Started reading Irresistible North by Andrew Di Robilant. It is about the Zen(o) Brothers and the family’s claims in the late Middle Ages that their grandfather had been lost and accidentally traveled throughout the North Atlantic to Greenland and perhaps beyond in the late 14th century - before Columbus first trip to the New World.

This is my second book in a row about the late Middle Ages. Every now and then I get focused on a particular time period and place in history that I find fascinating. For a while it was the United States in the late 19th century (read Nothing Like it in the World (Transcontinental Railroad), In the Kingdom of Ice (USS Jennette voyage) etc . . ). The last book I read was The Faithful Executioner, a story about an executioner in Germany in the 16th century. Late last year I read Enemy of All Mankind about a pirate at the end of the Age of Discovery.

Irresistible North is really about the dawn of the Age of Discovery and the Italian City State of Venice in particular. So far the books is well-sourced with primary material from Venice.

Through reading the story, I am also learning a ton about ship building and types, especially as the voyages transitioned from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Longer trip required a different type of vessel.

Enjoying the book so far. Its about a tike period and location that I know little… and want to lean more.