An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

Camilla Townsend

2 books referenced

Books by Camilla Townsend

The Fifth Sun

Referenced in 9 episodes

391. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Last Emperor (Part 8)

November 23, 2023

Context:

Described as a 'wonderful book' that discusses the mistranslation of 'broken spears' in a footnote. Referenced multiple times throughout the episode for its insights on how life continued for indigenous people after the conquest and how people didn't necessarily recognize the historical significance of events as they happened.

390. The Fall of the Aztecs: War to the Death (Part 7)

November 20, 2023

Context:

Tom describes it as 'one of the most haunting and moving history books I've ever read' because it felt like 'a feat of resurrectionism' in understanding the Aztecs. Dominic notes the author used many Nahuatl sources that were previously relatively untouched.

387. The Fall of the Aztecs: Prisoners of Montezuma (Part 4)

November 13, 2023

Context:

Referenced when discussing Mexica cosmology and their beliefs about blood sacrifice keeping the sun rising and falling. The hosts note that Townsend is 'brilliant on this' topic.

385. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Woman Who Changed The World (Part 2)

November 07, 2023

Context:

Described as a 'wonderful book' when discussing the technological and agricultural gap between the Spanish and the Aztecs. The book is cited for its observation that the meeting was 'almost as if Renaissance Europe had come face to face with the ancient Sumerians.'

384. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Adventure Begins (Part 1)

November 06, 2023

Context:

Tom highly recommends this book about Aztec history, stating it's one of the great books that influenced him and that if Camilla Townsend uses the term 'Aztecs,' it's good enough for the podcast

334: Athens and the Birth of Democracy

May 22, 2023

Context:

Dominic mentions this book about the Aztecs, noting that Townsend includes 'passages of almost imaginative prose' and 'stream of consciousness chapters' where she tries to describe the Aztec world through their eyes. Referenced in discussion about trying to understand ancient mindsets.

315: Atlantis: Legacy of the Lost Empire (Part 2)

March 23, 2023

Context:

Described as a 'brilliant book about the Aztecs' by a previous podcast guest who discussed Aztec/Mexica migration

12 Days: Reconquest of Spain and the Old Queen of Hawaii

January 02, 2022

Context:

Referenced as a companion piece to Conquistadores, mentioned in the context of understanding how the Aztecs/Mexica saw the world and how that understanding transforms one's view of the conquest. Also mentioned in connection with a previous podcast episode with the author

51. Aztecs

May 13, 2021

Context:

Tom explicitly recommends this book, calling it 'absolutely the best book that I read last year' and praising it for giving 'a history of the Aztecs through Aztec eyes.' The author Camilla Townsend is the guest on the episode.

Malintzin's Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico

Referenced in 1 episode

386. The Fall of the Aztecs: The City of Gold (Part 3)

November 09, 2023

Context:

Referenced as 'brilliant work on her by Camilla Townsend' regarding Malinche's agency, described as 'a historian we talked about last time' - refers to her scholarly work on the conquest