Juan Ponce de León and the Spanish Discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida is an in-depth biography of a young Castilian, Juan Ponce de León, who probably emigrated to the Caribbean with Christopher Columbus. Although many people know Ponce de León's name, only a handful know the historical truth about what he did – and what he didn't do. He was a very important, but poorly represented, figure in early American history. He had a major impact on the course of events that occurred in three places: what is now the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Florida. Juan Ponce accomplished many wonderful things in the New World and failed in trying to do others. Historical documents reveal that Juan Ponce was an unusual man whose ambitions followed different paths from those of his contemporaries. However, they still managed to lead him to personal, social, political and financial success – achievements that are all the more remarkable when you consider the turbulence that existed during this period of history.Young Juan Ponce de León, fresh from the Moorish wars, sailed with Columbus's second voyage. The voyage departed from Cadiz, Spain, around September 1493. They finally reached their destination, Puerto Rico, on November 18. The man responsible for preparing this trip was Bishop Fonseca. On this particular voyage, only 1,000 men were expected to board the boats; however, detailed records and letters indicate that nearly 1,500 people were loaded onto the ships bound for the New World. Faulty materials were loaded, good food was replaced with bad, armor and weapons were sold instead of loaded, and 25 Arabian horses were exchanged for nags. It is very possible that Fonseca's mismanagement could explain how Juan Ponce has...... middle of paper ......a century of exploration and a geographer with strong interests in the Caribbean and the Central America. He was also the founding chairman of the Department of Geography and Anthropology at the University of South Florida in 1960. Fuson was an accomplished jazz and classical musician, playing both saxophone and clarinet. He has published in Playboy magazine and is an award-winning author of books about exploration and discovery. He is the author of more than 140 publications, including ten books, including the classic Fundamentals of Place-Name Geography and the award-winning The Log of Christopher Columbus. Fuson met his unfortunate death on October 4, 2004. He died at age 77 of melanoma in Temple Terrace, Florida. Works CitedFuson, Robert H. Juan Ponce De Leon: And the Spanish Discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida. Blacksburg, Virginia: McDonald & Woodward, 2000. Print.