This is an in-depth account of where the prehistory and known history of the Aztecs and the Mayas met with their Spanish conquerors. It contains much detailed information, well researched, not easily found elsewhere. It was written for a mass-market audience. The scope is epic and panoramic of the preconquest people and their society, and of the brutal conquest by the Spaniards. At the time of publication, it was pretty cutting edge. By now, new advances have pushed into far more translations of the Maya inscriptions, new archeological finds and suggest the Maya were even more important in world history in the Americas than earlier believed.