From Amazons to Paradise to legendary haunts of gold, each chapter in this book traces the lengthy historical trajectory of the most famous European myths invoked to characterize the Spanish and Portuguese Americas. Despite being originally published in 1994, and translated only recently into English, this book still provides a useful perspective on European legends about the Americas. The first such positive aspect appears in the table of contents, as the authors devote a separate chapter to each of the legends they tackle.

In addition to these useful topical divisions, each chapter also spans an unusually long historical period. Discrete chapters identify the earliest mention of each myth in Biblical, ancient, or mediaeval times and then trace the tale's first and subsequent appearances in narratives of the Americas. While identifying the earliest versions of these myths alongside their many different American manifestations constitutes a valuable enough contribution, these authors enhance their contribution by following the subsequent history of these legends through the Enlightenment, and in some cases even into the twentieth century. Two stories fall into the last category: the myth of the Amazons and the legendary realms of gold. Both continue to appear in contemporary literature and even the occasional expedition to locate these regions or people. The authors’ final unique contribution lies in their familiarity with many European languages, leading to the inclusion of usually overlooked Dutch and German accounts of the same legends.

Three chapters deal with exotic and bizarre human forms (Amazons, giants, and one-eyed, one-legged people), two with legends of vast undiscovered quantities of gold, two with ideas of earthly paradise, and one with mythical islands. Tall people of Patagonia become confused with Greek and Biblical accounts of early humans as giants–a legend that persisted into the eighteenth century. Of the two Atlantic islands from medieval lore, St Brendan and Antilha, the former appeared on maps until the middle of the eighteenth century, while the latter lost its mythical status in the sixteenth century as it surfaced as the name (Antilles) for the Caribbean chain. Legendary El Dorado continued to be conceived as a singular place even by the early nineteenth-century scientifically oriented explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the authors identify some twentieth-century adventurers who persist in believing that the Biblical gold mines of King Solomon exist in the Americas. The ever movable earthly Paradise reappeared in early encounters with seemingly hospitable new areas; the Americas were no exception.

While specialists might quibble about particular details, the authors have adopted a helpful historical and topical outline for each subject. Furthermore, the organization and writing of each chapter allows individual chapters to be assigned for reading in advanced undergraduate courses.