Columbus & Cortez

This a great non-pc but extremely well researched honest view of Columbus and Cortez and the motives behind their exploits and results of their endevors.

As a senior highschooler I had to retake US History because my 8th grade public school course did not count for credit. This was a breath of fresh air! All that seemed strangely lacking in school was told here in remarkable clarity. The author (who has two doctorates) takes a realistic view at the motives of these two significant characters in history. He explains different viewpoints clearly, and gives ordered arguments for each. Most essential are the words given of the characters (or their contemporaries) themselves. I love my Catholic/Christian faith and am proud of it, but realize that Christ's followers never have and never will be perfect. While Columbus and Cortez had blemishes their actions and lives were wholly interesting and certainly respectable. Give this book a try for a unique perspective of our nation's history - you won't be disappointed!

It takes a lot of guts to go against the current prevailing Christian bashing done by the pretenders to sophisticated intellect. Eidsmoe does this and more as his pen makes a sweep through some of the bloodiest carnage in tribal history. At the same time the author reveals the blemishes in all, including Cortez or Columbus. The real question one needs to ask is, Did the conquored people get a better way of life? I think the Christian Haters ought to seek counciling for their Christophobia. To bring history full circle, one should contemplate the precolumbian "flowery war" with that of the Heglian dialectic as applied to say the "cold war", fighting communism in one part of the world while aiding it in others, WMD and Iraq, and ultimately fighting a war on terror while simultaneously building a North American Union while dropping any pretense at U.S. border security. Professor you "done" good.

Dr. John Eidsmoe's treatment of Columbus' career (and character) is refreshingly grounded in real history, based upon diligent usage of the primary sources, as opposed to trite, dime-a-dozen journalist-"impressionism" that all-too-frequently foists socio-political opinions and judgmental dribble as substitutes for the hard work of actually digging out and reconstructing WHAT really hapened in world history, and WHY. Cortez defeated the 16th century Aztecs with an army of 99+% Native Americans (i.e., less than 1% of his soldiers were Europeans)! Why? And why is this unusual fact of history a "secret"? Dr. Eidsmoe, who teaches legal history, evidence rules re admissibility, and the like (at an East Coast law school), & has served as an international lecturer on 16th century Meso-American political history; Eidsmoe is over-qualified to screen the chaff from the mines of Euro-American history, and he does so like a judge who insists on discarding unreliable hearsay -- as he weighs the best evidence of what happened in the lives and documented exploits of Columbus, Cortez, and their contemporaries. [BTW: disregard the reviewer who ignores Eidsmoe's treatment of the Vikings and CORTEZ; -- that reviewer apparently skimmed some of the book's Columbus section, found historical info not to his liking, & rushed to (unscholarly) "judgment".] FYI, I have taught political history and international studies at local colleges since 1991, and I routinely use Dr. Eidsmoe's journal articles and his books as the definitive word on topics he has taken the unrushed time, scholarly accuracy, & insightful expertise to cover. Anyone who is especially interested in military issues will be delighted; Dr. Eidsmoe's military background comes through in his analysis and insights into how and why Cortez (and Columbus) achieved what they did. Also, Dr. Eidsmoe's generous inclusion of many extended quotations from 16th century diaries (of soldiers & other eye-witnesses) allows you, the reader, to draw your own conclusions about the trans-Atlantic adventures of Columbus & Cortez. Beware, tho'! Reading eye-witness quotations from the historical record for yourself may jolt a few preconceived impressions and/or grade school-learned stereotypes! ><> JJSJ <br>(a college professor, part-time judge, & internat'l lecurer)

Eidsmoe provides a new or should I say old twist to the conquistadores, Columbus and Cortez. He points out that we often judge these men and many of the things they did with a twentieth century perspective. This, according to Eidsmoe, is unfair; therefore, it is his goal throughout this book to demonstrate historicially the "why" of the events that took place. It is his attempt to look at history through the eyes of a 15th and 16th century Christian coming out of the Medieval Age and just how different the thinking and perspective was then as compared to now. Taken from an honest look at history I think this book gives a great challenge to those who judge these characters today for certain "atrocities". Instead, Eidsmoe helps the reader to understand these. One thing I appreciated as well was the documentation the author does. He qoutes from primary sources readily and this lends weight to his arguments. A good and challenging read.