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Here we are, centre of The Universe. Craig A. Grimes takes a speculative look on history and society in his sixth book, A Distant Mountain. About 1350, the Valley of Mexico. The valley was then lake filled, with cities and towns arranging themselves between water and the encircling ring of mountains. The Mexica, or Aztecs as they are now most commonly known, have yet to rise to power; they are just one of the many Nahua city-states making up, as they knew it, the One World. What we know of these people, crushed in an eye-blink by imported diseases and tempered steel, generally begins and ends with ritual blood sacrifice. Yet at that time they arguably had the most modern society of any in the world with, uniquely, free public education for all children, hospitals, efficiently managed public works, an ethical judicial system, and government supported associations that cared for the needy. The towns and cities were orderly, clean, prosperous and efficient. Which suggests that their society had both a rational and irrational aspect to it - like most. A Distant Mountain is a story of transition, about how a society begins in one place and ends up, as they usually do, someplace entirely different. One of the most highly cited scientists in the world, Craig says: 'I happened to stumble upon a remarkable book, Daily Life of The Aztecs On the Eve of the Spanish Conquest, by Jacques Soustelle. Considering what I knew on the subject before I read the book, and what I knew afterwards, I must say this was one of the most illuminating books I have ever read. The opening page of the book begins with the following quote: ’For as long as the world shall endure, the honour and the glory of Mexico-Tenochtitlan must never be forgotten.’ - Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin. The quote, as I have come to appreciate, is in many ways appropriate. So how could a society be so crazy, to our standards, and yet so enlightened, to our standards? But, this is not a singular question; a similar question has been asked all over the world throughout history. Certainly this applies to America today. I try, in A Distant Mountain, to at least consider this dynamic and how it affects the general population. For good or ill, step-by-step we arrive at where we are.'
