For the most part, history is written by the winners.
Welcome to one of the November 4th stops on the blog tour for Ponce: What Actually Happened at the Fountain of Youth by Jim Halverson with iRead Book Tours (schedule linked.) Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts & interviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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About the Book
Ponce
What Actually Happened at the Fountain of Youth
by Jim Halverson
Published 2 November 2021
Gail Force Publishing
Genre: Historical Satire
Page Count: 157
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What Actually Happened at the Fountain of Youth
For the most part, history is written by the winners. That includes most accounts depicting the conquests of the New World. Most records and artifacts of Native Americans were destroyed by the conquistadors to complete their total dominance in the new lands. Occasionally, historians working with native populations piece together some lost archives, but those examples are few and far between.
Until students found the original hand written notes by Ponce De Leon’s chronicler, the world could only piece together unfounded summaries of the events at the Fountain of Youth. The only documented facts of the second foray into Florida detailed Ponce’s death upon his return.
Now we can relive one of the short-lived victories of Native Americans over the Spanish conquistadors. Catch a glimpse into the culture and lives of Florida’s native population; how they lived in a land of plenty, how they adopted horses into their lives, and how the outfoxed the mighty Spaniards.
Not all history was written by the winners.
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My Review
My Rating: 4 Stars
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I read Ponce as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with iRead Book Tours. Normally when I include a statement like that in these reviews I do mean I got the book for free, but somewhere along the line there was an error, I didn’t get that download link, and I actually purchased my Kindle copy. So full disclaimer, there was intent to send me a free book and I am grateful as always. My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
As a former university level student of history I can attest that the opening statement in this synopsis is one that was hammered into my brain by doctorate degree holding history professors for years: history is written by the winners. This means we’re only hearing one side of the story and there’s no reason to believe that side isn’t altered to cast it in the best light, either. In my undergraduate studies we took that idea a step further in the dreaded required 4th year class no one wanted to teach so you’d better take it when it’s offered or graduate never: Historiography. The study of who history is written for. If the winners are recording history then their audience is their people back home, their future generations, and any defeated foes who are now living under their rule. Ponce is not that side of the story.
This is the story of the indigenous people already here in North America when the Europeans first ventured across the ocean to the New World in search of gold, adventure, and in this case, the fountain of youth. This is the story of how witty, brave, and delightfully mischevious indigenous people tricked the Spanish explorers out of their best horses (after trying to acquire them through less tricksy means) and convincing the most gullible of the leaders into believing a special source of the local water could cure all ills and keep men young forever. They introduced unfamiliar diseases into the Spanish camps (sound familiar?), let them believe harmless snakes were venemous, and deftly worked diplomacy against them every step of the way.
This novella will have you laughing at the Spanish men’s expense all the way through while also forcing you to stop and consider all of the untold, twisted, and half-true stories in and absent from our history books.
I recommend this book to everyone who loves history, everyone who needs to learn a little more about unwritten history, and anyone who just wants to have a good laugh.
About the Author
Jim Halverson grew up in the rural, gold-mining town of Mokelumne Hill, CA and received his MBA from Golden Gate University. He spent part of his life on a ranch and is an avid student of psychology. He recognizes the struggles of all men and women seeking equality and respect. Jim and his wife, Gail, spend their time traveling from their small farm in Forestville, CA.
Jim Halverson grew up in the rural, gold-mining town of Mokelumne Hill, CA and received his MBA from Golden Gate University. He spent part of his life on a ranch and is an avid student of psychology. He recognizes the struggles of all men and women seeking equality and respect. Jim and his wife, Gail, spend their time traveling from their small farm in Forestville, CA.
Giveaway Alert!
Enter to win a signed copy of Jim Halverson’s Ponce: What Actually Happened at the Fountain of Youth! (USA only) (ends Nov 26)
PONCE Book Tour GiveawayDisclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Sounds like a good one!