The Aztec Treasure House: New and Selected Essays [Paperback]

Evan Connell (Author), Evan S. Connell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2002

Here are tales of fabulous advances made in anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, and linguistics, stories of the Anasazi, the "old ones" of the southwestern desert, of the great explorers, eccentrics, dreamers, scientists, cranks, and geniuses. "There's no end to the list, of course," Connell says, "because gradually it descends from such legendary individuals to ourselves when, as children, obsessed by that same urge, we got permission to sleep in the backyard."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

HThese 20 erudite and entertaining historical essays (all but three of which have appeared in previous volumes) highlight Connell's wide-ranging intellect and lucid prose. He revels in unexpected turns of fate and relishes the picturesque, strangely compelling details that historians often miss. Interweaving exhaustive scholarship with winning humor in an essay on astronomy, he recounts how the arrogant Tycho Brahe lost the bridge of his nose during a duel with a rival scientist over "which of them was the better mathematician." A few pieces consider historic clashes between "those traditional opponents Science and Religion." Fascinated by people who probe the outer limits of knowledge and geography, Connell provides a blow-by-blow account of the famous debate between Thomas Huxley and Bishop Wilberforce over evolution and describes the searing conflict between Galileo and the Catholic Church over heliocentrism. "White Lantern" the best essay of the bunch passionately (even enviously) details the amazing race to the South Pole between pragmatic Norwegian Roald Amundsen and romantic Englishman Captain Robert Scott, in a narrative even Jon Krakauer would admire. Connell sagely points out that "Amundsen, the victor, is not as renowned as the loser," because a dead hero (Scott died on the return trip) is more likely to captivate the public's imagination. Confessing a hopeless attraction to "buried treasure, monsters, ghosts, derelict ships, inexplicable footprints, and luminous objects streaking through the sky," Connell chronicles journeys of absolute, disastrous futility the searches for Atlantis, the Seven Cities of Gold and the Northwest Passage. These skillfully crafted essays will please any history, science or adventure buff. (Sept. 30)Forecast: Connell's Sun of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn was a much-praised bestseller. This should be widely reviewed and sell handsomely.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Connell has been thrilling readers for decades with graceful and intelligent fiction and works of history, including his latest brilliant historical novel, Deus Lo Volt! [BKL Ja 1 & 15 00]. His collected stories were published in 1995, and now a volume of essays extends his life list, a mighty achievement seemingly effortlessly created. Connell is at once bracingly erudite and warmly conversational. He thinks well of his readers, addressing them directly and trusting them to recognize the historical worlds he enters so confidently and familiarly and to share his amusement, dismay, and delight over the foibles and accomplishments of our ancestors. He writes of the struggles of antiquity and the expeditions that forced open the so-called New World to the marauders of the Old, covering an astonishing wealth of information in a minimum of well-chosen and well-ordered words. Astronomy, archaeology, the origins of the Olmec, various heresies, the lives of geniuses and kooks--all engage Connell's supple and urbane intelligence and flow silken and radiant onto the page. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint (October 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582432538
• ISBN-13: 978-1582432533
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Essays, January 16, 2002

By 

Kevin Prufer (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aztec Treasure House: New and Selected Essays (Hardcover)

I first read most of these essays the year I graduated from college. (All but a couple were collected in earlier books which are now quite hard to find.) They are beautifully written, exciting, and fascinating. Connell has an amazing breadth of subjects and communicates complex ideas with ease and clarity. Even years later, I find myself thinking about his essays on the race to the South Pole or near eastern archaeology. In fact, this is that rare book I'd recommend to almost anyone of just about any age. It's full of exciting stories, intelligent analysis, and honest-to-god wit. I'm so glad to see these essays collected in one volume. Hoorah! [Connell's Mr. Bridge and Mrs. Bridge are also fantastic.]

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great essays that bring joy back to reading..., December 24, 2001

By 

Michel Aaij (Montgomery, AL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Aztec Treasure House: New and Selected Essays (Hardcover)

...because I have to admit, in my biz we don't always read for pleasure, or sometimes we forget we can. I have very little to add to the positive editorials on this page. The fascination with the strange and the remarkable, the clashes between worlds, systems of thought, and characters are explored masterfully by Connell. These essays remind me of what I used to read when I first started: the psychological depth of Montaigne, the clarity and mystery of Bruce Chatwin, the wit and erudition of Umberto Eco. Unfortunately this edition lacks any kind of editorial commentary (only the last two essays are dated, to 1996 and 1992; the book does include an extensive bibliography, but no notes or references), so it's hard to judge from this collection how Connell developed over the last decades. On the other hand, what's it matter--these essays are consistently great. Happy reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical "travel" essays, July 11, 2007

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aztec Treasure House: New and Selected Essays (Paperback)

This is a collection of a number of travel essays - travel essays of the historical kind: the search for El Dorado, for the Northwest Passage and the Seven Cities; the voyages of Columbus, Walter Raleigh, the Vikings to North America; and the explorations of Scott, Amundsen, and the number of scientists (Copernicus, Kepler, etc.) who searched the heavens through crude telescopes. There are 20 essays in all, most of substantial length. Connell is a fascinating writer who infuses his narratives with just enough quirky factual information to keep the reader always intrigued; he gives the impression of being endlessly amazed and awed by the subject at hand, which he conveys effortlessly to the reader. The essay on Scott and the explorations of Antarctica is a masterpiece; so too is the one on deciphering ancient tablets. But all of these essays are a delight to read and produce wonder and admiration for those people who risked everything to dream wild dreams, to pursue them, and then to simply marvel at what they found.