“Kessell knows Miera so well, and writes so authoritatively, that reading this book is like having him along as a guide on the expedition. . . . Kessell’s book deserves great praise. It represents a superb fusion of image and word, storytelling and analysis, that students of the Southwest will treasure for generations to come.�
â€"The Journal of Arizona History
“A lavishly illustrated cautionary tale about cartographic inference and its persistence even in the face of contrary experience.�
â€"Southwestern Historical Quarterly
“Kessell’s style is inimitable, and his usage of illustrations and maps masterful.�
"By means of his detailed yet lively examination of Miera y Pacheco's evolving cartographic images, Kessell offers readers a meticulous case study of cartographic intertextuality and the role of maps in shaping, often powerfully, geographical imaginations and practices."
--Hispanic American Historical Review
“Kessell’s book is much more than a geographical treatise. Kessell, an entertaining writer, employs a fine selection of words, and his extraordinary knowledge of the Spanish records allows him to punctuate what could be dry geographical material with details of the times and surroundings on the Spanish frontier and insight into the characters involved.�
â€"Terrae Incognitae: The Journal of the Society for the History of Discoveries
