Book excerpt: Spanish conquistadors attempted to conquer the New World nearly a century before the English colonists established a permanent settlement at Jamestown. This book examines the unsuccessful elements of Spain's attempt at expanding its empire in the Americas, focusing particularly on the misadventures of three conquistadors. Part One tells the story of Cabeza de Vaca who, along with three other survivors of the ill-fated Panfilo de Narvaez expedition to Florida, spent nearly eight years among the various tribes that wandered across Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico before finding his way back to civilization. Their tales of lands rich with earthly delights served as inspiration for two epic but failed expeditions that make up the second and third parts of the book: Francisco de Coronado's quest to find the golden cities of Cibola and Hernando de Soto's efforts to find the rich kingdoms of Florida.