A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca | 
 enlarge | Author: Andres Resendez
Publisher: Basic Books
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 38860
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0465068405
Dewey Decimal Number: 970.016092
EAN: 9780465068401
ASIN: 0465068405
Publication Date: November 12, 2007
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Product Description
In 1528, a mission set out from Spain to colonize Florida. But the expedition went horribly wrong: Delayed by a hurricane, knocked off course by a colossal error of navigation, and ultimately doomed by a disastrous decision to separate the men from their ships, the mission quickly became a desperate journey of survival. Of the four hundred men who had embarked on the voyage, only four survived-three Spaniards and an African slave. This tiny band endured a horrific march through Florida, a harrowing raft passage across the Louisiana coast, and years of enslavement in the American Southwest. They journeyed for almost ten years in search of the Pacific Ocean that would guide them home, and they were forever changed by their experience. The men lived with a variety of nomadic Indians and learned several indigenous languages. They saw lands, peoples, plants, and animals that no outsider had ever before seen. In this enthralling tale of four castaways wandering in an unknown land, Andres Resendez brings to life the vast, dynamic world of North America just a few years before European settlers would transform it forever.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Well written June 16, 2008
The author does a good job of setting the context for Cabeza de Vaca's adventure. I found the level of historical detail to be just about perfect. Highly recommended!
 Decent history, but it could have been so much better May 19, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Cabeza de Vaca gets most of the credit in history, but he actually had three companions who also survived an amazing eight-year ordeal in the New World. They were part of a 600-person expedition that in 1528 sailed from Havana with the objective of landing on the coast of eastern Mexico about 150 miles below the Rio Grande. Due to the power of the Gulf Stream and incredible errors in navigation, they ended up in Florida, near Tampa Bay. Three hundred men set out to explore the interior, were cut off from the ships, and ultimately stranded. Most eventually made it to the Texas Gulf Coast on rafts, but within a short time their number was down to about twenty and a little later only four -- Cabeza and the other three. The four were enslaved by Indians for about six years and then, after achieving an exalted status as trading intermediaries and medicine men, they spent two more years wandering around southern Texas and northern Mexico before re-uniting with Spanish conquistadors (ironically, a group of Spanish on a mission to round up and enslave Native Americans). The four ended up having one of the most unusual and trying experiences in history.
In A LAND SO STRANGE, Andres Resendez tells the above story. I suspect the book is sound history. To judge from the 53 pages of footnotes at the back of the book, it certainly appears that A LAND SO STRANGE is well-, probably exhaustively, researched. If only the writing reflected something close to the same amount of time and effort as was devoted to the research, we might have a classic work of history. But, instead, the material seems to be hurriedly or indifferently organized and presented and the writing itself frequently lapses into the cliched and formulaic, and even sappy. There also are a number of type-setting errors and at least one glaring error in word use. On the plus side, there are about thirty useful illustrations and maps. Three-and-a-half stars rounded down.
A Land So Strange March 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a fascinating tale of early European exploration of North America that has been omitted from the US school curriculum. The author, Andres Resendez, is Professor of History at UC Davis; he provides an account that is both scholarly and engaging. The narrative is accessible to the layman with enough concrete detail to make it absorbing and gripping. While the scholarly integrity is evident, the details of references and supporting evidence are provided as end notes so as not to impede the reading of chronicle of these Spaniards-turned-shaman. Resendez strikes a nice balance between offering a narrative in absorbable prose for those wanting to read the text as a story and yet provides ample notes and references for those wanting to engage in further reading or research.
An very readable and exciting true tale of early America February 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Unlike too many history books by college professors, this book is highly readable and exciting. I was sorry to see it come to an end, and it has sparked my interest in reading related books. And it has many footnotes, so it is easy to find related books! The book was obviously extremely well researched and paints a very balanced picture of native Americans and Spaniard explorers. While basically a story of probably the first Europeans that lived among native Americans, it includes a lengthy build-up as to how they came to do so, as well as information at the end of the book as to what happened after their life among the native Americans ended. It provides exceptional information on the life of native Americans in the southern portion of North America at that time and, for me, gave me several insights into the European advance into America, such as 1) while native Americans remain properly indignant at the violence brought by many Europeans, some native Americans were also unreasonably violent against the Europeans and 2) there were some Europeans who advocated a peaceful co-existence with native Americans. For anyone who has interest in life in America in the early 1500's, this is a wonderful book. The two- or three-page description of what is was like on a ship sailing across the Atlantic at that time is a real eye-opener!
 a land so strange February 12, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
An interesting book but a there was not enough details for me to make it excellent. Of course the details are not known so the author could not include them. If you are particularly interested in this subject you will probably enjoy it more than me.
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