The journal or log of Christopher Columbus, dating from August 1492 to March 1493, offers an account of his journey to the New World 500 years ago. Biographical, nautical and navigational information also is included in this commemorative volume. The log of Christopher Columbus is an invaluable asset to those who would know what the explorer was thinking even as he was attempting discovery. His efforts to identify which trees were valuable was clearly influenced by his needs to justify his sovereigns' investment in what, by Spanish standards, was an extremely expensive endeavor. Though his drive, determination, and brilliance caused plenty of human grief to others, by the standards of his own time, Columbus was a hero, and his actions did jump start the European civilizations of the Americas.