Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest in Coronado's Footsteps on + 1180 more book reviews
This memoir of Preston's really turned out to be much more than I expected. In 1989, Douglas Preston decided to take a trip on horseback retracing the route of Spanish conquistador Coronado's journey in 1540 through the southwest in search of the mythic seven cities of gold. Walter Nelson, a friend of Preston's and a photographer, decided to go with him on a journey that they originally thought might take a month but turned into several months travel of nearly 1000 miles. Preston was inexperienced in horsemanship and Nelson was not much better so they also took along a Mexican wrangler who promised them a solid knowledge of horses and packing them but who turned out to be worthless! Along the way, the group lost their horses many times, were lucky to find water, and were generally like fish out of water. But they also met many different people who helped them out and also provided some history of the region. These included ranchers, farmers, and American Indians.
The book is filled with the history of the southwest including what happened to Coronado and his group and their brutality to the Indians. It also told the story of the ranchers and farmers including various feuds and disputes that occurred back in the 1800's. These included issues over branding and rustling which resulted in what was called the Pleasant Valley Feud in the 1880's. But probably the most interesting part of the narrative were the various histories of the Native Americans from the time of Coronado to the present day. Preston filled the book with histories of the various Pueblo Indians including the Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, Acoma, and Pecos. He also included loads of information about the Apache and their wars with the U.S. This included histories of Cochise and Geronimo who was the last of the tribe to surrender.
I've read a lot of Preston's work in the past. He is probably best know as the coauthor of the Pendergast series of novels along with Lincoln Child. He has also written several nonfiction works which I have also enjoyed including The Monster of Florence and Dinosaurs in the Attic. I would highly recommend Cities of Gold to anyone interested in the history of the southwest especially Native American history or to anyone interested in a good travel narrative.
The book is filled with the history of the southwest including what happened to Coronado and his group and their brutality to the Indians. It also told the story of the ranchers and farmers including various feuds and disputes that occurred back in the 1800's. These included issues over branding and rustling which resulted in what was called the Pleasant Valley Feud in the 1880's. But probably the most interesting part of the narrative were the various histories of the Native Americans from the time of Coronado to the present day. Preston filled the book with histories of the various Pueblo Indians including the Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, Acoma, and Pecos. He also included loads of information about the Apache and their wars with the U.S. This included histories of Cochise and Geronimo who was the last of the tribe to surrender.
I've read a lot of Preston's work in the past. He is probably best know as the coauthor of the Pendergast series of novels along with Lincoln Child. He has also written several nonfiction works which I have also enjoyed including The Monster of Florence and Dinosaurs in the Attic. I would highly recommend Cities of Gold to anyone interested in the history of the southwest especially Native American history or to anyone interested in a good travel narrative.
