The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo - Volume 1

By: Bernal Díaz Del Castilllo, John Ingram Lockhart - translator

Narrated by: David Prickett

Relive the history, adventure, tension and dangers faced by the Conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortes - the Alexander of the Americas - as they make their way along the coast of the new world before delving deep into it’s heartland to clash wits and do battle with the mighty Aztec Emperor Moctesuma (aka Moctezuma, aka Montezuma).

This memoir is an autobiographical account of the events as witnessed by Bernal Diaz - a Conquistador on that journey - a man from Spain who desperately hoped to carve out a life of riches for himself in the new world and instead found himself on an epic journey of conquest, whilst desperately fighting to stay alive, in previously unknown and unimagined lands. This is a true tale written in his own hand and translated into English.

It is a gripping account of the events from the soldiers' viewpoint as each day becomes a battle for survival against incredible odds and could easily be mistaken for a work of fiction. Each chapter is filled with jaw dropping details of the journey into that world - a journey that has long since been forgotten and can now be rediscovered. It is a true tale of exploration, adventure and daring that recaptures the spirit of the age and the uncertainties of life as each side struggles to come to grips with the first cataclysmic meeting between two empires from the old and new worlds.

This is a chapter by chapter account of how these two powerful forces dealt with the knowledge of each others existence and is a very personal account of the journey of this one Conquistador. A tale made even more compelling by virtue of the fact that it is 100 percent true – yet 100 percent unbelievable.

Public Domain (P)2018 David Prickett

First hand account of the Conquest of Mexico

This is only one of a couple of first-hand accounts written about the conquest of Mexico. Which in my mind is one of the most amazing points of history. People ask if you could go back in time, what would you like to witness, for me this is it. I have read this book numerous times and enjoy it every time. It starts out a little slow as they move through the Yucatan and then into what is today Mexico. It is said that Diaz wrote his story after reading the account written by Cortes's secretary Gomara. Diaz felt Gomara had written the account to glorify Cortes rather than get the facts straight. Diaz wrote this in his old age while living in what is today Guatemala. It tells about the travel through Mexico, the tribes of Native peoples encountered, then the entrance into Teotihuacan and his meeting of the emperor. It talks about the Aztec people and their interactions with the Spaniards. Then the destruction of the Aztec empire.
It is an incredible story, take some of the details with a grain of salt and realize that another culture seen through a foreigners eyes can be difficult.
I read that there is a series coming out about this story on Amazon staring Javier Bardem, which if true I am really looking forward to. This is a great chance to get the book before the series comes out.
The narration is a little robot like, but stick with it.

Amazing first hand story

People would be wise to read this account before any modern analytical work. His perspective as a common soldier is valuable because his ego was being checked, unlike leadership or academic types of his time or ours. This is just his story, that he lived. I know that modern scholarship views his account as self-serving and biased, but his skin was in the game and that makes his telling more interesting than some revisionist historian/SJW/anti-colonialist hack author who is 500 years removed and camping comfortably and safely at the university library. Love them or hate them, the conquistadors had courage and determination. The narrator is terrible. It would seem to me that a publisher who is going to take the time to have this long of a Spanish work produced in audio format would find a narrator who is somewhat familiar with the Spanish language. He's bad. I honestly thought he might be AI.

The most incredible adventure of all time.

This is the most incredible true adventure of all time. Where is the big budget Hollywood film for this??? We have never seen men like the Conquistadors in our lives, these heroes must have levels of testosterone more than quadruple what modern men possess. The feats of endurance, mastery of arms, the discipline, the unbelievable greed and righteous piety wrapped in the protection of the Spanish emperor and the Catholic Church are almost unbelievable to modern ears. This story is fantastic, no other adventure story comes close. This story would have been SOOO MUCH better for immersion and presentation if the narrator had any idea of how to pronounce Spanish-language words in natural Spanish, it sounded really cheap when he would repeat words like "La Havana" meaning Hanava, Cuba and "La Florida" meaning Florida, USA with a stiff American English accent.

Perceived truthful account of the incredible story of treats of character non existing in modern society

The narrative is full of details which play important role in planning and executing of Cortes endeavors, with excellent descriptions of individual characters of conquistadors and Indian leaders, particularly Montezuma. That convince reader about authenticity of the author account. Reader cannot escape comparison with modern times with low quality of leaders, which easy life conditions do not create. These conditions give presently upper hand not to “doers” but rather “objectors” preventing any action. This book makes clear than judging the past times by modern standards is foolish, particularly that those who do it are ignorant of life realities of the past. It seems that the author intension was to present the TRUTH, which should be an ultimate goal of any action, and presently seems to be forgotten in our times overloaded with meaningless information.

It’s a better read

The narrator couldn’t bother to learn how to pronounce Spanish names. I understand that the native names and words can be difficult but there’s no excuse for butchering the Spanish language.