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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Ruthless conqueror of Central America and Peru's Inca empire, the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto is sometimes portrayed as a saintly bearer of civilization, while other biographers see a brutal butcher. To freelancer Duncan, this son of an impoverished Spanish squire?who became fabulously wealthy by looting gold and selling or working to death thousands of slaves in Panama and Nicaragua?was, above all, a gambler and insatiably ambitious megalomaniac. From 1539 to 1543, de Soto and his army of 600 men trekked 4000 miles through 10 future Southeastern U.S. states, seeking a nonexistent second Inca empire laden with gold. Instead they stumbled upon the Mississippians, a sophisticated culture of city- and mound-building natives. The Spaniards' systematic plunder, murder, warfare and enslavement of the Indians brought the collapse of their civilization. De Soto died of fever in 1542 at the age of 42; more than half his men were killed by the Mississippians. Drawing on expedition logs, colonial archival manuscripts, eyewitness accounts and recent archaeological finds, Duncan strips away decades of mythmaking to plumb the conquistador mentality in a vibrant, gripping biography. Illustrated.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
To many people in the Deep South, Hernando de Soto is still viewed as a pathfinder who opened up the region to Europe's "civilizing" influence and settlement. To Native Americans, however, he is the destroyer who plundered and murdered in an obsessive search for gold. In this comprehensive and beautifully written book, Duncan views Soto as a man perfectly representative of and well suited for his times; he was a brutal man in a brutal era. Duncan traces Soto's career from his boyhood as an impoverished hidalgo in Spain to his early exploits as a companion of Balboa and Pizarro in their New World conquests. He concludes, of course, with Soto's futile and ultimately fatal entrada through what is now the southeastern U.S. To Duncan, Soto remains an enigma; he was incredibly ruthless and often unnecessarily cruel, yet he inspired his followers to great feats of courage and endurance. Duncan's scholarship and documentation are impeccable, and his chronology unfolds like a superbly crafted novel. It is an exciting, vivid reminder of the human drama unfolding against the broad historical canvas. Jay Freeman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
Ruthless conqueror of Central America and Peru's Inca empire, the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto is sometimes portrayed as a saintly bearer of civilization, while other biographers see a brutal butcher. To freelancer Duncan, this son of an impoverished Spanish squire?who became fabulously wealthy by looting gold and selling or working to death thousands of slaves in Panama and Nicaragua?was, above all, a gambler and insatiably ambitious megalomaniac. From 1539 to 1543, de Soto and his army of 600 men trekked 4000 miles through 10 future Southeastern U.S. states, seeking a nonexistent second Inca empire laden with gold. Instead they stumbled upon the Mississippians, a sophisticated culture of city- and mound-building natives. The Spaniards' systematic plunder, murder, warfare and enslavement of the Indians brought the collapse of their civilization. De Soto died of fever in 1542 at the age of 42; more than half his men were killed by the Mississippians. Drawing on expedition logs, colonial archival manuscripts, eyewitness accounts and recent archaeological finds, Duncan strips away decades of mythmaking to plumb the conquistador mentality in a vibrant, gripping biography. Illustrated.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
To many people in the Deep South, Hernando de Soto is still viewed as a pathfinder who opened up the region to Europe's "civilizing" influence and settlement. To Native Americans, however, he is the destroyer who plundered and murdered in an obsessive search for gold. In this comprehensive and beautifully written book, Duncan views Soto as a man perfectly representative of and well suited for his times; he was a brutal man in a brutal era. Duncan traces Soto's career from his boyhood as an impoverished hidalgo in Spain to his early exploits as a companion of Balboa and Pizarro in their New World conquests. He concludes, of course, with Soto's futile and ultimately fatal entrada through what is now the southeastern U.S. To Duncan, Soto remains an enigma; he was incredibly ruthless and often unnecessarily cruel, yet he inspired his followers to great feats of courage and endurance. Duncan's scholarship and documentation are impeccable, and his chronology unfolds like a superbly crafted novel. It is an exciting, vivid reminder of the human drama unfolding against the broad historical canvas. Jay Freeman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
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