A determined man with a dream whose mentors and friendships supported him through his difficult life's journey. John Cabot was born Giovanni Caboto in Genoa, Italy. As a child, he dreamed of captaining a ship across a mysterious, uncharted ocean, from Europe to the riches of China. There was another boy in Genoa at the same time, with the same dream: Christopher Columbus. The Turks, in the fifteenth century, had a stranglehold on the trade routes to the Far East. Europe's race to find an alternative passage was heating up. But an explorer needed patrons, funds, ships-and a vision. Whereas Columbus had taken a south and west route from Spain, Cabot was convinced a more northern route from England would lead directly to China. Cabot remained convinced, even on his deathbed, that he'd reached China-not realizing he'd claimed much of North America for his patron, the King of England, and made an amazing contribution to the fabric of America.