Hernando Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico (Explorers of the New World)

The author, Gina De Angelis, does a pretty good job detailing the conquest of Mexico by Cortes.There is a chronolgy and glossary at the end of the book that will benefit many young students of history. Teachers will find the glossary especially helpful for teaching across the curriculum. The are a few colorful pictures that bring the story to life but the book could have used a few more. The author does a good job of incorporating a sense of the times and explaining relationships in the old and new world. This biography of Cortes explains his part in history, bringing him to life from a young man until his death and all his adventures along the way. As an introduction to Cortes, especially for a young reader, this book is pretty good. If a student has to do a report this is a good source coupled with suggested furhter reading like Hernan Cortes: The Life of a Spanish Conquistador (Graphic Nonfiction) or The Sad Night: The Story of an Aztec Victory and a Spanish Loss. Although the book is pretty accurate in it's assessment of the conquest, with the roles played by the indigenous tribes in helping the Spaniards etc., one minor thing was glossed over. The role of La Malinche or as she is called in the book, by her Spanish name(she was not)Donna Marina, is not emphasized enough nor are the repercussions of her assistance. There is no mention of the fact that Mexicans consider her a traitor. To the books credit it does say that without La Maliches help the mission of Cortes might have been unsuccessful. This book is recommended for young readers in the middle school range and is recommended for school and community libraries.

If you like this book of inquires then read Morgan Freeman, Black American Of Achievement by Gina Deangelis. It explains about Morgan Freeman and his times. This book shows his importance and how he evolve in life. What he stands for and so forth. This is also a very good Black History book. There is also a move out from this book and i belive the book would be good in a mini series about his life.