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

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 1,428 ratings

Price: 17.46

Last update: 12-24-2024


About this item

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 300 men who had embarked on the journey, 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 10 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 seen before.

In this enthralling tale of four castaways wandering in an unknown land, Andres Resndez brings to life the vast, dynamic world of North America just a few years before European settlers would transform it forever.


Top reviews from the United States

  • James Kohl
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good book, well researched
    Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2022
    I read this with “Chronicle of the Narváez expedition / Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca; translated by Fanny Bandelier; revised and annotated by Harold Augenbraum”, going back and forth, more or less chronologically, and I recommend that. This is an excellent book, extremely well researched and written. (One idiosyncrasy of mine, which arose from the cross comparison, was that I found myself disbelieving the author’s suggestion that by Cabeza de Vaca’s use of the Spanish word “barca” in the Chronicle, he meant the Spanish equivalent of “raft”.) I would recommend reading “No Settlement, No Conquest; A History of the Coronado Entrada” by Richard Flint for that author’s thoughts on, first, the unique specific motivations of the Spanish participants in the explorations/conquests of the New World, and especially how it contributed to their actions in certain adversities, and, second, the motivations and communications amongst the Native Americans, and the roles those played in interacting with those from the Old World, Estebanico’s killing being a case in point. But do not let these quibbles deter you. This is a book that is well worth reading, from its excellent background to its concluding epilogue.
  • Craig Gordon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Cool book
    Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2024
    Great book. Awesome story
  • Alex Kastner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated and way under appreciated
    Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2024
    One of the best adventure books about the new world. A look into the highs and lows of exploration and conquering and refreshing look into how some men attempted it
  • Twenty Haglund
    5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, well written and historically sound
    Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2011
    I find that historical books written in the past couple of decades fall into two classes: (1) well-written, exciting books that are historically suspect, and (2) historically accurate books that are boring. The former are written by journalists or writers or television producers who decided that history books sell; these are researched from secondary (tertiary?) sources by non-experts more interested in concocting a thrilling narrative than with conveying accurage information. The latter are written by historians who know the material, but not how to convey it in a compelling manner.

    "A Land So Strange" is a rare example of a popular history book written by a bone fide historian who knows how to write well and tell a story.

    Resendez sticks to the two main sources for this story, but also adds details from near contemporaneous sources who had access to the people involved in the story and documents that are no longer extant. He fills this out with background information about Spain's activities in the New World and how the expedition in question came to be. Along the way he fills in blanks by reference to modern archeological findings.

    The original story had gaps, and scholars don't agree on many of the details, down to the route taken. Resendez points out things that we cannot know and offers intelligent speculation. In cases where he judges one view to be more likely, he takes that, but explains his decisions, often in the footnotes. The footnotes are often lengthy, in the manner of William H. Prescott. You can skip them if you want, but there are some fascinating details there (on the Kindle, unfortunately, navigating footnotes is kind of a pain, so I tended to just read all of them for a chapter at a time).

    We do not have the Indians take on these events, nor any first-hand information from the slave Estebanico and the two other travelers. Resendez makes an attempt to guess at what other participants were feeling and thinking if there are external facts that allow such guesses.
  • Tracy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Background Information
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2024
    Resendez gives the reader a detailed history of events prior to the shipwreck on the coast of Florida. Great descriptions of all the characters and their motives for participating in this incredible adventure. Highly recommended!
  • Richard A. Leveille
    4.0 out of 5 stars More than just a survival story
    Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2016
    This book is Resendez’ gloss on what is, in my opinion, the most amazing survival story I know of, and I’ve read a lot of them! It’s not just amazing because three shipwrecked Spaniards and a Moorish slave (Estevan) managed to make it from the Florida panhandle to the Gulf coast of Texas to the Pacific Coast of Mexico in a staggering eight year odyssey, but because of the unique way they did it, and the consequences for the Americas and the Spanish Empire.

    Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions were the only survivors of the disastrous Narvaez expedition, which left Spain with 5 ships, 600 men and a license to conquer Florida in 1527 and ended up castaway on the barrier islands of South Texas in 1528. They did not see another "Christian" (European) until they ran into the advance guard of the brutal Nuno de Guzman's conquering army near the Pacific coast of Mexico, in Sinaloa, in 1536. In the interim, they went from being guests, then slaves of Indian tribes on the Texas coast, to faith healers and famous “Children of the Sun”. It was a mutually beneficial, but rather bizarre, ritualistic exchange, of their services for goods, apparently orchestrated by their Indian hosts, that really what got them across the continent safe and sound. It went like this: after performing their healings in a village, its inhabitants would take them to the next village along their route where their hosts would trade them for everything owned by its occupants. They would heal the sick of this village, who would then take them on to the next one and repeat the process…so that the miraculous strangers flowed northwest and goods flowed back to the southeast and everybody left happy.

    The repercussions of the four castaways miraculous re-appearance were almost immediate. They recounted their tale to Viceroy Mendoza in Mexico City, including reports they had gotten from their Indian hosts of multi-storied dwellings with abundant crops and, possibly, metals and gems, located to the north of their route. This second-hand story, compounded with the Aztec’s tale of a homeland called Aztlan, somewhere to the north or northwest of Mexico, accelerated Spain’s push in that direction. Mendoza commissioned Fray Marcos de Niza to follow up on their tale, and gave him Estevan as his guide. Estevan and Fray Marcos' “discovery” of Cibola/Zuni, where Estevan was killed in 1539, and Marcos’ wildly exaggerated description of the same, led almost immediately to the Vazquez de Coronado expedition of 1540, of which Mendoza was a heavy financial backer. All of this is quite ironic, given that the only “wealth” they actually saw with their own eyes on their journey consisted of a copper bell, 3 arrowheads made of “emerald” (more likely malachite) and some beads described variously as of silver, coral or pearls! Quite a transfiguration from these meager things into the magnificent “Seven Cities of Cibola”!

    Cabeza de Vaca began arguing for decent treatment of the Indians immediately upon being reunited with his countrymen in Sinaloa and continued to do so for the rest of his career. Conflicts with fellow colonists over just this issue ultimately landed him back in Spain in chains after a brief stint as governor of what is now Paraguay. I think he ranks up with Bernardo de las Casas as one of the most enlightened and humane Spaniards of the epoch.

    Resendez adds some interesting commentary on Cabeza de Vaca’s chronicle, giving updated anthropological, ethnological and route information, plus background on the castaways, historical context and so forth, but by far the most powerful part of the book are the words of Cabeza de Vaca himself. If fact, the latter's "Naufragos" should really be read along with Resendez’ book to get the full impact of this remarkable journey.

    • Best Sellers in

     
     

    A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 194
    18.8
     
     

    River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile

    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 3306
    17.72
     
     

    Finding Ultra (Revised and Updated Edition): Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering M

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6576
    17.72
     
     

    Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas

    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1313
    15.75
     
     

    MeatEater's Campfire Stories: Discoveries, Revelations & Near Misses: Campfire Stories

    5 5 out of 5 stars 3
    13.78
     
     

    Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 152
    22.04
     
     

    Nitro: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1759
    21.83
     
     

    Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 543
    11.57