Product Description

Bernal D’az del Castillo (1495-1584) served under CortŽs through the entire Mexican campaign, and his narrative, one of only four extant firsthand accounts, is both an invaluable document and a spectacular epic. He watched as CortŽs sank his own Spanish ships, making desertion impossible and committing his small band of conquistadors irrevocably to the Conquest. He bore witness to the imprisonment of Montezeuma in his own palace and was privy to the counsels of the great leaders throughout the Campaign.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #220985 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-19
• Released on: 2004-01-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780306813191
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Review
"The most complete and trustworthy of the chronicles of the Conquest." -- New York Times

About the Author
Bernal D’az fought in over a hundred battles and skirmishes against an enemy that made living sacrifices of its prisoners. Every experience is recorded within these pages in a bold, blunt voice that T.R. Fehrenbach, author of Fire and Blood: A History of Mexico, rightly calls "tragic, colorful, indispensable." In A.P. Madslay's classical translation, Bernal D’az reaches across the centuries to invite readers to witness for themselves the horrors and wonders of the initial, apocalyptic clash between two great civilizations.

Customer Reviews

Thrilling, daunting
A very graphic, realistic and shuddering account of the discovery and conquest of Mexico by one who witnessed this major historical event from 1517 to 1521.

Although a lengthy narrative, the reader will find themself vehemently ripping through the pages of Bernal Diaz' reminiscences while anticipating the next turn of events. With a plethora of plot twists, there is never a sluggish moment.

Prior to his experiences with Cortes on the conquest of Mexico, Diaz gives us an account of his two previous expeditions with Cordova and Grijalva to the east coast of Central America from 1517-1518. Battles were fought, different cultures were found, and gold was discovered among the indigenous people. This beaconed the governor of Cuba to send Cortes to these lands for `settlement', with the fundamental motivation for the quest of riches.

We read of how Cortes and his men fought many battles on the trail to Montezuma's city of gold. Cortes was indeed a smooth talker, always attempting peace efforts first by making promises and talking flattery while distributing gifts to the Indian tribes he met along the way, all the time with the underlying theme of Christianity. This lead to a growing number of Indian allies, who for the most part had developed a deep-seated hatred for Montezuma due to his unmerciful plundering of villages for human sacrifices to please their gods. Cortez, after nearly losing main battles to overtake Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), finally comes in with 150,000 Indian allies to conquer the city of gold.
For the armchair adventure seeker, this book has it all.

Wow!
This has to be one of the most interesting journals I've ever read. Like others have said, the detail and adventure in Diaz's life make the text seem almost like fiction. I'm only 1/3 of the way into the book and every time I pick it up it's like I'm jumping back in time. Simply amazing.

A eyewitness account of Cortez' conquest of Mexico
This first hand account of Cortez's conquest of Mexico was written by Bernal Diaz', one of Cortez swordsmen. It is perhaps the most interesting and detailed first hand account of a historical event ever written. Diaz' writes about the battles, Cortez' manipulation of the various Indian tribes and his own men, and he provides intimate details on the personality of Montezuma. It is an exciting, powerful, informative, cover to cover, real-life, adventure.

Another good read on this subject are Cortez's letters to the King. As can be seen, Cortez' was in hot water because he co-opted the expedition to serve his own ends, and he was trying to con (And intimidate) the King into favoring him, rather than the governer of Cuba, from whom he stole the expedition. Cortez' tried to convince the king that he could get millions of indians to follow him, and that they could make brass cannons, gun powder, etc. ( Which by implication, could be used against any forces to bring him to justice.) He also bribed the king by sending him some of the gold that he stole from the indians, and implying the he could send much, much more. As can be seen, one of Cortez' other swordsmen went on to conquer the Incas, by using the same methods that Cortez used against the Aztecs.