A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World

By Mike Pearson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 23, 2008 at 4:14 p.m.
Updated April 24, 2008 at 12:53 p.m.

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* Nonfiction. By Tony Horwitz. Henry Holt, $27.50. Grade: B

Book in a nutshell: Horwitz debunks accepted wisdom that America was settled from east to west, thanks to the Pilgrims and other pioneers. Instead, he argues that the country was actually settled south to north, thanks to Spanish conquistadors who invaded Mexico and trekked north. Theirs was truly the first gold rush.

Voyage reads like a travelogue of the most horrific sort. Beyond the graphic description of tortures inflicted on the natives, he drives and hikes hundreds of miles of trails that various conquistadors traveled. Even then, he can't be sure he's on the right track; historical records indicate where the invaders went but are far from specific. He spends hours driving through Southwestern deserts, wondering how the Spanish managed to do this on foot, clad in 100 pounds of armor.

Horwitz starts with a little geographic foreplay, noting that the Vikings landed in Northeast Canada, and then tries to follow the path of Christopher Columbus, who never got closer to American soil than the Dominican Republic. Tracking these explorers, the author takes a keen interest in their effect on the indigenous populations.

The Spanish who landed in Florida decimated the Indian population either by force or by introducing diseases. The same was true in the Southwest, with gold-seeking explorers brutalizing Indians who refused to cooperate.

Cabeza de Vaca. Ponce de Leon. Hernando de Soto. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado - all get their due as Horwitz details their role in shaping "America."

Sample of prose: "The Spanish didn't just explore: they settled, from the Rio Grande to the Atlantic. Upon founding St. Augustine, the first permanent European city on U.S. soil, the Spanish gave thanks and dined with Indians - fifty-six years before the Pilgrim Thanksgiving at Plymouth."

Pros: Horwitz uncovers some interesting nuggets and synthesizes enduring mysteries, like the fate of Virginia Dare, the first white child born in America. He tries to put himself in the conquistadors' boots, imagining their trials and tribulations.

Cons: When describing conquest, he can be articulate and compelling. But there's no through line here: It's like elaborate pieces of a puzzle strewn all over the table. And despite the Spaniards' atrocities, Horwitz retains a certain admiration for their barbaric tenacity, too easily putting it in the context of the time.

Final word: As Horwitz travels from sea to shining sea in search of historical truth, his prose varies from uplifting to sluggish. Only a true history buff will devote the effort needed to see it through.

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