Conquistador
by Buddy Levy · first published 2008
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Narrative history of Cortés and the fall of the Aztec empire. Readers say it reads like a story and corrects the assumption that the conquest was a simple takeover. Suits history fans, and works well as an audiobook.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In an astonishing work of scholarship that reads like an adventure thriller, historian Buddy Levy records the last days of the Aztec empire and the two men at the center of an epic clash of cultures. "I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold." --Hernan CortesIt was a moment unique in human history, the face-to-face meeting between two men from civilizations a world apart. Only one would survive the encounter. In 1519, Hernan Cortes arrived on the shores of Mexico with a roughshod crew of adventurers and the intent to expand the Spanish empire. Al
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2010–2025Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest
Matthew Restall
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 31 recommend · 3 mention1 recommend · 31 recommend
2013–2026The Last Days of the Incas
Kim MacQuarrie
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 74 recommend · 7 mention4 recommend · 74 recommend
2010–2026The conquest of new Spain
Bernal Diaz
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 117 recommend · 11 mention7 recommend · 117 recommend
2009–20261491
Charles C. Mann
Recommended by 43 · mentioned by 6343 recommend · 63 mention43 recommend · 6343 recommend
2007–2026Guns, Germs, and Steel
Jared Diamond
Recommended by 214 · mentioned by 510214 recommend · 510 mention214 recommend · 510214 recommend
Buddy Levy's book on the Aztecs and Cortez is one of my favorites of all time. https://www.amazon.com/Conquistador-Hernan-Cortes-Montezuma-... It would be amazing if you created an interactive history experience based on this. I'd love to be able to jump around to see where all of the historical tentpole moments…
on “A Dutch graphic artist reconstructed Tenochtitlan in 3D” ↗Conquistador by Buddy Levy is also an great source on this topic. He has other books about disastrous expeditions in the Arctic. His writing theme is basically "some guys set out on an expedition and then everything…
on “Skulls reveal scale of human sacrifice in Aztec capital (2018)” ↗…Robert Kurson - Ambitious wreck divers. 15. The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes - Manhattan Project. 16. American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin - Robert Oppenheimer. 17. Conquistador by Buddy Levy - Hernán Cortés and the Aztecs. 18. Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner - Water infrastructure in the American West. 19. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough - The invention of flight.…
on “Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things” ↗If you want something in a wonderfully engaging narrative style, there is also Conquistador by Buddy Levy.
on “Contested Legacy of the Conquistadors” ↗I highly recommend you read (or listen, the audiobook was great) to Conquistador by Buddy Levy. It might change your mind on this point. It tells the story of Cortez from the day they arrive on the shores of Mexico to when they take over the Aztec empire, where there were still…
on “Evidence for European presence in the Americas in AD 1021” ↗If you are a fan of history, Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs by Buddy Levy is a fantastic read. Prior to reading this book, I naively assumed Cortes waltzed into Meso America and took over, this…
on “Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things” ↗In two books I've read recently (Conquistador about Hernan Cortes, and Civilized to Death which contrasts the lives of modern humans with ancient ones) the authors mention how fat was often poached from the dead -- animals and people alike. It was…
on “Aboriginal ritual passed down over 12,000 years, cave find shows” ↗> "Fuck the conquistadors." I don't know the story of the Inca very well, but I did just read about Cortes' conquest of the Aztecs (Buddy Levy, Conquistador), and the primary moral of the story that I got was "if you believe…
on “Conquest of the Incas” ↗