English Department Chair and Professor Robin Varnum’s new book Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: American Trailblazer has been a hit both on campus here at American International College, and nationwide.

A reception was held in the end of October in which Professor Varnum read excerpts from her book to members of the AIC community.

“It went pretty well,” Varnum said. “I don’t know exactly how many people were there, but the audience was standing-room only.”

AIC freshman Megan Stewardson has Varnum for an English class and said she found the subject of this book fascinating.

“I enjoyed Professor Varnum’s book reading. It was very interesting. I probably would have never learned about Cabeza de Vaca’s life if I hadn’t gone,” said Stewardson.

Professor Varnum also noted that “the book did get a favorable review in The Washington Post, which is a big deal.” In the review, Varnum was lauded for writing the “wonderfully thorough” biography, and that “in the taut space of 300 pages, she manages to tell the whole tale…her book is ever interesting for its inherent drama and fascinating detail.”

In addition to the review in The Washington Post, Varnum said she wrote an article for Biographile.com after being contacted by the editor to write a 500-word summary on her book.

As noted in the last edition of the AIC Yellow Jacket, ‘Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: American Trailblazer’ is the first book to follow Cabeza de Vaca’s entire life. Professor Varnum follows Cabeza de Vaca’s survival of the Narváez expedition, and his 2,500 mile hike with the other three remaining survivors to Mexico City.

Her inspiration to write a book documenting Cabeza de Vaca’s life dates back a little over twenty years ago. “I was invited by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities in 1993 as a discussion leader for the ‘Different People, Different Places Program,’ and the early contacts between Europeans and Native Americans,” Professor Varnum said.

Around that same timeframe, in 1996, Varnum completed her first book, ‘Fencing with Words’. She is also a co-editor of ‘The Language of Comics: Word and Image’ (2001), a collection of essays.

Professor Varnum then came back to the Cabeza de Vaca project. With a grasp on Cabeza de Vaca’s life as a young adult, Varnum sought to complete her profile on Cabeza de Vaca. Needing a better understanding of the Spanish language, Professor Varnum approached a colleague, and he allowed her to sit in on a Spanish class.

“Absolutely,” Professor Varnum replied when asked if it was difficult balancing the workload of writing an extensive biography and the workload of a college professor. “But when I started this book, I was still an adjunct professor. Tuesdays and Thursdays were my writing days as I had a three-day class schedule then. I became a full-time professor in 2004 and after becoming the chair of the English department in 2005, I thought, ‘what about Cabeza de Vaca?!’”

Professor Varnum continued her research and eventually was able to complete the book in 2011. ‘Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: American Trailblazer’ was officially released earlier this fall, and is now on the shelves at AIC bookstore and on Amazon.com.

When asked if she has any further plans to promote ‘Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: American Trailblazer’, she stated, “no, nothing on the horizon right now.”