Hernando De Soto: A Savage Quest in the Americas

Rating:
Summary: Young author produces a masterpiece
Review: Although Hernando De Soto: A Savage Conquest in the Americas is a biography, it reveals as much about the hideous cruelty the Spanish inflicted upon indigenous peoples as it does about the great conquistadors. In doing so, author David Ewing Duncan allows the reader to balance the triumphs of Soto with the vast human destruction he left in his wake. Neither an apologia nor a polemic, this book stays close to the facts and represents the best in popular history.

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, De Soto unfolds like a riveting novel as it follows the explorer from his impoverished youth to his anti-climatic death near the Mississippi River. To anyone interested in the European conquest of the Americas (or in the decimation of the Indians and their cultures) this book is a must read.

In addition to Soto, the author chronicles the achievements and savageries of such other notables as Cortez, Pizarro, Balboa, and Coronado. The book cleverly references and analyzes the works of American and Spanish historians, including those who were present as the conquerors murdered, raped, pillaged, enslaved, proselytized and bravely explored in South, Central and North America. Where there is a disparity in the record Duncan examines the conflict and suggests the account he considers the more reliable. At times the contemporary American Soto enthusiasts and the Spanish historians who are referenced throughout the book prove almost as intriguing as their subject matter.

Given the tremendous undertaking this work represents, Duncan manages to produce a highly readable and lively book. Even if the author can't help but reveal his personal revulsion at Soto's blatant inhumanity, Duncan also is objective enough to acknowledge flashes of true heroism and bravery. The Soto that the author presents is a historic Indiana Jones figure who descends into a Conrad-like Heart of Darkness.

The book cleverly incorporates maps, charts, paintings, and other graphics into the text. Further, although it may be tempting to skip the footnotes due to the length of the text, the reader is well advised not to do so. Buried in these footnotes are clever thoughts, insights and explanations.

This book richly deserves five stars and a second look by anyone who skipped it when it was first released.

Rating:
Summary: a very fine young writer
Review: I came to this book because I enjoyed the author's other work: Calendar is a fascinating read, and From Cape to Cairo is really compelling. When I started this biography of Soto, I was surprised about the academicness of the work--lots of footnotes, for example. But as I read on, I found the same qualities which make reading Duncan's other works such a joyful experience present here. Though Soto may not be a "fun" topic, Duncan's prose is a great pleasure. And, as always, I learned a lot.

Rating:
Summary: a very fine young writer
Review: I came to this book because I enjoyed the author's other work: Calendar is a fascinating read, and From Cape to Cairo is really compelling. When I started this biography of Soto, I was surprised about the academicness of the work--lots of footnotes, for example. But as I read on, I found the same qualities which make reading Duncan's other works such a joyful experience present here. Though Soto may not be a "fun" topic, Duncan's prose is a great pleasure. And, as always, I learned a lot.

Rating:
Summary: disturbing history
Review: This book is a biography of the life of Hernando de Soto That is a point which sometimes is disappointing because we often have to leave some exciting events in history as de Soto departs to other places. This is exceptionally true at the end of the book. In between the beginning and end is some very disturbing truths about the conquistadores's savage treatment of the native Americans they encountered in the New World. Author Duncan deserves credit for telling it like it is while knowing that his subject becomes less and less of a heroic figure with every ghastly detail. It is still hard to fathom the incredible destruction of the Incan empire by the small force of Pizarro's men.

The author spends a fair amount of time evaluating the available evidence which is helpful. The second half of the book is an excellent view of SouthEast America that our own immigrant culture knows little about; partly because de Soto's men had so severely impacted it that it was essentially gone when our ancesters first encountered it.

The story of de Soto is essentially the tragedy of a dynamic life cut short, of a quest that fell short, and of a discovery of wealth that went overlooked. De Soto's focus on gold caused him to overlook a world that would surpass the importance of "wealthier" parts of the New World. Unfortunately, the book ends with the death of de Soto in present-day Arkansas. By giving us a single paragraph to tell what happened to his men after that, we come away feeling as stranded and lost as they were.

Rating:
Summary: disturbing history
Review: This book is a biography of the life of Hernando de Soto That is a point which sometimes is disappointing because we often have to leave some exciting events in history as de Soto departs to other places. This is exceptionally true at the end of the book. In between the beginning and end is some very disturbing truths about the conquistadores's savage treatment of the native Americans they encountered in the New World. Author Duncan deserves credit for telling it like it is while knowing that his subject becomes less and less of a heroic figure with every ghastly detail. It is still hard to fathom the incredible destruction of the Incan empire by the small force of Pizarro's men.

The author spends a fair amount of time evaluating the available evidence which is helpful. The second half of the book is an excellent view of SouthEast America that our own immigrant culture knows little about; partly because de Soto's men had so severely impacted it that it was essentially gone when our ancesters first encountered it.

The story of de Soto is essentially the tragedy of a dynamic life cut short, of a quest that fell short, and of a discovery of wealth that went overlooked. De Soto's focus on gold caused him to overlook a world that would surpass the importance of "wealthier" parts of the New World. Unfortunately, the book ends with the death of de Soto in present-day Arkansas. By giving us a single paragraph to tell what happened to his men after that, we come away feeling as stranded and lost as they were.