Award-winning travel writer John Harrison follows in the footsteps of Hernan Cortes, the unscrupulous leader of a 16th century expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire. There is also a parallel personal story, as Harrison was recovering from throat cancer as he was making the journey While recovering from cancer, John Harrison followed in the footsteps of Hernan Cortes - the man responsible for the fall of the Aztec Empire - for four months, exploring ruins which refute the popular image of the Aztecs and their neighbours as bloodthirsty savages, and discovering that the Spanish legacy is far darker than the Aztec one.
