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The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books
The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books: Christopher Columbus, His Son, and the Quest to Build the World's Greatest Library | Edward Wilson-Lee
22 posts | 16 read | 53 to read
In the tradition of Stephen Greenblatts The Swerve and Dava Sobels Galileos Daughter, a vividly rendered account of the forgotten quest by Christopher Columbuss son to create the greatest library in the worlda perfectly pitched poetic drama (Financial Times) and an amazing tour through 16th century Europe. The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books tells the story of the first and greatest visionary of the print age, a man who saw how the explosive expansion of knowledge and information generated by the advent of the printing press would entirely change the landscape of thought and society. He also happened to be Christopher Columbuss illegitimate son. At the peak of the Age of Exploration, while his father sailed across the ocean to explore the boundaries of the known world, Hernando Coln sought to surpass Columbuss achievements by building a library that would encompass the world and include all books, in all languages and on all subjects. In service of this vision, he spent his life travellingfirst to the New World with his father in 1502, surviving through shipwreck and a bloody mutiny off the coast of Jamaica, and later, throughout Europe, scouring the bookstores of the day at the epicenter of printing. The very model of a Renaissance man, Hernando restlessly and obsessively bought thousands and thousands of books, amassing a collection based on the modern conviction that a truly great library should include the kind of material dismissed as ephemeral trash: ballads, pornography, newsletters, popular images, romances, fables. Using an invented system of hieroglyphs, he meticulously catalogued every item in his library, devising the first ever search engine for his rich profusion of books and images and music. A major setback in 1522 gave way to the creation of Hernandos Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books and inspired further refinements to his library, including a design for the first modern bookshelves. In this illuminating and brilliantly researched biography, Edward Wilson-Lee tells an enthralling story of the life and times of the first genius of the print age, a tale with striking lessons for our own modern experiences of information revolution and globalization.
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iread2much
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Mehso-so

I am irritated that the catalog of shipwrecked books took up less than a chapter. It focused on Columbus, his legacy, & his illegitimate son‘s work to keep the legacy alive. Towards the end of the book, it gets to Hernando‘s (the son) great life work - building a library that was inclusive of all print and all languages (that he could access at the time) which was very unique and interesting and should have been the focus of the book.
2/5 stars

dabbe Hello there, Comfy Castle! 🖤🐾🖤 7mo
iread2much @dabbe he had a nice sleep 7mo
20 likes2 comments
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stevesbookstuf1
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Mehso-so

This one started off very slow, but the second half was really good. Glad I stuck with it. It's the story of Hernando Colon (Christopher Columbus' second and illegitimate son), and his quest to build a library of all the world's knowledge at a time when the printing press was transforming the world of books in Europe. If you're interested, my complete review is here: https://www.stevesbookstuff.com/2021/11/book-review-catalogue-of-shipwrecked.htm...

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Texreader
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I am so excited, I bought myself an early birthday present! I‘m very excited about this one

79 likes3 stack adds
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StaceyKondla
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 110 #bookstoread #tbrpile #bookstagram

megnews On my tbr too 4y
MsMelissa This sounds interesting! 4y
twohectobooks I listened to a program about this on the radio sometime recently. It was very interesting! 4y
57 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Litsi
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Pickpick

Columbus and the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. By the end of this fascinating book you will be gobsmacked about how we ever had the day off for that guy. But this book is about his son Hernando, the founder of the 16th century Google. Truly a spectacular read. I promise you‘ll be surprised by this man who brought us the modern library, localized maps and presaged the internet. Full review here: wutheringtype.blogspot.com

4 likes2 stack adds
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CrowCAH
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Heading home from a weekend trip to Chicago, Illinois, with @Cadyly @VioletCavalier and our friend Melissa. At the Amtrak Union Station there was a stand of BOOKS!

Texreader Some there on my tbr! Would be hard to resist!! 4y
CrowCAH @Texreader I did. But not at the bookstore we went to yesterday! (Bought three more copies of P&P for the collection 🥰) 4y
Texreader Ha! Good for you!!! 4y
Cadyly Midnight in Chernobyl was good! 4y
71 likes4 comments
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Redwritinghood
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Mehso-so

I‘m finding this one a little difficult to review. The audiobook narration was often dry, but I also think I was expecting something more about the book collection than was here. That being said, this was a good overview of Columbus‘ voyages and his son Hernando Colon‘s attempts to preserve his father‘s memory and create an organized book collection. There are many other issues explored, though, that took the focus away from the book collection.

