Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
The "Great Pedestrian" of North and South America
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Narrated by:
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Charles Henderson Norman
About this listen
Cabeza de Vaca's mode of transportation, afoot on portions of two continents in the early decades of the 16th century, fits one dictionary definition of the word "pedestrian". By no means, however, should the ancillary meanings of "commonplace" or "prosaic" be applied to the man or his remarkable adventures. Between 1528 and 1536, he trekked an estimated 2480 to 2640 miles of North American terrain from the Texas coast near Galveston Island to San Miguel de Culiacán near the Pacific Coast of Mexico. He then traveled under better circumstances, although still on foot, to Mexico City.
About a year later, Cabeza de Vaca returned to Spain. In 1540, the king granted Cabeza de Vaca civil and military authority in modern-day Paraguay. After arriving on the coast of Brazil in 1541, he was unable to find transportation by ship to the seat of his governorship. He then led a group of more 250 settlers through 1200 miles of unchartered back country, during which he lost only two men.
Cabeza de Vaca's travels are amazing in themselves, but during them he transformed from a proud Spanish don to lay advocate of Indian rights on both American continents. That journey is as remarkable as his travels. It was this "great awakening" that landed him in more trouble with Spaniards than Indians. Settlers at Asunción rebelled against the reformist governor, incarcerated him, tried to poison his food on two occasions, and finally sent him to Spain in irons. There he was tried and convicted on trumped-up charges of carrying out policies that were the exact opposite of what he had promoted - the humane protection of Indians.
This book examines the two great "journeys" of Cabeza de Vaca - his extraordinary adventures on two continents and his remarkable growth as a humanitarian.
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At the conclusion of the American Revolution, half the modern United States was part of the vast Spanish Empire. The year after Columbus' great voyage of discovery, in 1492, he claimed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for Spain. For the next 300 years, thousands of proud Spanish conquistadors and their largely forgotten Mexican allies went in search of glory and riches from Florida to California. Many died; few triumphed. Some were cruel; some were curious; some were kind. Missionaries and priests yearned to harvest Indian souls for God through baptism and Christian teaching.
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A Narration That is Difficult to Follow
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By: Robert Goodwin
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The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown
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- By: Lorri Glover, Daniel Smith
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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The English had long dreamed of colonizing America, especially after Sir Francis Drake brought home Spanish treasure and dramatic tales from his raids in the Caribbean. Ambitions of finding gold and planting a New World colony seemed within reach when, in 1606, Thomas Smythe extended overseas trade with the launch of the Virginia Company. But from the beginning the American enterprise was a disaster.
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Great !
- By Cheryl on 05-02-10
By: Lorri Glover, and others
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Explorers of the Nile
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- By: Tim Jeal
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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From award-winning author Tim Jeal comes a vivid examination of the six larger-than-life men and one extraordinary woman who set out to find the source of the White Nile in the 19th century.
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Great Story Flawed
- By The Mays-Dickens Family on 05-12-12
By: Tim Jeal
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Off the Edge of the Map
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- By: Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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An exciting new audiobook on the greatest explorers in history and how their discoveries shaped the modern world. Whether it is Rabban Bar Sauma, the 13th-century Chinese monk commissioned by the Mongols to travel West form a military alliance against the Islam; Marco Polo, who opened a window to the East for Europe; or Captain James Cook, whose maritime voyages of discovery created the global economy of the 21st century, each of these explorers had an indelible impact on the modern world. This audiobook will look at the 11 greatest explorers in history.
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Fascinating stories, delivery sometimes cringe-y
- By Oliver on 10-02-14
By: Michael Rank
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Champlain's Dream
- By: David Hackett Fischer
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- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Abridged
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In this sweeping, enthralling biography, acclaimed historian David Hackett Fischer brings to life the remarkable Samuel de Champlain - soldier, spy, master mariner, explorer, cartographer, artist, and Father of New France. We remember Champlain mainly as a great explorer. On foot and by ship and canoe, he traveled through what are now six Canadian provinces and five American states. Over more than 30 years he founded, colonized, and administered French settlements in North America.
