveys in his book. This compendium is a must for those interested in America's prehistory. Hopefully the author will produce an updated edition, but until then this book remains an "indispensable history."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Columbus WAS last, February 11, 2009

By	Kristen McAfee "Starangel1983" (Maine) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I thought there might be more written or oral evidence in the book, however I found that it was more of an archelogical and anthropological examination of evidence. I have found this quite intriguing and mind-opening. I've always heard suspicions of the Vikings and obviously other Europeans before Columbus, however I was most intrigued by the amount of data put forth about MANY different nationalities visiting very early on WAAAAAAY before even Leif Eriksson. The Lybians, the Romans, The Chinese, the Afghans, Japanese, Polynesians, Scandinavian... the list continues. If you love the mystery of history and discovering little known or taboo subjects like who "discovered" America - this is definately your best bet!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best and most balanced survey on this topic, December 4, 2008

By	stuartm "stuartm" (United States) - See all my reviews

What really worked for me was that Mr. Huyghes is able to balance an open-minded viewpoint with rational skepticism. Add to that a comprehensiveness that is (as far as I know) unparalleled and you have a book that is truly unique.

Anyone interested in the early history of the Americans owes it to themselves to pick this up. It is not only a fantastic introduction to some of the more under-reported research in this area, it is also quite readable.