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charl08
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So sad!

30 likes1 stack add
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charl08
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Spotted in a bookshop in Haworth. Not sure why these are Bible-specific...

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charl08
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Love the idea of book hunting adventures...

34 likes1 stack add
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charl08
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...Hernando's books contain within their covers...a map of his life.

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NotCool
Pickpick

There were lots of balls being kept in the air with this book. There was a son‘s relationship with his father, there was an in-depth look at the age of exploration, there was a meditation on the mystical quality of planning libraries. There were several fart jokes. ...As for Columbus. This is the story from his son. It had a slant.

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NotCool

During the renaissance, Francois Rabelais wrote a list of books, both real and imaginary, for the library of Saint Victor. Included on the list: “The Foolishness of Italian Things, The BO of the Spanish, and On Farting Discreetly in Public.”

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ssravp
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Pickpick

This was a delight. 😁

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SW-T
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Pickpick

Hernando Colon, son of Christopher Columbus, was an interesting man. He created a massive library, tried several ways of cataloging his collection, and attempted to write a dictionary. Definitely a man who followed his passions for knowledge and collecting. Obviously a ton of research went into this, but it didn‘t feel like a research project, which was nice. Very readable.

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BookishMarginalia
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Pickpick

What I enjoyed most about this book were the different ways Hernando decided to organize his growing library, in order to maximize its usefulness. He would have loved the Internet!

Lcsmcat Sounds interesting! Stacked. 5y
kspenmoll How was the audio? 5y
yourfavouritemixtape This sounds interesting! 5y
BookishMarginalia @kspenmoll The audio was great — I did #immersionreading and enjoyed it a lot 5y
148 likes13 stack adds4 comments
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Gina
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So this is a bio about Christopher Columbus his illegitimate son who tried to build the world's greatest Library.

History Buffs Unite!

#history #libraries #ChristopherColumbus

21 likes1 stack add
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Well-ReadNeck
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91 likes7 stack adds
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Mitch
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This sounds good.. the creation of a massive sixteenth century library...

https://bookpage.com/reviews/23690-edward-wilson-lee-catalogue-shipwrecked-books...

Crazeedi It does sound good! 5y
tpixie So intriguing! 5y
Mitch @tpixie @crazeedi I‘m on a bit of a non fiction spree so might give it a go! 5y
See All 6 Comments
tpixie @Mitch If you do let me know how it goes! 5y
Crazeedi @Mitch I'll be interested to hearcwhatvyiu think 5y
LeahBergen I‘m looking forward to this one 👍🏻 5y
74 likes4 stack adds6 comments
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Michellekidwell
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Pickpick



This book tells the story of the first visionary of the print age. A man who saw the great expansion of knowledge and information brought on by the invention of the printing press. This man would help to change the landscape of thought and society. This man also happened to be Christopher Columbus illegitimate son Hernando Colon.

tpixie Intriguing! 5y
2 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Well-ReadNeck
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Pickpick

This is a fun and quirky micro-history about a 16th c. Man who wished to collect all printed material (books, sheet music, pamphlets and even porn) in a great library. How to index such a collection became a necessary question and his possible solutions are fascinating. And, even stranger ... he was Christopher Columbus‘s illegitimate son. The son‘s collection helped to create the propaganda leading to Columbus‘ legacy and helped to ...

Well-ReadNeck ... legally secure the spoils of the Columbus expeditions. #netgalley 5y
KathyWheeler This sounds fascinating! 5y
DieAReader Sounds interesting! 🧐 5y
TNbookworm Wow, interesting! 5y
LeahBergen Well, now. I‘ll be needing this! 5y
123 likes9 stack adds5 comments
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Well-ReadNeck
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Choosing from among these for my January reading. Starting the New Year with Bear and the Nightingale and the tagged ARC from #netgalley

Happy New Reading Year!

92 likes1 comment