Cities of Gold: Legendary Kingdoms, Quixotic Quests, and Fantastic New World Wealth

A History of Exploration for Real and Mythical Treasures in the Americas

For half a millennium, stories of vast treasures-El Dorado, Manoa, the Seven Cities of Cibola, the Lost Dutchman Mine-have been part of the lore of the Americas. Long before the Europeans set foot in the New World, myths and rumors of fabulous wealth in distant lands, such as the kingdom of Prester John, were told and retold so often that they were assumed to be true. When Spanish explorers first made contact with the...