I have read other accounts of the Mixica, most notably by Michael D. Coe, but none of them hit upon the complexity involving the meeting of Cortes and Montecuzoma as this book did. Drawing on dialog from Bernal Diaz (The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico-also another great read), Collis has stripped away the dryness of other books, on this subject, that were written primarily for academia, leaving the intimate human perspective to the greatness of both of these men and the circumstances that caused each to react as he did. As did Diaz's book, this book made me feel as though I were sitting beside Cortes and Montecuzoma as the drama of their meeting unfolded. For those who are students, as a vocation or avocation, of the ancient cultures that inhabited this continent this is a must book to read and have on hand to reread over and again because you won't want it to end.

The incredible chain of events that led to the conquest of Mexico by a small group of Spaniards is wonderfull told by Maurice Collis in this fascinating book. Well organised and stylishly written, the book includes many quotations from contemporary sources, as well as some very vivid descriptions of the places and persons involved. Collis's understanding of the events and his clear and involving style make Cortes and Montezuma an extraordinary piece of historical writing.

The complex characters and motivations of both central figures are explained in detail. According to Collis, Montezuma was a generous, devout and able ruler, but at the same time he was a tyrannical monster who indulged in endless orgies of ritual murder; Cortes was a civilized and enterprising explorer who brought enlightenment to a oppressed land but he was also the bringer of death and destruction to a complex and fascinating civilization. The author also explains the amazing astrological-magical religion of the Mexicans and how it made the conquest possible.

This is probably the best book on the subjet, a veritable page turner that will help you understand one of the most incredible events in history.

The story of the conquest of the remarkable Aztec civilization by Cortes' handful of Spaniards is an incredible drama. The accounts of Bernal Diaz and Prescott tell it well, but at considerable length, and with only a superficial comprehension of what motivated the Mexicans' responses to Cortes' invasion. What makes Corliss's succinct and compelling account so insightful and remarkable, to me, is his sympathetic understanding of the Mexicans' and Montezuma's complex astrological-magical religion, and how it decisively shaped their actions. He understands a pre-modern time when religious beliefs were the predominant context for social and individual actions, as well as the importance of Cortes' religious faith, and he notes the fascinating paradoxes and ironies that resulted from the primary actors' actions based on their respective religious convictions.

But regardless of that, this is simply a wonderful read. My one regret is that the book wasn't accompanied by illustrations to convey the extraordinary richness (and horror) of the Aztec civilization, as well as the difficult and stunning terrain where the action took place.

As a footnote, it is fascinating to contrast the ethos of the Conquistadores with that of the North American settlers so well described in Albion's Seed.

In the early 17th Century Friar Manrique set out from the Portuguese enclave in what is now Bangladesh to explore the fable borderland of Arakan. Based on contemporary accounts, author Maurice Collis, a former British colonial administrator who served himself in the region, tells the harrowing story of a missionary's adventures among hostile natives, pirates, Portuguese colonists and his Buddhist counterparts at the Arakanese court. The title of the book refers to a sacred, golden statue of the Lord Buddha, which was the center of a cult of veneration in Mrauk-U, the capital of Arakan.

A very knowledgeable historian and talent story-teller, Collis places the friar's tale in its historical setting, touching upon Portuguese imperialism, the spread of Buddhism and the history of the sacred image itself.

Originally published in 1943 it is a good thing that this excellent work has been re-issued.

No matter what we do, no matter how the tides of world affairs go, some regions of our planet are destined to fall through the cracks, to disappear entirely from the "radar screens" for long periods of time, perhaps many lifetimes. Burma has never loomed large in the West, except for a brief period during WW II, when Anglo-American forces fought the Japanese there. If Burma itself remains a generally-unknown quantity, what to say of the old kingdoms that flourished there for many centuries before being absorbed into the Burmese state---Ava, Pegu, Arakan, and Toungoo ? It is probably safe to say that unless you are a Southeast Asian historian, you have not read any other books on the history of such remote kingdoms, remote in space and time. If you want to start, you have certainly come to the right place.

