Conquistador Voices Volume I: Christopher Columbus Hernan Cortes The Spanish Conquest of the Americas as Recounted Largely by the Participants

 

Title of the book: Conquistador Voices: Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortes; The Spanish Conquest of the Americas as Recounted Largely by the Participants

Author: Kevin H Siepel

Publisher: Spruce Tree Press

Publishing Date: 2015

ISBN: 978-0-9786466-2-2

Summary:

The Spanish Conquest: What Really Happened?

If your knowledge of the so-called Spanish Conquest is limited to the shallow, neatly packaged narrative you found in your schoolbooks, be assured that you can get a real grip on these events now, because this two-volume series tells the tale from the viewpoint of the people who were actually there--including, in some cases, native peoples. It reads like the written version of a modern film documentary, with newly translated 500-year-old "sound bites" stitched together by the author-narrator in such a way as to create a seamless and compelling story.

In these two volumes you will find neither a defense of the conquistadors nor a politically correct polemic against them. The author has made every effort to avoid moralizing on these events, but simply to recount them, with minimal commentary, using the best sources available. Moral judgments are left to the reader.

Volume I opens with the four voyages of Christopher Columbus, offering new insights into this man's complex character. It then explores in lavish detail (some of which is supplied by the Aztecs) the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés. In Volume II the reader is taken into the high Andes with the brazen Pizarro brothers, into the wilds of the Texas and Mexican desert with Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, and along a trail of successive misfortunes with the expedition of Hernando de Soto--through today's Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas.

Conquistador Voices is a one-stop layman's summary of this epic period, delving into persons and events we still talk about today. Order a copy for yourself or other history reader now.

Maps, index, informational footnotes, and a brief bibliography are found in each volume.

Author Info:

(From back of the book)

Kevin H. Siepel is the author of two books of history, including the groundbreaking Rebel: The Life and TImes of John Singleton Mosby, He has had numerous articles or essays published in the national, regional, and special-interest press. 

Personal Opinion:

When I began learning USA history, in particular more in depth stories, I honest to God's wished I had this book with me, at least to expand more upon the conquistadors and their deeds. When my son, Gd willing, ends up in later grades, one better believe that I will give him this book to read. It's a lively and informative account that uses a variety of primary sources as well as imagery and a lot of information to create a vivid portrait of the first two conquistadors: Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes: one who " discovered" the new world and another who became the first in a long list to conquer it for Western European powers. The accounts aren't pretty but are ugly, yet it's an important source to read and to understand as well relearn the valuable lessons that we have long forgotten. The narrative spans from 1492 until about 1520s. 

This was given for review 

5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)