Customer Reviews

Hernan Cortes: The Life of a Spanish Conquistador (Graphic Nonfiction)

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The first thing that seperates this young readers book from others is the innovative format. By comparison books like Columbus & Cortez: Conquerors for Christ or Hernan Cortes (Groundbreakers: Explorers) are not as "entertaining". The key is the presentation but staying true to giving the historical overview for young historians. The book is part of a series that literally and graphically bring the subjects to life. The series deals with major figures in world history that have changed or shaped contemporary and future societies. In this book, on the life of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, the authors give an explanation of the times in which the man lived and than jump into a graphic novel-comic book format detailing the conquest of Mexico. The first few pages is traditional in the sense that the subject is presented in short summaries of major events, such as, describing the Aztec Empire and the role of explorers and settlers. The heart of the book is the conquest which, as stated is a short graphic novel. Cortes's life and conquest is reduced to 35 pages of "comics" that are beautifully illustrated in color. The major events of the conquest, such as La Noche Triste, are covered, battles and the death of Cuautemoc, as well as the aftermath of the conquest are explained in simple terms and graphially for the young historian. If your child or student is a reluctant reader this book offers a good alternative while still providing a reading experience. Likewise if the student finds history "boring" than this book should help in that regard. This book is intended for 4th or 5th graders but would work well with middle school children. It would also be very beneficial for students whose first language is not English. The book also includes a glossary and a who's who section that explains who the major players are. I would highly recommend this book for middle school and community libraries or for parents who are inclined to buy books for their children.

I had to look quite a bit to find what I thought would be a good history graphic novel. I had just finished Buddy Levy's great book on Cortes, so was inspired to share the story with my 2 boys. This is not the best graphic novel out there (not that bad either), but Cortes' story is absolutely incredible, and this book conveys that well enough. My kids have dozens of books that they no longer look at, but this one comes back off the shelf now and again to be re-read and enjoyed.

I was struck by the content of this book. It tells the story of Hernan Cortes and his annihilation of the Aztec people and destruction of their culture in a far more truthful way than is usually depicted. The words and illustrations work together to show the greed of the Conquistadores and their forcing of Christianity onto people who didn't want it. The story is told well, with the reader getting to see Cortes' thinking and strategy and Montezuma's thinking and strategy.

My one problem with this book is the anachronisms: putting modern-day thoughts and sayings into the mouths of people who lived 500 years ago. "Don't get me wrong," says a woman from the year 1520. I doubt that people 500 years ago used that expression.