A history of early American exploration organized around Horowitz’s travels to the places where the explorers set foot to ground. The history is interesting and lightly done. I enjoyed these parts. But the personal narratives were unbearable. The long central chapters focus on Columbus’s voyages, and Horowitz frames them with stories about his travels in the Dominican Republic. He hates the place for reasons that seem patronizing and chauvinistic. It’s just hard to buy into an American tourist lost in worlds different from his own who blames others for his difficulties. Annoying.

April 2011