Father Sebastiao Manrique, a Portuguese, kept a very detailed diary of his work and travels in the years 1628-1636. Maurice Collis retells his tale very effectively, with many an aside to explain mores and beliefs of the times. Collis himself worked in the British administration of Burma and so visited a number of places mentioned by Manrique. We start with an excellent description of life and the times in Goa, the center of Portuguese Asia in the 1620s, then move on through an exciting voyage and shipwreck, to the 'unofficial' Portuguese colony near modern Calcutta, and to a pirate/slave-raider island off the coast of modern Bangladesh. These slavers were aligned with the Buddhist monarch of Arakan, then a powerful kingdom along the Bay of Bengal, but they remained a powerful force of their own, thanks to their European arms and ships. Fearing an attack while most of their number were off kidnapping more Bengali slaves, the slavers sent Father Manrique on an emergency mission to the court of Arakan to assure the king of their loyalty. Braving tigers, floods, hungry hordes of ants, and much else, Manrique arrived at Mrauk-u, the capital and saved the day for the dear Portuguese slavers. He remained in the region for nearly eight years, observer of all the glories and horrors of the royal court---coronations, mass murders, royal audiences, elephant parades, magic.

THE LAND OF THE GREAT IMAGE is a travel book, but it is also history, anthropology, a minor study of megalomania, and a book much connected to the study of comparative religion. Manrique was a bigoted man, who condemned the "paganism" in the religions of the East while excusing his own support of slavery and the Inquisition. Collis' attitudes too form part of the debates which his book may raise in the minds of readers. His comparison of bizarre Hindu rituals of "suicide by shark" with the burnings of the Inquisition seem extremely shortsighted in my eyes, yet I sense that the author was a sensitive, clever man. All in all, this volume will open your eyes in many directions, provide fascinating reading for a few days, and make you wonder, yet again, at the unbelievable variety of human experience.

When we think of Hong Kong we imagin the great financial centre that the city has become. This book takes us back to before the inhabitation of Hong Kong island and the time of the opium trading of the British merchants. The balance of trade between Britain and China was greatly to the benifit on the Chines so with the backing of the British government, the merchants forced the trade of opium; grown in South India, onto the Chines market. The Chines Emporer tried to contain this trade and infact all trade by forcing the merchants to trade via the Portugese Port of Macoe: and then he only allowed them to trade for 6 months of the year. More pirate than merchants the traders pushed the Chines into war so that they could lift the trading sanctions held over them. The Chines finally ceaded to the merchants and handed over the Island of Hong Kong from where the merchants could trade freely. As you read through the book you discover that many of the major Hong Kong trading companies of today were the pirate opium merchants who created the Opium war.

In the 1930s Maurice Collis traveled through the Shan states, which later became known as "The Golden Triangle" an area, gaining notoriety as the world's foremost producer of opium. Although he had served for more than twenty years as a colonial administrator in British Burma, he never had the opportunity to visit the Northeastern corner known as the land of Shan people. The Shan are a distinct nation, very different from their fellow-Burmese with whom they are forced to cohabitate because of historical fate. Culturally the Shan are more closely related to the Thai and Lao.

The amalgamation of 33 Shan states were at the time ruled by what the Shan called 'Sao Paw' or 'Celestial Overlords'. Collis toured most of these states and visited a number of Sao Paw. He was struck by both the richness of traditional Shan culture and the sophistication of their rulers. Some of them had been educated at the best British universities and a few had even married English wives.

Collis was a very observant traveler and history has proven him right. Visiting when Japan was making incursions into Chinese territory and using increasingly belligerent language, Collis predicted that in case of a Japanese thrust into South East Asia towards Singapore, the invasion would go right through Shan territory. During the Second World War this 'Burma Road'- the corridor between China and the Indian Ocean - was indeed vehemently contested by Japanese and Allied forces.

Collis saw also internal trouble brewing. With their distinct culture and history the Sao Paws were carefully announcing to their British overlords that they would prefer to opt out of Burma when independence was granted. However their efforts to obtain autonomy were futile. The forceful entry of Shan states has been one of the major causes of the political unrest in Burma today.

Lords of the Sunset is an insightful book about a fascinating period in the history of a remarkable people.

Collis is also a great story-teller, taking the reader into a mysterious oriental court, with its intrigues and conspiracies: a scheming chief minister, a decadent young ruler and a strong-willed woman, desperately trying to hold a desintegrating country together.

Although originally written in 1937, the book of Pwa Saw can now also be read as an analogy of Aung San Suy Kyi's current-day battle with the ruling junta: two amazing women struggling through a crucial period in their country's history.