The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca

The reading of it yes, the living of it no. This is an excellent condensation of Adorno and Pautz' exhaustive volumes of the travails of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's life in North America. (It only summarizes the events of his further struggles as the Governor of the Río de la Plata in South America.) It is an engaging read of an extraordinarily failed mission as Cabeza de Vaca and three other survivors make their way across the continent on an eight-year trek. The account is expertly annotated and skillfully translated. And it refrains from making Cabeza de Vaca into a modern, cult-like figure, like many other interpretations have done. Instead the book allows the events to speak for themselves, as it were. This a truly engrossing read of one of the great tragedies of human encounters. I recommend it with every chance I get.

I give this book four stars and not five because I find the introdution to be kind of long and tedious. Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying for the introduction is used to lay out a much needed backround that truly does help to understand the narrative. I just found it to be difficult to keep my attention focused on it.As a history buff though, I thouroughly enjoy reading history through the words and eyes of those who created it. Bravo!

This book arrive fairly promptly and is in good shape. It was everything I expected with no surprises, which is good. The large amount of footnotes was helpful and the narrative itself is very fascinating. I was interested in the flora and fauna in the Southwest during this period and it was well described. A book for history buffs, fans of Southwest history and those interested in survival stories.

Awesome. Great shipping. Packed very well and protected.

This is a primary source document on a survival story from 1527. One of the most amazing stories I have ever read.

This review is about the book itself: It is not a journal, or even a direct narrative of the journey of Cabeza de Vaco. Rather it is the account of the journey that de Vaco prepared and presented to the Spanish court. As such it more akin to the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (a subjective, somewhat suspect account of events) than other "non-fiction." A very interesting text nonetheless.

interesting but the page formatting is strange

I was hoping to learn about the Native Americans encountered, but when the author says he and his companions miraculously cured hundreds or thousands of natives like Jesus, it throws the entire story into doubt. The fact that the author never does give us a detailed account of all the peoples encountered, nor credit to one of the four survivors who was black, further undercuts the credibility of his story. I'm surprised so many people never question the veracity of this tale. If you believe these 4 travelers had a divine ability to cure anyone, then I have a bridge to sell you. Just because a lie is almost 500 years old, it doesn't stop it from being a lie. Think about it. I call bulls***.

Studying the conquest of Latin America and this was recommended to me by the author herself, a very good read as I've always been fascinated about Cabeza de Vaca, but have never been able to find his accounts

Amazing story written just after the printing press was available. All history buffs should read this book. Incredible !