Esteban

Dennis Herrick, a former newspaper reporter, editor, and publisher, is a lecturer emeritus of journalism at the University of New Mexico. He is the author of nine books and numerous articles and short stories, many of them about the Southwest and its Indian peoples. Herrick lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

A fascinating biography of one of history's most extraordinary and underappreciated explorers. . . . This book will certainly prove to be a much more accurate source for those who study Esteban than previous works on his life and the significance of his travels.--Andrew Husa, Historical Geography A highly readable book by a writer who has spent a lifetime writing clear, enjoyable prose. . . . Herrick's ability to sweep the reader along while still managing to question every old detail simply makes Esteban all the more welcome. --The Journal of Arizona History A well-crafted and thorough synthesis of the existing documentary evidence and the most recent scholarly speculations regarding the life of the black African Moor who played a pivotal role in the earliest Spanish reconnaissance of what is now the southern United States and northwest Mexico.--Richard Flint, author of No Settlement, No Conquest: A History of the Coronado Entrada Coalesces a great deal of information and offers interesting insights. --Southwestern Historical Quarterly Drawn from a broad spectrum of secondary sources, Dennis Herrick's Esteban: The African Slave Who Explored America takes a new approach to understanding the importance of Esteban. . . . Clearly he was a hero and not a villain. --True West Herrick's book . . . uses every type of source, from Spanish records to French recollections and the recollections and opinions of modern-day Pueblo historians and African American opinion leaders, to help reconstruct the world of Esteban and his connection with the Cabeza de Vaca expedition and others in the New World. --Wagon Tracks Offers a fresh perspective on one of the most elusive men in early American history. . . . Herrick argues persuasively that the odyssey of Cabeza de Vaca was also the odyssey of Esteban. --Roundup