Fifth Sun

A New History of the Aztecs

De: Camilla Townsend

Narrado por: Christina Delaine

In November 1519, Hernando Cortes walked along a causeway leading to the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with Moctezuma. That story - and the story of what happened afterwards - has been told many times, but always following the narrative offered by the Spaniards.

After all, we have been taught, it was the Europeans who held the pens. But the Native Americans were intrigued by the Roman alphabet and, unbeknownst to the newcomers, they used it to write detailed histories in their own language of Nahuatl. Until recently, these sources remained obscure, only partially translated, and rarely consulted by scholars.

For the first time, in Fifth Sun, the history of the Aztecs is offered in all its complexity based solely on the texts written by the indigenous people themselves. Camilla Townsend presents an accessible and humanized depiction of these native Mexicans, rather than seeing them as the exotic, bloody figures of European stereotypes.

The conquest, in this work, is neither an apocalyptic moment, nor an origin story launching Mexicans into existence. The Mexica people had a history of their own long before the Europeans arrived and did not simply capitulate to Spanish culture and colonization. Instead, they realigned their political allegiances, accommodated new obligations, adopted new technologies, and endured.

©2019 Oxford University Press (P)2020 Tantor

Fantastic, but too short!

A really excellent, interesting and unique history and an amazing story. Narration is impressive with lots of difficult Nahuatl names and phrases.

Great Book

Well written, enjoyable! Narration can get annoying - woman tries to impersonate male voice.

Great book, annoying narration

The constant spelling out of names is disruptive, patronising and totally unecessary of an otherwise very educational and interesting book.

A New Perspective of the Aztecs

A wonderfully told history of the pre-Conquest peoples of Mexico that helps them come alive, at least for someone like me with minimal knowledge of these cultures. Thoroughly researched, told in a lively and interesting style, and narrated by someone with excellent pronunciation of the various words in the ancient language as well as Spanish. Highly recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in history and human, particularly indigenous, cultures.

Solid Rewrite of Aztec and Mexican history

from 100 years prior to Cortez thru the documentation of the history. apparently I need more words

Fantastic read!

A book about the Aztec's that's not only from the Spaniards point of view.

Refreshing

For centuries, scholars have relied on European accounts of the encounter of two worlds that occurred when Indigenous nations allied themselves with Spanish invaders to topple the so-called Triple Alliance of Mexico-Tenochtitlán, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. Camilla Townsend revisits this story, and widens its scope, to tell it through Indigenous eyes. By relying on Indigenous language sources, she adds to the ongoing work of questioning existing narratives that are driven by Eurocentric perspectives. An additional bonus for this audiobook is the thorough and incredibly helpful bibliography. Independent scholars will find this particularly useful, as sources can be hard to find and difficult to navigate. Lastly, the narrator has obviously taken the time and made a valiant effort when it comes to Náhuatl pronunciation. It is incredibly refreshing to see this degree of diligence and respect paid to the Náhuatl language, it is not unnoticed and very much appreciated. Wonderful book!

A Riveting book

An interesting survey level history of the Aztec Empire from creation to the downfall of the Mexica Empire to the Spanish. And ending with the grandchildren, as colonization began to take a more imperial turn.

Overall, an easy read, and full of great information. Highly Recommended. Narration includes spellings of Mexica/Nahuatl Names, which is a great bonus.

Exceptional. Truly.

Gives voice to the everyday lives of the indigenous peoples and their pragmatic attitudes to their post and preconquest desires to use the new European phonetic alphabet to record, and keep, their rich and largely overlooked history alive. The deftly written timelines between Spanish and indigenous accounts of concurrent events requires a marked perspective attitude of the writer. And did she ever pull it off.

Good with annoyances

The story of the Aztecs as carefully researched and told is an important one. It provides a better understanding of what transpired rather than the Spanish mythologizing. My one criticism is the audible version where the unfamiliar names are spelled out repeatedly thereby interrupting the flow of the story.