This collection of essays is one of several that mark the 500th anniversary of the Spanish invasion of Mexico led by Hernán Cortés. It focuses nominally on changing views over time of the leader of the expedition, who has been variously praised and vilified over the centuries. The authors are largely from Mexico and Europe and include some of the leading scholars on the Invasion and the period, such as Bernard Grunberg, María del Carmen Martínez, and Patrick Lesbre.

The book's two sections deal with a wide range of issues related to the Spanish invasion of 1519–21. The first section includes studies related to the times of Cortés and the invasion, and the second contains essays on the discourse of the invasion, including a view of the war from Native perspectives.

This collection is a balanced view of the Invasion and its participants. In addition to the chapter on Nahua views of the war, there are also studies of the role of women, as exemplified by Malintzin. There are also essays with far more focused present-day points of view, such as one that looks at the changing views of the Invasion in German works over the last 50 years. Hinz offers a chapter questioning whether Spain should apologize for the Invasion, triggered by President López Obrador's 2019 call.