"This book deserves to be recognized for what it is, as a landmark in the study of the adaptation of the Nahuatl-speaking people, who made up most of the population of Central Mexico, to Spanish rule. But, more than this, it is also a classic study in the history of the cultural encounter of European and non-European."—New York Review of Books "Lockhart has created an instant classic of the ethnohistorical and broader colonial literature. Its encyclopedic breadth . . . and its deep, reverential empiricism almost bludgeon the reader into an awesome respect for the author's masterful scholarship."—American Historical Review "A magnificent scholarly achievement. Incomparably the best study of post-conquest New World indigenous society, it is destined to become an indispensable cornerstone for students of the field."—Journal of Latin American Studies