While past histories depict Christopher Columbus as either god-sent angel or bloodthirsty demon, Simple History Series author J. Gerlach opts to let the events stand on their own, allowing readers to draw up their own conclusions. The result in Gerlach's heavy illustrated Christopher Columbus and His Expeditions to America is a fair and objective portrait of the oft-maligned man. As says Gerlach, "Columbus' importance is debatable. His drive and courage put him in position to 'discover' America, but his greatness depends on your definition of the word 'great.'" The story presented here is one of wholesale murder, wild ambition, and supersized gold lust. It's a dark piece of our history made even darker with facts generally left out of textbooks. But, as always, Simple History allows us to think for ourselves. In this age of heavily biased "news" media and propaganda-as-documentary, this brand of objective history-telling is refreshing and much needed.