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Product Description
From their remote origins as migrating tribes to their rise as builders of empire, the Aztecs were among the most dynamic and feared peoples of ancient Mexico. This fully revised and reorganized edition of Richard Townsends masterly study presents an expanded view of their history and cultural achievements, and includes colour plates for the first time.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book has proved vital in my studies of Ancient History. I would recommend this book to those studying but also to novices as this book explains really well the history of the Aztecs.
All pictures and photos are in black and white but as this book is mainly used for study this is not a problem.
Excellent book and also very useful for those studying Anthropology.
Great value for money and highly recommended if you have an interest in this subject.
All pictures and photos are in black and white but as this book is mainly used for study this is not a problem.
Excellent book and also very useful for those studying Anthropology.
Great value for money and highly recommended if you have an interest in this subject.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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12 reviews
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
The Best Gets a Little Better
21 April 2000
Format:Paperback
From the standpoint of an interested amateur, the first edition of Dr. Townsend's book "The Aztecs" was the best scholarly-but-general presentation of the Aztec civilization, culture, life, religion, art, and history available. The book was comprehensive and vastly informative but never -- thanks to excellent writing -- dull.
This new edition differs in several slight but important ways from its predecessor. Most of the first edition's numerous and helpful halftone illustrations are retained, but a few have been deleted and a few added (total of three more in the new edition). Changes in the text for the most part reflect recent archeologic and ethnohistoric findings; references are dated to 1999. The extent of changes is not, however, striking, and certainly does not render the first edition obsolete, merely out of date in some details.
As is inevitable in any text of this breadth, there are a few minor quibbles and changes that might be made in subsequent editions: for example, what stairway are those statues leaning against in Fig. 121? (answer: the Great Temple)
It remains that this is THE book to read if you are interested in the Aztecs; it forms a solid basis for all other reading in the field. Second best is Michael E. Smith's monograph with the same title, which is also recommended. Dr. Smith's work tends to emphasize the day-to-day life of the Aztec villagers and peasantry, whereas Dr. Townsend focuses more on the grand sweep of cities, nobility, and empire. I prefer the latter, but if I were teaching a course I'd assign both books.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Scholarly yet accessable
26 Aug 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Townsend's _The Aztecs_ provides a great introduction to one of the great Mesoamerican civilizations. Opening with the Spanish arrival and eventual conquest of the Aztec empire, he then goes back to explore how the Aztecs - who were at the zenith of their power when Cortez arrived in 1519 - became such a powerful state, and how this led to their eventual demise. The complaints I have are rather nit-picky: I struggled with the Aztec names (of places, of titles, of dieties, of rulers); I also wish he had gone into more detail about social heirarchy and especially gender relations.
To be fair, the book is meant to be an introduction - and as such, it exceeds expectations. While Townsend leans a bit heavily on political history, he devotes time to urban culture of the Aztecs - the importance of Tenochtitlan as a religious as well as commercial center; and entire chapters discuss Aztec artisans and farmers, another family and education, and a fascinating chapter on Aztec religion. Still, much of the book centers on the founding, growth and expansion of the Aztec empire and the role (both culturally, politically and religiously) that warfare played in this. In fact, Townsend makes a very convincing case that "The Aztecs had mastered the arts of war but not those of government" which eventually led to its destruction at the hands of the Spaniards.
Matters of historical controversey are readily admitted (always appreciated, and too often not s forthrightly addressed in historical ntroductions), and splendidly cited using primary sources from both Aztec and Spaniard. For those seeking a great starting place in understanding Mesoamerican civilization, this is the book I would recommend.
To be fair, the book is meant to be an introduction - and as such, it exceeds expectations. While Townsend leans a bit heavily on political history, he devotes time to urban culture of the Aztecs - the importance of Tenochtitlan as a religious as well as commercial center; and entire chapters discuss Aztec artisans and farmers, another family and education, and a fascinating chapter on Aztec religion. Still, much of the book centers on the founding, growth and expansion of the Aztec empire and the role (both culturally, politically and religiously) that warfare played in this. In fact, Townsend makes a very convincing case that "The Aztecs had mastered the arts of war but not those of government" which eventually led to its destruction at the hands of the Spaniards.
Matters of historical controversey are readily admitted (always appreciated, and too often not s forthrightly addressed in historical ntroductions), and splendidly cited using primary sources from both Aztec and Spaniard. For those seeking a great starting place in understanding Mesoamerican civilization, this is the book I would recommend.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Now in a revised and updated third edition
17 Sep 2009
Format:Paperback
Now in a revised and updated third edition, The Aztecs is an in-depth history of this legendary civilization native to ancient Mexico. Exploring the influence of the cultures that preceded the Aztecs (Xochicalco and Tula), The Aztecs reveals breakthroughs in hieroglyphic cryptology (pictographic and phonetic elements combine in Aztec script similar to conventions in Classic Maya writing) and delves into what the latest discoveries (such as that of the twelve-ton monolith of the goddess Tlaltecuhtli) have to tell us about the Aztecs. Black-and-white and a handful of color photographs illustrate this excellent reference, thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds and particularly recommended for public and college library collections.
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