Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest in Pursuit of Coronado - Hardcover

Preston, Douglas J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671737597 ISBN 13: 9780671737597

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1992

Synopsis

Two men who retraced Coronado's 1540-1541 journey across the Southwest describe their experiences battling heat, cold, and drought and present a portrait of the modern Southwest as Coronado might have viewed it. 12,500 first printing.

About this title

Reviews

The Old West's last glimmers flicker through this piercingly beautiful adventure, an unforgettable saga in which Preston, astride his horse Popeye, traverses the desert and mountain wilderness of Arizona and New Mexico, retracing the trailblazing 1540-1541 expedition of Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Accompanied by a photographer friend, former Natural History columnist Preston (Dinosaurs in the Attic ) talks with Navahos, Zunis, Acomas, ranchers, cowboys, prospectors and rattlesnake hunters. His text shuttles back and forth in time, from the complex prehistoric civilization of the Anasazi Indians to the U.S. war against Apache chief Geronimo, whose followers were deported as prisoners of war to Florida, to the cautionary tale of a once-lush New Mexico valley (larger than Connecticut) reduced to desert by cattle herding and the clear-cutting of timber. In place of the mythical winning of the West, Preston unfolds a harrowing tale of loss. History Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

With a friend, Preston ( Dinosaurs in the Attic: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the American Museum of Natural History , LJ 10/15/86), attempted to follow Coronado's 1540-41 exploration of the Southwest. This book is an account of their journey through Arizona and New Mexico in the spring of 1989. It is both history text and adventure yarn. It is also a good current cultural geography of the region, written in an entertaining as well as educational style. Preston succeeds in giving the reader a real feel for the country, as it is today and as it was 450 years ago. A map and a decent bibliography complement the text. Recommended for travel and history collections. History Book Club alternate.
- Thomas K. Fry, UCLA Libs.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671737597
• ISBN 13: 9780671737597
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480