Description:

Most Americans don't look far beyond Christopher Columbus when it comes to the discovery of America, yet the simple fact that we bear the name of Amerigo Vespucci suggests there is more to the story. And indeed, there is: a trio of young Italian pioneers who were merchants more than explorers and who, while in search of glory and vast profits, battled to become the first to cross the western ocean.

David Boyle reveals in Toward the Setting Sun, that the race for America was as much about commerce as it was about discovery and conquest. When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the long established trade routes to the East became treacherous and expensive forcing merchants of all sorts to find new ways of obtaining and trading their goods. Enterprising young men took to the sea in search of new lands, new routes, and of course, new fortune.

The careers of three young men--Columbus, Vespucci and Giovanni Caboto (known to us as John Cabot) would change not only their personal destinies, but that of the New World. Contrary to popular belief, the three not only knew of each other, they were well acquainted--Columbus and Vespucci at various times worked closely together; Cabot and Columbus were born in Genoa about the same time and had common friends who were interested in Western trade possibilities. They collaborated, knew of each other's ambitions and followed each other's progress. The intersection of their dreams and business ventures led the way to our modern world and ushered in the end of the medieval age.

David Boyle skillfully brings together for the first time the three stories that shaped the race for America and in doing so adds a unique economic and business dimension to the earliest days of our country.

From Booklist

The outward expansion of Europe that was launched by the voyages of da Gama and Columbus changed human history irrevocably by linking the destinies of Europe, Africa, and Asia with the Americas. The so-called Age of Discovery would create great winners, losers, unprecedented economic growth, and immense suffering, and it continues to captivate writers today. Boyle is a British author and journalist who has previously written extensively on global economics. Here, Boyle strives to illuminate and explain this epoch by linking the lives and exploits of these men. Boyle resists the urge to portray them as romantic plungers into the unknown. He convincingly illustrates that their voyages were essentially spurred by commercial motives; in particular, they were designed to bypass the infernal Turks who controlled the land route, and thus the flow of spices, from Asia. That is hardly an original view. What is unusual and provocative is Boyle’s assertion that these three men were well acquainted with each other and actually collaborated. An interesting, if debatable, perspective on these men and their vibrant age. --Jay Freeman

Review

“A new view of the connections and intrigues that bound together the New World’s principal discoverers. Boyle reconsiders the 15th century’s wave of transatlantic discoveries in terms of three prominent figures who not only knew each other but both collaborated and occasionally betrayed each other’s trust. A grand span of history.”  —Kirkus