[.ca] Conquistadors (ISBN 0520236912)

From Amazon.com:
First the Trojan War, then the eras of Alexander the Great and King Arthur. Now, in this companion volume to the BBC/PBS television series, the indefatigable writer-filmmaker Michael Wood turns his lens and pen on the restless, sometimes homicidal men who established Spain's empire in the Americas. "The conquest opened up the world," Wood writes, "marking the beginnings of a globalization which was not only commercial, but also ideological and philosophical, a remaking of mental horizons no less than a redrawing of physical geography." Grand themes all, but Wood is less interested in sweeping statements than in exploring the particular circumstances surrounding the careers of Spain's freebooter-warriors. Following in their footsteps, Wood takes his readers first to the dusty, bleak Spanish province of Estremadura, which gave rise to a remarkable generation of conquerors, hungry for land and wealth and well schooled in the arts of war. One of those men, Hernán Cortés, was also schooled in law--or so his contemporaries thought--and he was able to turn a talent for fighting and learned disputation into a great personal fortune made first in Cuba, then in Mexico, which he won not so much with weaponry but with great cunning. Another, Francisco Pizarro--a distant cousin of Cortés--recruited a semiprivate army to capture the great Inca empire, relying on force more than guile. Wood also follows the paths of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and Francisco Orellana, accidental wanderers who helped open the interiors of North and South America to conquest. His latter-day, low-tech journeys underscore the difficulties the conquistadors faced in their time, and they help readers appreciate the sheer scale of their often bloody achievements. The story of the conquest, Wood writes, "never wearies in the retelling," and he proves it in this accessible, literate, and lively book. --Gregory McNamee

Trekking the paths of the Conquistadors:
This exciting and well illustrated read traces the incredible expeditions of some of the most famous Spainish Conquistadors. Michael Woods travels along the tropical Amazon and to Everglades of Florida in search of the original route of the likes of Cortez and Pizarro. But this is not just an adventure story but also an accurate conveyance of history and the personalities of the time. He also manages to discuss the history on a thematic level - approaching issues such as human rights and colonialism. The illustrations are beautiful and add to the sense of wonder first experienced when viewed for the first time from European eyes. 5 stars - thoroughly worth purchasing for any history buff!

Stolen Continent:
From the moment I started this book I could not put it down until I got to the last page, pausing for thought and burning with anxiety at what had occurred. There are about five distinctive sections. About two chapters on the Aztecs and the fall of Tenochtitlan. Similarly about the Incas and the end of their rebellion. Then a chapter on the discovery of the Amazon. Another on Spanish explorer Cabeza De Vaca and finally on how the Spanish conquest lead to a human rights debate. The paintings and illustrations are in colour. The writing is warm, gripping and balanced - A BBC style expose of what was going on (by an underrated BBC TV program) with its brillian author presenter. If you don't have a clue about how S. America was stolen, this book takes you to the thick of it. To the vanquishing of two entire civilisations and an incomparable destruction by "civilised" Spaniards crazy about gold and converts to Christianity as a pretext for enslaving and abusing their conquered victims. He sticks to the most important details, the massacres, what made the conquistadors tick?, the heroism, bravery and about confronting "The Other" - a titanic clash of cultures. What indeed could have happened if the Chinese got there first as Woods ruefully inquires? This book I hope will show Latin Americans in particular the importance of replacing something lost though it can never be regained. Perhaps Mexico city should be given back its original name. I'd love to have seen a better illustration or two of Tenochtitlan but it is now all gone anyway. This book is a celebration of those lost golden civilisations with a penchant for human sacrifice.

More than just about Cortes & Pizarro:
As you read this book, you can imagine it being Michael Wood's speaking script for his TV program. As well as the stories you would expect about Cortes & Pizarro, I was pleasantly surprised to read of 2 explorers I'd never heard of - Orellana & de Vaca - which made this different to many other books of the same theme.

Living History:
Michael Wood on screen and in print has that rare ability to transfer his enthusiasm for his subject to his audience. Here he takes us through the Spanish Conquest of 16th Century Central and South America by journeying to the places where the events occured. Many of them quite off the beaten track and pretty much as they were. In Mexico City he retraces Cortez's seizure of the city with a street by street account through the modern city. He makes one crucial point that many seem to miss. Cortez and Pizarro did not conquer these nations with a few hundred men as legend would have us believe. They had tens of thousands of native allies who marched with them. These were the unhappy vassal states conquered by the Aztecs and Incas who basically wanted pay back. In a way he makes us aware of 2 conquests. Those by the Aztecs and Incas over their neighbors and the Spanish Conquest with the help of those neighbors. The aftermath is also closely examined with the Church's paradoxical role in it. At first brutalizing the native populations and in later years trying to stop it. At first attempting to wipe out all traces of the native cultures and later feverishly trying to preserve it. It is not as simple a tale as some believe and Wood clearly takes the reader through it in this lavishly illustrated volume. At present the TV series that this book was meant to compliment has yet to appear on DVD. Hopefully soon but for now Wood's book shows us how alive history can be and how some of its players are not quite what we think they are.

Brilliant!:
I fully expected this to be another dry, somnolent history book. Was I ever wrong! Michael Wood has written a conversational account of some of the most gripping yet unreported events in this hemisphere. Trust me on this: you will love his style and his expertise. Wood puts you in the mind of Cortes, Pizarro, and de Vaca and passionately paints the history created by these men. This book will make you want to walk in their footsteps.