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A Land So Strange

The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca

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About this listen

In 1528, a mission set out from Spain to colonize Florida. But the expedition went horribly wrong: Delayed by a hurricane, knocked off course by a colossal error of navigation, and ultimately doomed by a disastrous decision to separate the men from their ships, the mission quickly became a desperate journey of survival.

Of the 300 men who had embarked on the journey, only four survived - three Spaniards and an African slave. This tiny band endured a horrific march through Florida, a harrowing raft passage across the Louisiana coast, and years of enslavement in the American Southwest. They journeyed for almost 10 years in search of the Pacific Ocean that would guide them home, and they were forever changed by their experience. The men lived with a variety of nomadic Indians and learned several indigenous languages. They saw lands, peoples, plants, and animals that no outsider had ever seen before.

In this enthralling tale of four castaways wandering in an unknown land, Andres Resndez brings to life the vast, dynamic world of North America just a few years before European settlers would transform it forever.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2007 Andres Resendez (P)2011 Audible, Inc.
Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Americas Colonial Period Europe Expeditions & Discoveries Spain United States World Latin American Mexico Florida Portugal

Critic reviews

"Told from an intriguing and original perspective, Reséndez's narrative is a marvelous addition to the corpus of survival and adventure literature." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A must-read for anyone interested in the early history of European exploration in North America—or in real-life adventure, compellingly told." ( Bookmarks)
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I had never heard this amazing story previously! It was very well told and kept me interested until the final word!
Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Amazing

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I enjoyed the story which was completely unknown to me beforehand. It provided a fascinating insight into the New World prior to colonisation along with the story of a doomed expedition.

Narration, I thought, was excellent and conveyed the tone of the written work well and was engaging throughout.

Fascinating and well narrated

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Thoroughly enjoyed this history lesson, I’d never heard of this amazing journey before, highly recommend!

Very interesting and insightful!

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one of the most amazing stories I've heard. it kept me interested and engaged throughout. 5/5 stars.

amazing story

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I had previously read a much shorter book about Cabeça de Vaca but this one benefitted from the extra context and the ‘whatever happened to?’ section at the end.

The story is well-told here and held my attention, so both narrative and narrator are good. I listened to it on 1.1x speed.

I think most people would be amazed at this story and find listening to the story time well-spent. I recommend it.

Astonishing story well told

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