Amazons, Savages, and Machiavels: Travel and Colonial Writing in English, 1550-1630: An Anthology

Hadfield's anthology offers lots of digestible morsels from important primary sources. This book serves well to introduce some of the key players in early modern travel writing, and Hadfield's introductory matter (for the book as a whole and for each categorical subset he offers) provides clues about current critical preoccupations. Of course, the problem with such an anthology is that it can only give snippets, but Hadfield's choice to cover a wide range of primary selections makes for a volume of breadth if not always depth. That said, sometimes reading more than a short extract of some of the authors in this edition can cause sudden sleep syndrome anyway, so I also respect the snippet form. On the whole, a very helpful guidebook for those interested in exploring early modern travel writing and a gateway to further reading on the topic. Excellent for use in a college or grad level seminar.