My students enjoyed this culturally informative book, but all my Spanish speaking students said in one voice, "MORADO" when I read the entry for Púrpura aloud. Other than this we enjoyed this book.

These are the best guides to cruising the Sea of Cortez. I have used the charts while cruising and have worked aboard the Berinci Mevki helping to survey many of the anchorages, rocks and currents in the gulf. I can attest to the devotion to accuracy and completeness with which Gerry has worked over the years to supply first class information about a complex subject. After 40 years of charting Gerry is still at it while all the rest have retired from the struggle. The best charts continue to improve.

the memories of jaurrieta 1916-1920 are crearly the best and most accurate picture of the guerrilla life of Pancho Villa. Jaurrieta was the secretary of Villa on this time period. It present the story of Villa after the attack to Columbus, New Mexico, a great story on the life in the Coscomate Cave, presents the story of the attack on the 16th of September to Chihuahua City, it is great and full of details. "this is the time when we did not had trains, we used to have only "carne asada en las brasas" in the mountains of Chihuahua

This collection of novels is a beautiful and intellgently written volume, one that is an interesting read. If one wants comparisons, it could be compared to Garcia Marquez's style--very dense, very descriptive, very mysterious. There are copies of it available used... Buy it!

Great book for data! Lists lat, lon, and elevation for thousands of named points along the CD. Not necessarily the CD Trail.

Very explanitory. Highly recomended for Mexican cooking.

As usual, Mr. Simmons takes you back in time and brings the everyday life of early New Mexico to life. He has done extensive research to enlighten us. This book covers everything from homemaking, dressing, Inidans and food. A must have for historical researchers.

A fascinating story of conquest, greed, and betrayal, written in a clear, fast-moving fashion. I've always wondered how a few Spaniards could conquer the massive Aztec empire, and now it makes sense to me.

Johnson has obviously used solid research in his narrative. In fact he recommends several other sources, a couple of which are out of print. The book is clearly not revisionist. Rather it seems to provide a balanced perspective on both the Spanish and Aztec beliefs, personalities and cultures. The attention to detail is exceptional, while providing a narrative which flows well and is very interesting.

This book is highly recommended to any student of Mexican history, specifically the conquest by the Spaniards or any history buff for that matter. This book is a perfect companion to other primary sources such "The Broken Arrows" or "The True History of the Conquest". Like the "True History of the Conquest" this is written from a Spaniards perspective and the early prejudicial nuances towards the indigenous cultures are prevelent. The disgust with the primative ways that existed prior to their arrival is always mentioned, especially the eating of flesh and the Gods they believed in. The author was Cortes's personal secretary and chaplain. There are no dispariging words towrds Cortes as he is painted as most noble, loyal to the crown and ingenious in his statesmanship abroad. This is a controversial account as Cortes is given practically single handed credit for pulling off one of the greatest miltary victories of all time. Considering the odds in terms of sheer numbers Cortes was a genius to have pulled off the capture of Tenochitlan and establishing New Spain. The book covers the success of Cortes with his early adventures in Cuba as well as his childhood and youth. The later to show how his adventurous and cunning spirit grew. The translation is excelent in that it is not overly tedious with old world phrases and sentence structure. The translator of this work also tranlated a novel by Mariano Azuela, "Two Novels of Mexico" amognst many others. This is the first translation since the truncated version of Thomas Nicholas in 1578. This is a very fascinatinfg read in that in goes in detail of every"step" along the way of the conquest. The reader follows Cortes from Veracruz and meets all the various hospitable Indios along the way. Those familar with the conquest will be aware of Cortes's manipulation of the various groups and his bid to unify them in an effort to depose Moctezuma. Of particular interest is the way Moctezuma was treated while under arrest and how his followers demanded more respect for him. The establishing of Christianity was of the utmost importance and it is amazing how the Spanish were able to remove the "idols" and establish Christian imagery in the existing houses of worship. The role of "La Malinche" is discussed as well. Cortes was treated as the loyalty he was but his was not enoough as he saw the gold that he convinced the natives to give them so that his men could cure the "illness" they had. This contrived illness I think is better known a greed. Cortes was given the finest gifts everywhere he went and the natives tried to keep him from entering Tenochitlan. The diseaes and mutinies are all explained in detail and how Cortes , according to Gomara, single handedly managed to overcome all obstacles in his quest. The vital role of all tribes that were in oppositon to the Aztecs or Mexica, especially the Tlaxcalans is chronicled with clarity and extreme detail. The final attempts at resistance are also discussed with the inevitable torture and death of many including Cuahtemoc. All of Cortes speaches are included and it is very insightful how his oratory skills played a role in his leadership. The death of Moctezuna is most interesting as it does not signal the end of the conquest as one might believe. The last part of the book after the conquest deals with the establishing of New Spain and the problems Cortes encountered both personally and for the Crown. This is a great account of one of the most dramatic events that changed the course of history with the merging of the old world and the new world. This book is worth hunting down as it is a valuable first hand account of the conquest all be it through the bias of the European perspective. Included is a bibliography for further study and a helpful glossary.