A Dominican friar, Las Casas wrote this account in 1542 after witnessing the devastation wrought by Columbus and those who came after him. It is full of graphic violence, an appeal to the conscience of the Spanish monarchy to end the massacre of a people in the name of Christianity and the quest for gold. A spirited classic of human rights literature and the definitive refutation of those who would romanticize the conquest.  (CRB44, $13.00)