An Overview of the Book In the Ambivalent Conquest, the author, Inga Clendinnen examines the Mayan trials initiated by Diego De Landa when he visited the Yucatan in 1561. Landa’s inquisition was motivated by reports of human sacrifice purportedly performed by the Mayans, whom he believed had been converted to Christianity [1] . Landa set out to eliminate the pagan practice of sacrifice of young women from a region that was under his control. He had brought Christianity to the natives and instituted a royal court to try Spanish soldiers who had committed crimes against the natives [2] . However, the relapse into pagan worship made him to set up harsh trials against the natives in a bid to root out the practice. Clendinnen attempts to explain Landa’s actions when he served as a rights activist and as an inquisitor. The author uses Landa’s pieces of writing, including the ‘Relacion’, to explore why Landa advocated for justice for torture victims (natives), but later punished the natives who offered human sacrifices [3] . In the book, Clendinnen analyzes the different issues raised by historians and scholars about Landa’s inhumane actions against the natives. She carefully explores the historical contexts, incidents, and controversies surrounding the Mayan culture and way of life. Overall, the book provides a compelling argument on the subject of Landa’s role before and after Yucatan’s Spanish invasion. Clendinnen’s Main Argument The book presents the author’s narrative in a clear and unequivocal manner. The author’s monogram is clear, detailed, and replete with facts. However, the information bountiful information provided makes it difficult to understand the book’s thesis. The book’s chapters, the monogram, and the conclusion do not explain the author’s central argument. Clendinnen’s main argument relates to her attitude and views about the Mayan culture. The author writes that Landa treated the Maya people with love and thus, felt betrayed when they left Christianity and returned to their heathen practices [4] . Thus, in a bid to correct them, he instituted harsh inquisition trials against them. In the author’s view, Although Landa did not intend to the Maya people, his punishment was unjustifiably severe. She argues that the inquisitions gave Landa another opportunity to redeem the lost souls of people he considered his sons and daughters. Previously, Landa had sought justice for the Maya people who had been tortured by the Spanish military and thus, his inquisition trials were not meant to eliminate them, but rather to save them [5] . This interesting argument underscores the author’s perspectives on Landa’s actions towards the Maya people. She argues that Landa’s actions during the Mayan trials, though very severe at the time compared to other inquisitions, were justified. To reinforce this argument, the author describes the procedures were used during the inquisition and observes that Landa was fair in deciding who to be punished. Moreover, the author seems to believe that Landa had the authority and jurisdiction to oversee the trials. The inquisition was instituted in 1230 C.E. to fight paganism and heathen practices in parts of Europe [6] . It, however, led to the persecution of small religious