Aztec Civilization: A History From Beginning to End
Aztec History
The Aztec Empire did not recoil from the face of an impending doom, they struggled faithfully. Destined to emerge from their humble beginnings, it grew into a highly-complex devoted civilization refusing to live at the mercy of more neighboring powerful rulers. Their powerful pocheca combed the valley for luxury items while markets dotted their lands.
Inside you will find...
✓ Introduction
✓ How the Aztecs Are Portrayed and How Their History Survives
✓ Defining Moments and their Search to Expand and Save the World
✓ Their Philosophy: its Impact on Social Life and How it Served the Kings
✓ Conclusion
Isolated from the Old World until the devastating Spanish conquest, the Aztec mācēhualtin (commoners) and nobles enhanced their positions while kings and relentless warriors dealt with the political realities of powerful dynasties and rivaling kingdoms. They developed a philosophy, an order and a society built on loyalty, stoic honor and sacrifice as they embraced the temporary nature of things. Investigate the era of the Fifth Sun and what defined the Aztecs and their relationship with the divine.
Reviews (83)
Not the Best Hourly History
This is the fourth Hourly History I have read, and while the others were excellent overviews of history one could read in an hour, this one pales in comparison. Beginning the book with modern-day political comments seemed out-of-place in a book with a focus on the Aztecs, and I was thankful that it only lasted a couple pages and then stopped. To successfully create a book of this nature, one must be orderly in the layout of topics. This worked in other HH books, but for some reason the same format was not followed in The Aztecs. The arrangement made little sense, resulting in a confusing and choppy read. Worse, the author would get started and present a sentence or two and then refer the reader to another book if more knowledge was desired. It would have been much better to simply write the book (like the other Hourly History books) and have an Appendix listed in the back. The author could have placed links in the text to jump to the appropriate book the an appendix if it was thought the reader would not be able to link the proper book with the text. Instead, assorted books and authors pepper the pages instead of simply writing the historical overview and allowing each reader to research whatever interested them. Basically, too many references in the text. Overall, confusing historical read lacking the usually great organization other Hourly History books possess. Two stars.
A Mixed Bag
Obviously, this book is not meant to be an exhaustive study of the Aztecs--an impossible task given the limited page count. It is a brief overview, which is exactly what I want in this sort of a book. I'll start with the good: there is some decent information in this book and I'd (with perhaps some reservation) say it is worth the read if one is not all that familiar with Aztec history beyond the conquest by Cortez. It's a place to start. However (and now for the bad), there are some very distracting features in this book: first, the almost psycho-babble intro attempting to make a social connection to the present and to make excuses for or justify Aztec practices (they need none; they did not share our time, space, or value system) is a waste of time (at least if your intent is to read history). Luckily that only lasts a few pages. Secondly, the writing is pretty disjointed and does not flow well--although your brain will adapt after a few pages, it is hard at times to keep track with all the jumping around. To be fair, it is a short book and one would expect a "whirlwind" approach to get everything in there. Thirdly, and worst of all in my opinion, is the CONSTANT interruption of the narrative with the inclusion of references to other books. PLEASE!!! Footnotes or bibliography replacement of the adolescent "according to" in-line references would make reading this book a hundredfold more smooth, readable, and pleasant. It is not necessary to constantly insert "brain-stops" every other sentence. Anyway, there is some interesting material within if you can get past the above annoyances. It would also have been nice to keep the material in a more strict chronological order, although it is loosely ordered. The book does, however, introduce the topic and some talking points that can be further researched if it sparks your curiosity. One thing I did find interesting is the suggestion by some (referenced) historians that the Aztec originated as far north as the Kanab, Utah area before journeying south. That will likely result in some further research on my part... so something good DID come out of the book for me, even with the annoyances. :-)
Another awful book by this author
In text citations are plentiful and beyond annoying. Another high school book report by a terrible author. Free is too steep a price for this trash. The author starts almost every paragraph by stating what you will learn in this book, followed by in text citations and then anecdotal "evidence" and some story that you know is conjecture. I'm so sad that I got all his free books because once I get a book I am committed to finishing it. 3 more trash "histories" to go.
