Tales from 1492 by Mary Ann Whittier

If the Internet had given you reports from around the world in 1492, this book could have been their compilation.

Presented in a week to week diary format, a global view of this pivotal year, its politics, art and discoveries, takes shape as the reader meets famous people and some fictional characters in accurate surroundings. Many of the historical characters should be familiar: Michelangelo, Isabella of Spain, Montezuma the Aztec, Ivan the Great, Lucretia Borgia, Martin Luther, Albrech Durer. Others are less well known: the Inca Huaya Capac, the Bantu king Mani Kongo, the Spanish sailor Martin Pinzon, or the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid II but are important to the story.

This is not an Anglo-centric view of events in 1492, but a global adventure that includes China and Japan—where Columbus thought he was headed—the Americas he found, the diverse Europe and and Moslem worlds, Africa, and even Hawaii and Australia. This is a multi-cultural approach to history, which emphasizes art and literature. Cultural pluralism is particularly reflected in holidays, religious and cultural observances, arts, crafts, and everyday life around the world.

This book is an exciting chronicle of 1492, the year the Old World met the New World.