"World Without End is the climax of Hugh Thomas's great history of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. It describes the conquest of Paraguay and the River Plate, of the Yucatan in Mexico, the only partial conquest of Chile, and battles with the French over Florida, and then, in the 1580s, the extraordinary projection of Spanish power across the Pacific to conquer the Philippines. It also describes how the Spanish ran the greatest empire the world...

A narrative chronicle of Spain's dominant years traces Latin America's exploration, conquest, and economic development between 1522 and 1556, offering insight into how period accomplishments remain influential in today's world.