Camilla Townsend, "Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs" (Oxford UP, 2019)

episode

New Books in Latin American Studies not yet transcribed

▲ 0

Transcript

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet Upvotes decide what gets transcribed next — 0 so far. Sign in to upvote

More from New Books in Latin American Studies

Leo R. Chavez, "The Latino Threat: How Alarmist Rhetoric Misrepresents Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation" (Stanford UP, 2025) 1h 11m · 20 Dec 2025

All episodes from New Books in Latin American Studies →

Report any issue

Source

Recorded05 Feb 2021

Publisherfeeds.megaphone.fm

Handlerec:5413624

Show notes

In her latest book Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs (Oxford University Press 2020), Camilla Townsend tells the story of the Aztecs from their perspective and using their own historical sources. Although this sounds like a simple premise, a Fifth Sun revolutionizes our way of understanding the past of the Mexica (meh-HEE-kah) and the people that lived under their rule in Mexico’s central valley. Townsend, who has worked on Nahuatl (the politically dominant tongue in central Mexico by the time of the arrival of the Spaniards) sources for over 20 years, crafts a beautiful narrative that captivates readers from the very beginning (she won the prestigious Cundill History Prize for this book), and challenges long-held assumptions about the Mexica (that they thought Europeans were gods is the most obvious example). Each chapter opens up with a vignette about a single person who once lived, an imaginative act that makes this book profoundly detailed, personal, and moving, all at the same time. Fifth Sun is a short book, but this should not mislead our listeners for Townsend covers the pre-conquest, conquest, and post-conquest periods, moving effortlessly through periods of profound change and adaptation, giving readers a wonderful, imaginative, and fascinating story that the NBN family will surely love to hear more about! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latin-american-studies

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.