Ross Hassig, a historical anthropologist specializing in Mesoamerica, is the author of Time, History, and Belief in Aztec and Colonial Mexico; Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control; and Trade, Tribute, and Transportation: The Sixteenth-Century Political Economy of the Valley of Mexico.

'thoroughly enjoyable history. Ross Hassig's knowledge of sources allows a successful synthesis of new scholarship and primary accounts, while the focus on the political and economic background to conquest ensures that attention is given to explanation, not just narrative.'