Not the best
There were more than a few things I didn't like about this book; which is too bad as they normally have a good product that I enjoy reading. The introduction seemed to last forever and turned into a rambling essay on not judging the Aztecs by todays standards with almost a 60's feel to the writing. I agree with that idea and have voiced the same sentiment in some of my reviews but this felt over the top. I thought I heard the song "Give Peace a Chance" in the background of my mind for the first 28% of the book. There is some good information in this book but there were too many distractions from the main subject, the writing did not flow and it all felt disjointed. I am going to chalk this one up as a "one off" lax moment as I have and do enjoy the bulk of the HH books. My suggestion-pass on this book and find one of the other short history books available for kindle.
The Longest Hour
Not my favorite of the otherwise exceptional 'hourly history' series. The first quarter is spent lecturing us on how to judge this culture of human sacrifice. I'd just completed The Mayans, so I found that completely unnecessary. Than came the endless references to sources. I got so distracted, I started & finished a complete novel in less time than it took to read what I had started. However when I picked it back up today, the pace was easier & the chronology was easy to follow. The Aztecs were an amazing culture - barbaric but pragmatic. I particular like the nugget you will find on the Mexican flag. Their "Military Religious Complex" may very well outlive our "Military Industrial Complex". Sorry, but this one was more work than pleasure to read, but the last third still makes this a good Aztec refresher worthwhile & increased the rating by a couple stars. Even though I have a fairly negative review of this particular book, I highly recommend these One Hour History series.. Get them. Read them when you can.
Simply amazing that this quantity of such a complex
Simply amazing that this quantity of such a complex, relatively unknown and misunderstood history has been so expertly condensed! This certainly is your go-to overview of the Aztecs... To the potential reader: you are definitely going to need some experience in ancient/modern Mexican Language (Name/Place) pronunciations, and a basic awareness of the overlapping/intertwining of Mexican/Spanish/Native American History to sail through this one -- but it is well worth it. As someone who has studied the Mayans in light of this past century's invaluable discoveries, including the advances in interpreting the language of the stellae, leading to our much greater understanding of their history and culture (though admittedly at my temporary neglect of the Aztecs), I am extremely pleased to have chosen this book as my new "diving board"! I look forward to reading other books in this series, at the appropriate times for my studies, and definitely recommend others do likewise. Either as an introduction, a synopsis or a refresher: I don't think you can go wrong with Hourly History. As a footnote, I must personally add that I noticed less than a handful of minor editing needs (only pertaining to articles, conjunctions, complex sentence structure, and the like)... this in itself is also quite amazing for a free e-book. Buy Now: you have a lot to learn!
Good coverage of the Aztec philosophy; not so much about architecture, artifacts, etc.
The book that I read was actually titled "Aztec Civilization: A History From Beginning to End," but from the cover, it looks as though it was the same book. The author presented the information in a way that held my interest for most of the book. However, it seems as though the vast majority of the book was spent on analysis and opinions of the Aztec philosophy on life and the concepts of their culture. I found myself getting just a bit bored with that part of it by the end of the book. As I said, the author's writing was good, but I expected to read a little more about their temples, other architectural accomplishments and excavated items that came from their guilds. I realize that the Spanish conquistadors caused a lot of the Aztecs' manuscripts to be destroyed and also a change to their culture, but I still expected to read a little bit more about the conquering and the changes that came about because of it. All of these things were barely touched upon.
Excellenct Book
This book gave a great overview of the Aztec civilization from beginning to end. It is however, an overview. The author has referenced many other authors with respect to their specific knowledge of Aztec history. If you want a deeper understanding of their culture you will need to read the books and papers the author recommends. With that in mind I found the book hard to put down. It is and easy read for such a complex topic. If you like this book you should check out the author's book on Mayan culture as well.
Not up to usual Hourly History standard
This one is not up to the usual Hourly History standard. The first 25% or so is purely an extended introduction. There is an annoying habit of 'speaking' to the reader. Then there's all those constant references to other works (usually with long titles!) - a glossary at the end would have been a better option. One can appreciate the depth of research to compile the information but the presentation lacks fluidity and even the chronology jumps around. STILL - there's some interesting info to glean....
interesting and enjoyable
This book wasn't my all time favorite Hourly History book but I still enjoyed reading about the Aztec Empire. I've always been very interested in the Aztecs. I just love their complexity as an empire and all the mystery that still surrounds them. Just like with the Mayan civilization a lot about the Aztecs has been lost to history, which is such a shame. Who knows what else we could've found out about them. This was a good and solid read but I just felt there was something more missing. I can't quite put my finger on it but that's how I felt. Aside from all that it was still interesting and enjoyable to me.
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