|
|
Sold Out
Book Categories |
In an astonishing work of scholarship that reads like an adventure thriller, historian Buddy Levy records the last days of the Aztec empire and the two men at the center of an epic clash of cultures.
A century before the Mayflower, a single man settled the destiny of the Americas far more momentously than the Puritans ever could. Hernán Cortés's blitzkrieg-like conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1519-21 laid the foundation of a Spanish empire that would eventually stretch from California to the pampas of Argentina. Along the way, he sealed the doom of the native cultures of the Americas, both North and South, and set the pattern of global history right down to the present -- as a series of fateful encounters between, on the one hand, Western ideas, technologies and institutions and, on the other, non-Western cultures, peoples and terrains.
In CONQUISTADOR, Buddy Levy offers a fascinating account of the first and most decisive of those encounters: the one between the impetuous Spanish adventurer Cortés and Montezuma, the ill-starred emperor of the Aztecs -- clearly the wrong emperor at the wrong place at the wrong time. Mr. Levy has an eye for vivid detail and manages to build a compelling narrative out of this almost unbelievable story of missionary zeal, greed, cruelty and courage. By avoiding the kind of ideological posturing that usually distorts re-tellings of the conquest of the New World, Mr. Levy rightly focuses his reader's attention on the story's antagonists.--Arthur Herman, Author of Ghandi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed and Empire and Forged Our Age
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Stephen Karnes
reviewed Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs on May 10, 2012
Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs
Traveling from Veracruz to Mexico City is not a major journey - unless you do it on foot, wearing full metal armor, offroad without good maps, and with thousands of ferocious warriors trying to kill you. Who would attempt this? Only one guy. Buddy Levy's book Conquistador allows us to march alongside one of history's most insanely-courageous leaders: Hernan Cortes.
The book compels readers eagerly down this deadly road for God, gold and glory. Despite an avalanche of facts, the complexities of weapons, battles, alliances and negotiations are made clear without slowing the riveting drama.
The narrative documents three controversial propositions. 1) Hernan Cortes was a military genius of Napoleonic or Alexanderic magnitude. He pulled off an incredibly-ballsy, nearly-impossible feat, regardless of how we view it ethically.
2) This wasn't a simple confrontation between Europeans and Natives. What Cortez orchestrated was a new-world civil-war, pitting Aztecs against oppressed neighbors, who hated them enough to fight bravely with Cortes as the lesser of two evils.
3) Despite foul hypocrisy and kindergarden theology, Hernan is to the Americas what Constantine is to Europe: a bloody apostle who spread the Word with the help of swords and prophetic visions. (Constantine saw a cross in the sky by which he'd conquer; Montezuma saw a kingdom from across the sea by which he'd be conquered. These two omens helped propel an Asian called Jesus into a global faith.)
If you doubt the long-term religious influence of the cruel Cortes, consider my recent experience. Visiting a remote Chinantec village in Mexico, I commented on what looked like a Day of the Dead altar. Villagers rebuked me insisting "We are Catholics, this is an All Saints' Day altar, and Day of the Dead is pagan necromancy!" Point taken. To say Hernan Cortes was merely a marauder with no spiritual impact is to say you haven't traveled Latin America much. Admire him or hate him, this guy matters, so the gripping Conquistador matters too.
Login|Complaints|Blog|Games|Digital Media|Souls|Obituary|Contact Us|FAQ
CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? CLICK HERE!!! X
You must be logged in to add to WishlistX
This item is in your Wish List
X
This item is in your Collection
Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs
X
This Item is in Your Inventory
Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs
X
You must be logged in to review the productsX
X
X
Add Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs, , Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
X
Add Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs, , Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs to your collection on WonderClub |