Get personalized recommendations and earn points toward a free book!
Before you go...
Check Out These
21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
See the List
They Came Before Columbus by Ivan Van Sertima
Read An Excerpt

They Came Before Columbus

The African Presence in Ancient America

By Ivan Van Sertima

By Ivan Van Sertima

Best Seller

Category: History

Paperback $18.00

Sep 23, 2003 | 336 Pages

They Came Before Columbus by Ivan Van Sertima
Paperback
Sep 23, 2003 | 336 Pages

Paperback
–

  • Paperback $18.00

    Sep 23, 2003 | 336 Pages

Buy the Paperback:

About They Came Before Columbus

They Came Before Columbus reveals a compelling, dramatic, and superbly detailed documentation of the presence and legacy of Africans in ancient America. Examining navigation and shipbuilding; cultural analogies between Native Americans and Africans; the transportation of plants, animals, and textiles between the continents; and the diaries, journals, and oral accounts of the explorers themselves, Ivan Van Sertima builds a pyramid of evidence to support his claim of an African presence in the New World centuries before Columbus. Combining impressive scholarship with a novelist’s gift for storytelling, Van Sertima re-creates some of the most powerful scenes of human history: the launching of the great ships of Mali in 1310 (two hundred master boats and two hundred supply boats), the sea expedition of the Mandingo king in 1311, and many others. In They Came Before Columbus, we see clearly the unmistakable face and handprint of black Africans in pre-Columbian America, and their overwhelming impact on the civilizations they encountered.

Read An Excerpt

About Ivan Van Sertima

Ivan Van Sertima’s pioneering work in linguistics and anthropology has appeared in numerous scholarly journals. Professor Van Sertima teaches Afro-American studies at Rutgers University.

Product Details

Category: History

Paperback | $18.00
Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks
Sep 23, 2003 | 336 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780812968170

People Who Read They Came Before Columbus Also Read

‹ ›
Collapse
D-Day
The Enemy Within
Our Nig
Teenage
Dynasties
Paris
Patton and Rommel
The Great Influenza
Red House
On Wings of Eagles
Choice Cuts
Rise of the Vulcans
A Dangerous Place
Wheels for the World
The Sea Hunters II
Secrets
Reluctant Saint
The First Heroes
The Origin of Species
Common Sense, the Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of ThomasPaine
Tragedies of American History
The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates
Black Like Me
Last Man Down
The Federalist Papers
Jews, God and History
Report from Ground Zero
Shadow Warriors
The Love You Make
The Woman Who Laughed at God
The Lakota Way
When Character Was King
Booknotes
What If? II
Interrogations
New Worlds, Lost Worlds
Gladiatrix
Shackleton's Way
American Colonies
Better Day Coming
Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition
At War at Sea
Treason by the Book
Catch Me If You Can

Inspired by Your Browsing History

Praise

“Fascinating.”
—The Atlantic Monthly

“An immensely impressive book . . . well-written and clear.”
—Essence

“I can’t praise this book enough! I kept shaking my head over its power.”
—Ishmael Reed

“Comprehensive and convincing . . . a big boost to black cultural history.”
—Publishers Weekly

Looking for More Great Reads?
Download our Spring Fiction Sampler Now
Back to Top

Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

Brightly

Raise kids who love to read
TASTE img

TASTE

An online magazine for today’s home cook

LitFlash

The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

Read it Forward

Read it first. Pass it on!