Customer Reviews

Discovering the Americas: The Archive of the Indies

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This work is more a reference item to keep in your den or living room than a book in the full sense of the word. It has more illustrations than text, and they are exquisite. An excellent collection of old Spanish letters, items, maps, etc. that cover the Spanish empire from the US to Argentina, with even the Philippines thrown in for good measure. The text itself shows, of course, Spain's traditional view of itself and its empire, and its stated objective is to refute "the Black Legend" associated to it.

For a Latin American reader, it is an odd feeling to read a book about your own history written by a Spaniard which shows old Spanish documents, maps of your own city, etc. all accompanied by an English-language text. Among other things, when referring to the Western Hemisphere I will always prefer to read the traditional singular "America" over the plural and exclusionary "Americas" used in English throughout the book. Maybe Amazon will offer the original Spanish-language version some day?