Most studies of medieval warfare in the late 14th and 15th centuries concentrate on the Hundred Years' War between England and France and the Wars of the Roses.But meanwhile, on the Iberian peninsula, the foundations of Spain's military 'Golden Age' were being laid as the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon under the Trastamara dynasty grew in power, ambition and success.Featuring spectacular full-colour artwork, and rare manuscript illustrations, this book depi...

Most studies of medieval warfare in the late 14th and 15th centuries concentrate on the Hundred Years' War between England and France and the Wars of the Roses.But meanwhile, on the Iberian peninsula, the foundations of Spain's military 'Golden Age' were being laid as the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon under the Trastamara dynasty grew in power, ambition and success.Featuring spectacular full-colour artwork, and rare manuscript illustrations, this book depi...

Many accounts portray the conquest of the New World as a remarkable military achievement, with Cortés' vastly outnumbered but better armed Spaniards defeating hordes of superstitious savages. However, the reality of these events is far more complex and no less significant. The first Conquistadors who had sailed in search of prosperity, inspired by dreams of unlimited riches, soon became disillusioned and restless. With disease rampant, resources exhausted, and the Caribbean populations dwi...

According to one popular image, the Aztec army was a ruthless and efficient war machine, that established an empire by convincingly overwhelming its neighbors, sacrificing thousands to bloodthirsty gods along the way. From a contrasting perspective, its native warriors were no match for the modern warring methods of Cortés' greatly outnumbered Spaniards, who decisively defeated them. The reality of the Aztec warrior's ability and effectiveness lies somewhere between those two extremes, as ...

For many years, scholars of the conquest worked to shift focus away from the Spanish perspective and bring attention to the often-ignored voices and viewpoints of the Indians. But recent work that highlights the “Indian conquistadors” has forced scholars to reexamine the simple categories of conqueror and subject and to acknowledge the seemingly contradictory roles assumed by native peoples who chose to fight alongside the Spaniards against other native groups. The Native Conquistador

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Discover how harnessing our body’s evolutionary adaptations to environmental stressors can help us unlock its full capabilities—now with a new preface and afterword“Informative, fun, and with a healthy degree of danger, this is a book for the adventurer in all of us.”—Gabrielle Reece, co-founder of XPT (Extreme Performance Training)Our ancestors crossed deserts, mountains, and oceans without even a whisp...

The #1 New York Times –bestselling author of The Miracle of Dunkirk tells the story of the Texans who fought Santa Anna's troops at the Battle of the Alamo."Probably the best of all Alamo accounts . . . a history which should last." — The New York Times Book ReviewLooking out over the walls of the whitewashed Alamo, sweltering ...

'The story reaches out and grabs you by the throat' - Dr Clare Wright, historian and author of The Forgotten Rebels of EurekaThe facts are shocking. The treachery is chilling. The fallout ongoing.This edition contains a new author note with shocking new material that has come to light as a result of the groundbreaking original publication.Investigative journalist Frank Walker's ...

The smell of sweet cinnamon on your morning oatmeal, the gentle heat of gingerbread, the sharp piquant bite from your everyday peppermill. The tales these spices could tell: of lavish Renaissance banquets perfumed with cloves, and flimsy sailing ships sent around the world to secure a scented prize; of cinnamon-dusted custard tarts and nutmeg-induced genocide; of pungent elixirs and the quest for the pepper groves of paradise.The Taste of Conquest offers up a riveting, globe-trotti...

Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of the World's Largest ArchipelagoIndonesia is by far the largest nation in Southeast Asia and has the fourth largest population in the world after the United States. Indonesian history and culture are especially relevant today as the Island nation is an emerging power in the region with a dynamic new leader. It is a land of incredible diversity and unending paradoxes that has a long and rich history stretching ba...

The New World story of the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca in his own wordsThis riveting true story is the first major narrative detailing the exploration of North America by Spanish conquistadors (1528-1536). The author, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, was a fortune-seeking Spanish nobleman and the treasurer of an expedition sent to claim for Spain a vast area of today's southern United States. In simple, straightforward prose, Cabeza de Vaca chronicl...

The Maya of the Yucatán have long been drawn into the Mexican state's attempt to create modern Mexican citizens (mestizos). At the same time, they have contended with globalization pressures, first with hemp production and more recently with increased tourism and the fast-growing influence of American-based evangelical Protestantism. Despite these pressures to turn Maya into mestizo, the citizens of the small town of Maxcanú have used subtle forms of resistance—humor, satire, and language—...