A Land of Wonders: Cabeza de Vaca's Epic Exploration of the Americas

Bonita: Couldn’t put this book down. Makes me want to know a lot more about the the times and immigration to the Americas and what drove the immigrants and what happened to the various natives

United States on Apr 08, 2024

Rob: Tough to put down. Reads like a movie.

United States on Jan 08, 2024

Keith Farndale: Fascinating story, well-written.

Mexico on Aug 12, 2023

Robert E Carter: Like it for reference. How the gold seekers destroyed many indigenous nations. all sanctioned by a religion.

Canada on Jul 08, 2023

M. James: Only recently did I learn that North America was probably populated with millions of Native Americans by time it was "discovered" in the late 15th century. I knew there were native peoples, of course. But not in the numbers that experts think now. I would imagine that all along occasionally some outsider - Viking or Polynesian - would show up so the locals may not have been totally surprised when Cabeza de Vaca and his companions appeared. But from what this book relates de Vaca was certainly surprised to see the country inhabited already. This is a very interesting book about a few men "lost in space" as it were and their first impressions of North America. Well worth reading.

United States on Feb 11, 2023

James Kohl: I read this with “Chronicle of the Narváez expedition / Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca; translated by Fanny Bandelier; revised and annotated by Harold Augenbraum”, going back and forth, more or less chronologically, and I recommend that. This is an excellent book, extremely well researched and written. (One idiosyncrasy of mine, which arose from the cross comparison, was that I found myself disbelieving the author’s suggestion that by Cabeza de Vaca’s use of the Spanish word “barca” in the Chronicle, he meant the Spanish equivalent of “raft”.) I would recommend reading “No Settlement, No Conquest; A History of the Coronado Entrada” by Richard Flint for that author’s thoughts on, first, the unique specific motivations of the Spanish participants in the explorations/conquests of the New World, and especially how it contributed to their actions in certain adversities, and, second, the motivations and communications amongst the Native Americans, and the roles those played in interacting with those from the Old World, Estebanico’s killing being a case in point. But do not let these quibbles deter you. This is a book that is well worth...

United States on Sep 02, 2022

Honest review: Highly recommend this as a holiday read!

United Kingdom on Jul 26, 2021

Jose Luis Batalla: Very good book, smartly written, I recommend it 100%

Spain on May 20, 2021

Heinz Hövel: A remarkable story about a life changing 16th-century transcontinental adventure. "Resendez is not just a solid narrative historian, but a born story teller. Reading this is like listening to the adventures of Cabeza and his partners around a campfire." This is one of the five books I'd bring to a desert island. I have already read it several times, finding something new to think about each time.

Germany on Jul 27, 2016

Richard A. Leveille: This book is Resendez’ gloss on what is, in my opinion, the most amazing survival story I know of, and I’ve read a lot of them! It’s not just amazing because three shipwrecked Spaniards and a Moorish slave (Estevan) managed to make it from the Florida panhandle to the Gulf coast of Texas to the Pacific Coast of Mexico in a staggering eight year odyssey, but because of the unique way they did it, and the consequences for the Americas and the Spanish Empire.

Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions were the only survivors of the disastrous Narvaez expedition, which left Spain with 5 ships, 600 men and a license to conquer Florida in 1527 and ended up castaway on the barrier islands of South Texas in 1528. They did not see another "Christian" (European) until they ran into the advance guard of the brutal Nuno de Guzman's conquering army near the Pacific coast of Mexico, in Sinaloa, in 1536. In the interim, they went from being guests, then slaves of Indian tribes on the Texas coast, to faith healers and famous “Children of the Sun”. It was a mutually beneficial, but rather bizarre, ritualistic exchange, of their services for goods, apparently...

United States on Feb 05, 2016