De Soto, Coronado, Cabrillo: Explorers of the Northern Mystery

Lavender, David, 1910-2003Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8

Word count: 193K words
Chapters: 20

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. De Soto, Coronado, Cabrillo: Explorers of the Northern Mystery by David Lavender Author: Lavender, David, 1910-2003, Language: English, Class: E011: History: America: America, Release Date: Nov 30, 2017

Editor's review

This book focuses on the explorations of the sixteenth-century Spanish explorers De Soto, Coronado, and Cabrillo in the North American continent, organized around the so-called "Northern Mystery." With a popular yet solid style, author Lavender links the motives, routes, encounters, and consequences of the three expeditions, presenting both the lure of gold and legend and the complex contacts between indigenous societies and European pathfinders. As a public-domain ebook, it is moderate in length and clear in narrative, suitable as an introduction to early North American colonial exploration. While reading, note how the author balances retelling sources with readability, and the imperial expansion logic behind exploration. For readers interested in American history and the history of geographical discovery, it is a booklet that quickly builds a timeline and character relationships; for classroom teaching, it can also serve as supplementary material read alongside maps.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in the early history of American exploration
Students needing background on North American colonial history
Those who enjoy geographical discovery and travel narrative
Middle school history teachers preparing related classroom material

Not a good fit for

Researchers expecting deep scholarly verification and footnotes
Beginning readers hoping for a Chinese translation
Readers who prefer contemporary novel-style strong plotting

Reading tips

Before reading, consult a map of the southern and southwestern United States and mark the approximate routes of the three expeditions.
Take brief notes chapter by chapter on each figure, sorting out similarities and differences among De Soto, Coronado, and Cabrillo.
When reading sections on contact with indigenous peoples, note the author's narrative standpoint and annotate.
After finishing, compare with other public-domain exploration histories and compare narrative emphases.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Which three explorers does this book mainly discuss?

The book revolves around three sixteenth-century Spanish explorers, De Soto, Coronado, and Cabrillo, telling of their search for wealth and legend in the North American continent, as well as the differences in their routes and historical impact.

What historical background is needed to read this book?

Basic knowledge of American history or European colonial expansion is enough. If you know nothing about sixteenth-century Spanish activity in the Americas, it is advisable to read a brief background introduction first, then enter the book; it will be easier to understand motives and geographical scope.

Is this a Chinese book or an English book?

According to the material, this is a public-domain English ebook in English. Chinese readers need some English reading ability or should read with a dictionary and map tools.

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About the author

Lavender, David, 1910-2003 Author

David Lavender (1910-2003) was an author whose writing centered on the history and geography of the American Southwest and the Pacific coast. Our catalog holds only one of his works, De Soto, Coronado, Cabrillo: Explorers of the Northern Mystery, which follows the early expeditions of De Soto, Coronado, and Cabrillo and the European search for the "Northern Mystery." Because public information is limited, details of his life, education, and career cannot be given here. The book nevertheless shows his skill in combining archival material with exploration narrative; his clear prose and attention to historical sequence make the early sixteenth-century exploration of the southern interior and west coast of North America accessible to general readers.