A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008. xii, 445 pages, illustrations, maps; 24 cm. Tight, clean copy. Stated First Edition. Dust jacket protected in a mylar cover. A fine copy of the first printing. "The bestselling author of Blue Latitudes takes us on a thrilling and eye-opening voyage to pre-Mayflower America. On a chance visit to Plymouth Rock, Tony Horwitz realizes he's mislaid more than a century of American history, from Columbus's sail in 1492 to Jamestown's founding in 16-oh-something. Did nothing happen in between? Determined to find out, he embarks on a journey of rediscovery, following in the footsteps of the many Europeans who preceded the Pilgrims to America. An irresistible blend of history, myth, and misadventure, A Voyage Long and Strange captures the wonder and drama of first contact. Vikings, conquistadors, French voyageurs--these and many others roamed an unknown continent in quest of grapes, gold, converts, even a cure for syphilis. Though most failed, their remarkable exploits left an enduring mark on the land and people encountered by late-arriving English settlers. Tracing this legacy with his own epic trek--from Florida's Fountain of Youth to Plymouth's sacred Rock, from desert pueblos to subarctic sweat lodges--Tony Horwitz explores the revealing gap between what we enshrine and what we forget. Displaying his trademark talent for humor, narrative, and historical insight, A Voyage Long and Strange allows us to rediscover the New World for ourselves. / Tony Horwitz is the bestselling author of Blue Latitudes, Confederates in the Attic, and Baghdad Without a Map. He is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has worked for The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker. He lives in Martha's Vineyard with his wife, Geraldine Brooks, and their son, Nathaniel." - Publisher. CONTENTS: List of maps; Prologue: The Lost Century; Part I. Discovery. 1. Vinland: First Contact; 2. 1492: The Hidden Half of the Globe; 3. Santo Domingo: The Columbus Jinx; 4. Dominican Republic: You Think There Are Still Indians?; Part II. Conquest. 5. The Gulf Coast: Naked in the New World; 6. The Southwest: To the Seven Cities of Stone; 7. The Plains: Sea of Grass; 8. The South: De Soto Does Dixie; 9. The Mississippi: Conquistador's Last Stand; Part III. Settlement. 10. Florida: Fountain of Youth, River of Blood; 11. Roanoke: Lost in the Lost Colony; 12. Jamestown: The Captain and the Naturals; 13. Plymouth: A Tale of Two Rocks.. 1st. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 8vo. Collectible.