A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca

By Andrés Reséndez

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465068405
• ISBN13: 9780465068401
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.3" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

A land so strange

I couldn't put it down, couldn't wait to get to the next page to find out what happened. Gave a historical prespective of life in the 1500s in Spain and the life of the native americans in the New world. Maybe not a book for everyone, but I thought it was fanastic reading, I even read the footnotes.

One of the greatest stories retold by a great historian

I had a hard time putting this book down!!! This is one of the greatest stories ever told, retold by a historian who really knows the story. Resendez recounts the tale of Cabeza de Vaca (and crew) with wise speculation about places, times, and the details that bring a "real" history to the story. Without a doubt, one can tell that Resendez researched this topic with vigor. Resendez's story is exciting...you can imagine that he wished to be there with the expedition! The maps are the best. They really help one understand de Vaca's original adventure. ***If you have never heard of Cabeza de Vaca...buy (or borrow from a library) now "Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America."

Great storytelling

This is a remarkable story about a remarkable 16th-century transcontinental adventure. Resendez is not just a solid narrative historian, but a born story teller. Reading this is like listening to the adventures of Cabeza and his partners around a campfire. Especially valuable is the author's ability to make the many Indian groups full participants in the history, not just part of the background as is so commonly done. This story was once well known, but it has faded. I hope that this book will bring it back, and remind Anglo Americans that Indians and Spaniards were spinning history on this continent long before the first Englishman landed at Jamestown.

astonishing but true

Almost 500 years ago the New World had just been opened up to European exploration. Columbus opened the floodgates for what was mostly a Spanish invasion early on. 30 years after Columbus made that historic first voyage the Spaniards were plundering places like Mexico and Peru. The Spanish Crown granted land rights to the unexplored Florida territory. It stretched clear across the southern region of North America, from present day Florida to Baja California. An expedition set forth to lay claim to this domain. They sailed from Cuba-hundreds of Spaniards lusting for treasure. Back in those days, it was tough finding good navigators to this little known region. They were trying to land along the coast of northern Mexico. Instead, they ended up on the coast of Florida. Native peoples lived in great numbers all along the Gulf coast. The voyage became a total disaster and a fight for survival as the invaders were felled by attacks from indigenous people, accidents, climate, disease, starvation, and their own incredible stupidity. This story was once well known. The author has gone back and excavated lots of early source material. The most valuable was the account of the experience written by Cabeza de Vaca. I won't say any more about how this huge force of invaders was ultimately reduced to 4 starving, naked men. But it was. One of them was de Vaca. There were 3 Spaniards and a Moorish slave. They wandered the area for years and made it all the way across the continent. It is an extraordinary story. I'll leave those accounts for you, the reader to discover on your own.