In 1527, Spanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca began one of the most remarkable journeys in history. His exploration party lost contact with their ships, set out northward on foot, and traveled across Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico for the next eight years, a trek that reduced their numbers from 300 to four. In addition to being one of the great true adventure narratives of all time. Cabeza de Vaca's account of those travels is a vivid firsthand description of the land and people of the Southwest as they were nearly 500 years ago.