“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.”—Matthew Restall, The Journal of Arizona History
“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.”—Abraham Hoffman, Roundup
“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.”—Bill Gwaltney, Wagon Tracks
“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.”—Doug Hocking, True West
“Herrick successfully illustrates the complexity of Esteban during the years of Spanish conquest and his role in reaching the region presently known as the American Southwest.”—Albert S. Broussard, New Mexico Historical Review
“Coalesces a great deal of information and offers interesting insights.”—Lola Orellano Norris, Southwestern Historical Quarterly
“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
