New World, new history and the writing of America -- Between two worlds : the life and writings of Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes -- A reader's guide to a New World history -- The historian as actor and autobiographer : Tierra Firme 1514 -- Eyewitness to America's wonders : illustrating a natural history of the Indies -- Amazon women and New World realities : documenting an expanding world -- Cortes and the conquest of Mexico : truth and multiple testimonies -- Native Americans in Oviedo's History -- Conclusions -- Appendix A. Chronology of Fernández de Oviedo's life and works -- Appendix B. Map of Hispaniola and Tierra Firme, ca. 1540 -- Appendix C. Translations of passages from Fernández de Oviedo's Historia general y natural de las Indias.