From where did the name AMERICA come? Our country, America, has a beautiful name & is hailed here & around the world as the land of the free. The origin of this beautiful word was lost in the confusion of the times. Now five hundred years after Columbus' great discovery, this historical novel will tell the full story & take the mystery out of why America was so named. It will give Americans more reason to proudly sing "America the Beautiful".--Parks Hay. Who was this Amerigo? Amerigo was the first to recognize South America as a new continent, & not a part of Asia but a fourth part of the world. This was in 1502. Columbus was still believed to have reached Asia. Thus Amerigo was able to put meaning & understanding on Columbus' great discovery. Amerigo evolved an astronomical method of determining longitude & estimated the earth's circumference to be only 50 miles short of today's estimate. The world is so large wrote Amerigo that perhaps another ocean must be crossed before Asia can be reached. He paved the way for Magellan's famous voyage. He was an original thinker & became the first pilot major of Spain.