ESPECIAL THANKS GO to Barry Ife, a good friend and an inspiring teacher with a terrifying work ethic, and to Trudi Darby for all her support. The British Academy supported some of my research in Seville out of which the idea for this book was born. Paul Hoffman offered timely encouragement. The staff of the Archivo General de Indias makes it an exceptional place to work, y se lo agradezco especialmente a Pilar Lázaro de la Escosura la búsqueda del Santo Domingo 11 43 bis.
I must thank Alicia Ríos for introducing me to Michael Jacobs, to whom I am deeply indebted for years of encouragement, for introducing me to George Miller, who introduced me to my agent Rebecca Winfield, who is a credit to a much maligned profession. Louise, Arthur, and Elizabeth Jones read early drafts of the manuscript and made very helpful suggestions, while Claire Wachtel’s erudite and critically incisive editing was a pleasure to work with. Thanks to everyone else at HarperCollins in New York, especially Julia Novich for fielding my various grumbles. It was essential that Romolo, Claudio, and Tom kept me fed. Thanks to Nick for his company on all those Mexican buses and trains.
En Sevilla, Ana María Rengel, Manu, Javi, Bea, Cristina, Manuel, y Ana me recibieron como otro más de la familia y me ofrecieron el Porvenir como mi propio hogar sevillano. Gracias. También me presentaron a Jim, Jana, Emilio, y Andrea Anaya, mis cariñosos an fitriones en Tucson, ¡Viva el chihuahua! En Madrid, Cuqui y Jesús me han recibido con los brazos y las puertas abiertos. Gracias por todo a David, Carolina, Pedro y Isa, Anchy y Miguel, Lupe, Loly, Jesús, y las Glorias, los Luises, Carmen, Pilar, Falique y Teresa, los Perales y Pepe.
My journey to Zuni with Jim Anaya and Rob Williams was unforgettable. Ed Wemytewa and Jim Enote were amazingly kind and forthcoming, and Tom Kennedy was a gracious host. Sonahchi? Thanks to everyone at Zuni, especially the basketball team. Good luck. Gracias a Miguel por los elotes, a Wilfredo por la aventura del Río Fuerte, y a Omar y Odette en Oaxaca.
And a very special thank you to Jim Read, who first drew my attention to Cabeza de Vaca’s account and the story of the Narváez expedition.