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Excellent Narration - Illuminating History
- By jmholmberg on 11-02-08
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The Last Voyage of Columbus
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- Narrated by: Simon Jones
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- Abridged
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The epic, never-before-told story of Columbus's final, and perhaps greatest, journey to the New World. The final voyage of Christopher Columbus was by far his most dangerous, unexpected, exhilarating, and consequential. It was, as Pulitzer Prize-winner Samuel Eliot Morison put it, "a story of adventure which imagination could hardly invent; a struggle between man and the elements, in which the most splendid manifestations of devotion, loyalty and courage are mingled with the vilest human passions."
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Brilliant!
- By David on 09-11-05
By: Martin Dugard
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A Commonwealth of Thieves
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- By: Thomas Keneally
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- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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It was 1786 when Arthur Phillip, an ambitious captain in the Royal Navy, was assigned the formidable task of organizing an expedition to Australia in order to establish a penal colony. With the authority of a renowned historian and the narrative grace of a brilliant novelist, Thomas Keneally offers an insider's perspective into the dramatic saga of the birth of a vibrant society in an unfamiliar land.
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Interesting tidbits, but slow overall
- By Dan on 08-23-07
By: Thomas Keneally
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Island of the Blue Foxes
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- By: Stephen R. Bown
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- Unabridged
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The story of the world's largest, longest, and best-financed scientific expedition of all time, triumphantly successful, gruesomely tragic, and never before fully told. The immense 18th-century scientific journey, variously known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition or the Great Northern Expedition, from St. Petersburg across Siberia to the coast of North America, involved over 3,000 people and cost Peter the Great over one-sixth of his empire's annual revenue.
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Vivid History of Russia's First Contact In Alaska
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Making Haste from Babylon
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- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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At the end of 1618, a blazing green star soared across the night sky over the northern hemisphere. From the Philippines to the Arctic, the comet became a sensation and a symbol, a warning of doom or a promise of salvation. Two years later, as the Pilgrims prepared to sail across the Atlantic on board the Mayflower, the atmosphere remained charged with fear and expectation. Men and women readied themselves for war, pestilence, or divine retribution. Against this background, and amid deep economic depression, the Pilgrims conceived their enterprise of exile.
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Excellent, detailed and eye-opening
- By David on 09-20-15
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Chief Seattle and the Town That Took His Name
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- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the first thorough historical account of Chief Seattle and his times - the story of a half century of tremendous flux, turmoil, and violence, during which a native American war leader became an advocate for peace and strove to create a successful hybrid racial community.
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Important
- By Scoticus on 03-15-21
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Batavia's Graveyard
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- By: Mike Dash
- Narrated by: Guy Bethell
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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It was the autumn of 1628, and the Batavia, the Dutch East India Company's flagship, was loaded with a king's ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java. The Batavia was the pride of the company's fleet, a tangible symbol of the world's richest and most powerful commercial monopoly. She set sail with great fanfare, but the Batavia and her gold would never reach Java.
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Perhaps the best book ever
- By Ray928 on 03-12-19
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The Pilgrim Chronicles: An Eyewitness History of the Pilgrims and the Founding of Plymouth Colony
- By: Rod Gragg
- Narrated by: Micah Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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All Americans are familiar with the story of the Pilgrims--persecuted for their religion in the Old World, they crossed the ocean to settle in a wild and dangerous land. But for most of us, the story ends after their brutal first winter at Plymouth, with a supposedly peaceful encounter with the Native Americans and a happy Thanksgiving.
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I loved it!
- By tiffany on 12-22-15
By: Rod Gragg
What listeners say about Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Emily
- 09-30-17
Incredible
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
This was a very succinct view of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and the two journeys of this life; his travels between two continents and his role as a humanitarian.
