Rating: 
Summary: What an incredible tale!
Review: What an incredible tale of personal survival this historical account is! I read it in view of teaching it to my American Literature students; I wanted to present some of the European accounts of survival that preceded the colonization of New England; I wanted my students to be aware of some of the literature of discovery that is available to them.I found that this short historical report could work in a literature class under such themes as a Quest/Personal Journey tale, or as Discovery epic, or as a report on Native-American societies in the inland of the Continent, or as a solid Adventure story. Cabeza de Vaca survived a 9-year "Outward Bound" challenge. At whatever level or approach that you want to encounter this book, just be sure that you make time for it. Remarkable, it really is.
Rating:
Summary: Naked faith
Review: When I first moved to the Southwest, I asked locals to recommend books to learn about the area. I am so glad someone recommended this. I had never heard of Cabeza de Vaca. His peregrinations through the terra incognita of America in the early 1500's led me to the whole obscured chapter of the history of North America: when much of it was a colony of Spain. Cabeza de Vaca & his few companion shipwreck survivors started it all. His tales of what he'd seen (& heard of) in what's now the American Southwest led to Coronado's quest for the golden Cities of Cibola (guided by Esteban,a black servant who had been one of de Vaca's companions); & directly to the European settlement of the region centuries earlier than it otherwise would have happened. In most history books, the Spanish colonization is-AT BEST-a footnote in a history that begins with the Pilgrims (a century LATER).
And to archaeologists: take heed! Not all explorers of a new land leave distinctive artifacts to mark their passage. If not for de Vaca's written description of his experiences, which led directly to the Coronado expedition, this journey would be "unknown".
Its a shame that history books are so biased toward the "east-to-west" Anglo. version of American history; nobody should miss wonderful episodes like Cabeza de Vaca's 8-year odyssey. This chapter in history shouldn't be "unknown" to anybody!
| 
