Ferdinand and Isabella

Ferdinand & Isabella
Paul Stevens 
(Introductory essay "On Leadership" by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.)
111 pages
World Leaders Past & Present Series

Summary: Direct from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Ferdinand-Isabella-World-Leaders-Present/dp/0877545235

A biography of the king and queen whose marriage led to the unification of Spain and who increased the country's power by conquering the Moors and sending Columbus to America.

Opinion:
This was a very informative book. Its a non-ficition book about the lives of Ferdinand and Isabella, the King of Aragon and Queen of Castile (Spain regions). You might know of them as the people who funded Columbus's excursion. They did much more than that though, these monarchs helped as well as hindered their country at the same time. It starts with Columbus asking the monarchs for funding for his new trade route. The first thing I learned was that Columbus was 40 years old at the time of the trip, as well as being a very arrogant person. I visited Spain in the summer of 2014 and noticed that the actions of these monarchs really did affect Spain, from then to now. The facts in the book are so interesting. In AP World History, I learned about King Henry the 8th, who had 6 wives and actually created a new branch of Christianity in order to be allowed to have a divorce. "Divorce, Beheaded, and Died. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived."

World History is such an interesting topic, since its so very hard to fathom sometimes that while one very fabulous event is happening in one country, halfway over the world something else noteworthy is occurring. You have to look at the times and just be amazed. Maybe its just me. I do get weird notions. Overall, I really liked this book. It reminds me of my younger days where I would read tons of historical fiction or just historical books in general (usually biographies). I am a history buff, so this book is recommended to other history buffs, people who like Spanish history, or just people who want to one-up your friends on cool/interesting/fun facts. FYI, the book is in the reading level of a 5th grader, or at least I was able to read this in the 5th grade. Its very easy to understand, though there are a few technical terms.

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