This was very interesting and I really enjoyed learning new things about North and South America and about conquest in general, most of which is seen through Cabeza de Vaca’s experiences, which were incredible.
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- Daman
- 07-11-17
Excellent and very resourceful
What made the experience of listening to Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca the most enjoyable?
The narration was great for this historical context. I enjoyed it!
Any additional comments?
This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."
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- Neesie315
- 11-05-17
The Great Pedestrian
Before reading this book, I had never heard of Cabeza de Vaca. His adventures seem to have been surpassed by those of Cortez, Desoto, etc. The book was interesting, but a little hard to follow as an Audible version. The names of people, Indian tribes & dates made it hard to keep straight; I'm sure it would have been much easier if I had a visual version to follow.
The narrator did a pretty good job, but was a little boring at times. Also, in listening instead of seeing, the way some of the book was written was bothersome. The narrator would be talking in third person, then suddenly switch to first person. I'm sure in the written book, there would have been quotations around these parts.
II enjoyed learning more about another Spanish explorer who helped shape the history of our nation. So many of the things that I learned about the early Spanish Conquistadores made them out to be brutal in their travels that this look at a more humanitarian one was refreshing.
I was provided a copy of this audiobook by the narrator/author/publisher and chose to review it.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-28-17
Great story, performance can use some work
Where does Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Somewhere in the middle. It was a great story though!
Who was your favorite character and why?
Cabeza de Vaca -- it's about him.
Did Charles Henderson Norman do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
Yes.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No.
Any additional comments?
This book would be an "A+" book if it were narrated by someone who could speak Spanish as the thick American accent was the most difficult thing to listen to. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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- Tiffany Fox
- 07-01-17
History! You really can learn from the past!
**I was given this audio book for free from Audiobook Boom and the narrator for a honest review.**
This book examines the two great "journeys" of Cabeza de Vaca - his extraordinary adventures on two continents and his remarkable growth as a humanitarian.
I love history. I love learning new things, from new perspectives. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca does just that! This is an adventure like no other from 1528 to 1541. Most of the information about the Indians and surrounding country side of North and South America at that time was from the misfortune of Cabeza de Vaca. Although misfortune seemed to plague him throughout these years, Donald E. Chipman portrays the tale in such a way that you don't feel sorry for Cabeza de Vaca. Even at the lowest point of his journey, when he thinks he is sure to be killed or tortured there is a lesson to be learned and strength to be gained from sure knowledge.
I know throughout history we are shown that no single race benefited from the exploration and expansion into North and South America. The natives in the areas were both threatening and threatened, as were the explorers. There were both hardships and unique bonds to be had, just as there were instances where the relations between everyone was a peaceful one, but the greater outcome seemed to be one of war and death. This brief novel shows how humans can either turn a situation into a positive outlook or a negative one, which is seen many times throughout history.
Charles Henderson Norman did a good job with narrating this book. At times I had to turn down the volume and I had brief feelings that I was being yelled at by a General or angry grandparent, but his clear speech and not stumbling the names and stating them in the manner he did made me keep everyone straight. There were a lot of names throughout this book and although they are unique to me, were not unique to the time.
If you are interested in learning more history of North and South America in the 1500s, Indians and their culture, or have a better understanding how other countries went about conquering other lands the Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca would be a great addition to your library. If you are wanting to learn more about the man himself and understand his transformation from conquering Spaniard to ruling Governor where he was trying to bring peace to the natives then this novel MUST be added to your collection today!
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- LaPazBC
- 07-10-17
Great History lesson!
Any additional comments?
This is a good easy to listen book, it tells about the travels and adventures of Alvaro Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca in America. Great history lesson!
I like Charles Henderson narrations very much, and as usual, he did an excellent job, however there were a few Spanish names and words that needed better pronunciation, but I only noticed it because Spanish is my first language :, overall he did great!
I received this audio-book free for an honest review by the author, narrator, or publisher. Thank you!!!
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