[books 2008] Steampunk & more Mexican history

[inulro]

I'm tired, so these are probably the Worst Reviews Ever

11. Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
This month's Bibliogoths book, and we haven't discussed it yet. So I'll just say steampunk adventure involving moving cities (not a unique concept; I can think of a few books where I've enountered such a thing and I don't read much fantasy or SF) which eat each other (that's the different bit). I might do a drive-by and update this after our meeting.

12. The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo
One of the two major primary sources for the conquest of the Aztecs. It's surprisingly readable, very Boys' Own Adventure stuff. Fascinating early European description of mesoamerican culture. This is largely due to the skill of the translator, JM Cohen - the full thing is twice as long, but he has taken out the digressions and the lists and made a readable story for the general reader.

Some points I noted - there's no hint of hypocrisy when Bernal Diaz writes about being there to convert the natives to Christianity and in the next paragraph sets out the value of the luxury goods encountered in the day's adventure. Ditto the slavery - they didn't enslave the natives en masse, just the ones that broke the (Spanish) laws. Which they probably didn't understand. He's very open about the women that the chieftains "gave" the Spanish soldiers.

Now that I understand how the Spanish got control, I want to know more about What Happened Next. How did they spread out from the Valley of Mexico? How did the colonisation process work?

I'm a nerd. Live with it.

Comments

[sheepthief.livejournal.com]

"What happened next" is almost always of interest, and all the more so for often being ignored. Everyone knows how WWII drew to a close, but what of the late 40's, both here in the UK and throughout the rest of the arena?

[inulro.livejournal.com]

Vera Brittain writes about post-war Europe in Testament of Experience. It's really grim, and far more interesting than the parts about the war.