"This book deserves to be recognized for what it is, as a landmark in the study of the adaptation of the Nahuatl-speaking people, who made up most of the population of Central Mexico, to Spanish rule. But, more than this, it is also a classic study in the history of the cultural encounter of European and non-European."—New York Review of Books "Lockhart has created an instant classic of the ethnohistorical and broader colonial literature. Its encyclopedic breadth . . . and its deep, reverential empiricism almost bludgeon the reader into an awesome respect for the author's masterful scholarship."—American Historical Review "A magnificent scholarly achievement. Incomparably the best study of post-conquest New World indigenous society, it is destined to become an indispensable cornerstone for students of the field."—Journal of Latin American Studies

"This book deserves to be recognized for what it is, as a landmark in the study of the adaptation of the Nahuatl-speaking people, who made up most of the population of Central Mexico, to Spanish rule. But, more than this, it is also a classic study in the history of the cultural encounter of European and non-European."—New York Review of Books "Lockhart has created an instant classic of the ethnohistorical and broader colonial literature. Its encyclopedic breadth . . . and its deep, reverential empiricism almost bludgeon the reader into an awesome respect for the author's masterful scholarship."—American Historical Review "A magnificent scholarly achievement. Incomparably the best study of post-conquest New World indigenous society, it is destined to become an indispensable cornerstone for students of the field."—Journal of Latin American Studies