Conquistador Voices (vol I): The Spanish Conquest of the Americas as Recounted Largely by the Participants

Description

"Exceptionally well written...very highly recommended."-Midwest Book Review

You're not stuck in history class any more. But you've discovered, as an adult, that you really like history.

The problem is you don't like wading through thick prose.

Something that might make it easier for you to read history is hearing some actual voices amid the prose, voices from the past, voices of people who were there. In Conquistador Voices, that is what you'll get. This two-volume set is about the so-called Spanish conquest of the Americas, a 500-year-old event the reverberations of which are still felt today. The structural bones of the story as told here consist of mostly eyewitness accounts-the "voices." These voices belonged to the men who came with Columbus, Cort's, Pizarro, Soto. In the Cort's chapters, beneath the din of horsemen clattering over rocky passes and the jangle of infantry on the move you will also hear the faint and confused cry of the people themselves. The voice of a people being conquered and displaced forever. Finally, you'll hear the voice of Cabeza de Vaca, a man whose will to survive knew no bounds. We're fortunate to possess the remarkable testimony of the men who carried out this hemispheric invasion, with all their prejudices, conceits, cruelties, occasional sensitivity, and remarkable resilience. It nudges us toward informed opinion. What you won't find between these covers is moralizing, or at least not much of it. Because the author thinks you're capable of moralizing for yourself. Order your copy today.