William Prescott 
Revival: History of the Conquest of Mexico (1886) [PDF ebook] 
With a Preliminary View of the Ancient Mexican Civilisation and the Life of the Conqueror, Hernando Cortes

A dramatic account of the conquest of Mexico, from first contact with the Aztec civilisation through to Cortes’ expulsion and subsequent career. The book is not only interesting for the historic content withe relevance to Latin America to this day, but also as a notable example of historical scholarship and of English literature in general.