The Story
This hardcover edition does not have a dustjacket. Instead, the cover image is printed directly on the book itself. The interior of the book matches the paperback edition.?A landmark . . . brilliantly [demonstrates] has that there is far more to black history than the slave trade.?John A. WilliamsThey Came Before Columbus reveals a compelling, dramatic, and superbly detailed documentation of the presence and legacy of Africans in ancient America. Examining navigation and shipbuilding; cultural analogies between Native Americans and Africans; the transportation of plants, animals, and textiles between the continents; and the diaries, journals, and oral accounts of the explorers themselves, Ivan Van Sertima builds a pyramid of evidence to support his claim of an African presence in the New World centuries before Columbus.Combining impressive scholarship with a novelist?s gift for storytelling, Van Sertima recreates some of the most powerful scenes of human history: the launching of the great ships of Mali in 1310 (two hundred master boats and two hundred supply boats), the sea expedition of the Mandingo king in 1311, and many others. In They Came Before Columbus, we see clearly the unmistakable face and handprint of black Africans in preColumbian America, and their overwhelming impact on the civilizations they encountered.
Description
This hardcover edition does not have a dustjacket. Instead, the cover image is printed directly on the book itself. The interior of the book matches the paperback edition.?A landmark . . . brilliantly [demonstrates] has that there is far more to black history than the slave trade.?John A. WilliamsThey Came Before Columbus reveals a compelling, dramatic, and superbly detailed documentation of the presence and legacy of Africans in ancient America. Examining navigation and shipbuilding; cultural analogies between Native Americans and Africans; the transportation of plants, animals, and textiles between the continents; and the diaries, journals, and oral accounts of the explorers themselves, Ivan Van Sertima builds a pyramid of evidence to support his claim of an African presence in the New World centuries before Columbus.Combining impressive scholarship with a novelist?s gift for storytelling, Van Sertima recreates some of the most powerful scenes of human history: the launching of the great ships of Mali in 1310 (two hundred master boats and two hundred supply boats), the sea expedition of the Mandingo king in 1311, and many others. In They Came Before Columbus, we see clearly the unmistakable face and handprint of black Africans in preColumbian America, and their overwhelming impact on the civilizations they encountered.
