AZTECS: The Fall of the Aztec Capital. - Review - book review

Arts & Activities, May, 2001 by J.J.H.

BOOK: AZTECS: The Fall of the Aztec Capital(1999; $14.95, hardcover), by Richard Platt; illustrated by Peter Dennis. DK Publishing, Inc., 95 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016.

For students living in our technological age, it is difficult to understand life in faraway places, before our time. An understanding of history and other cultures invites us to imagine ourselves in the place of others. The tales that are told can be fascinating, but are not always comforting.

Aztecs: The Fall of the Aztec Capital has all of the "stuff" of theater. Indeed, it is an exciting tale told with images and words. As a book, it provides a demonstration of the importance of images in telling the story of the conflict between the Aztecs and their Spanish invaders.

For an art teacher, the book serves as a demonstration of the integration of text and visual information. It is not a book with a linear, sequential format; rather, it presents ideas and illustrations in a map-like, diagramatic fashion. Artifacts, photographs, diagrams and illustrations combine with words to tell an epic tale: Who were the Aztecs? What happened when the Spaniards arrived? What was the siege of Tenochtitlan? For classes studying the dynamics of conquest and domination, there are parallels to be identified. Most important from the perspective of art education, this book serves as a model for the integration of visual and verbal symbols to achieve enhanced understandings.-J.J.H. For information about this publication, circle No. 394 on the Reader Service Card.