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schmidtat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.25
niksniks's review against another edition
5.0
“There was no hope on earth, and God seemed to have forgotten us. Some said they saw the Son of God; others did not see Him. If He had come, He would do some great things as He had done before. We doubted it because we had seen neither Him nor His works. The people did not know; they did not care. They snatched at the hope. They screamed like crazy men to Him for mercy. They caught at the promise they heard He had made.”
improbablebanana's review against another edition
5.0
The heartbreaking story that is American history as told through the eyes of Native Americans.
A number of reviews comment on the bias of the book. Dee Brown, in the foreword, says the story is being told by the natives. But bias doesn't make it a bad history book. All history books have some bias built in. If not, they'd be a list of names and dates.
The greatest thing about the book is the direct quotes from the Native Americans. We don't often see that. I loved reading the quotes. And then to see individuals e and the US government cheat, lie and kill to get land is painful.
Each chapter advances history a bit and gives a summary of what was going on in the world at the same time. Each chapter also tries either complete a leader's story or complete a tribe's story. They just about all end the same.
I would encourage people to read the book with an open mind and understand it is biased but that doesn't mean it can be dismissed. The events, so far as I know, are all real. Whether or not one massacre was in retaliation for another massacre doesn't matter. Wrong is wrong.
A number of reviews comment on the bias of the book. Dee Brown, in the foreword, says the story is being told by the natives. But bias doesn't make it a bad history book. All history books have some bias built in. If not, they'd be a list of names and dates.
The greatest thing about the book is the direct quotes from the Native Americans. We don't often see that. I loved reading the quotes. And then to see individuals e and the US government cheat, lie and kill to get land is painful.
Each chapter advances history a bit and gives a summary of what was going on in the world at the same time. Each chapter also tries either complete a leader's story or complete a tribe's story. They just about all end the same.
I would encourage people to read the book with an open mind and understand it is biased but that doesn't mean it can be dismissed. The events, so far as I know, are all real. Whether or not one massacre was in retaliation for another massacre doesn't matter. Wrong is wrong.
veronica_jay's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved it. Dee Brown did an excellent job telling the story of many, many Native Americans and the hardships they endured while still keeping it in a "story" format. I was moved to tears and anger more times than I could count. The true history of the Indians from the eyes of individual chiefs and tribes is both riveting and depressingly beautiful.
louiskillebrew's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
This is not an easy book to read. It is also not as 'own voice' as I wanted it to be, instead it feels like what high school history classes covering this time period should have included. I found the sections of other American history distracted me and did not help me keep track of what was happening.
Indigenous people went through so much trauma and suffering during this time, one could rightly argue that many descendants are still facing a measure of suffering. This does not sugarcoat or attempt humor any of the situations. Some quotes have a grim gallows humor quality to them however. This is not something one reads to feel good. This is something that should be read and taught frequently, because no one should allow this sort of thing to happen again or continue happening.
Indigenous people went through so much trauma and suffering during this time, one could rightly argue that many descendants are still facing a measure of suffering. This does not sugarcoat or attempt humor any of the situations. Some quotes have a grim gallows humor quality to them however. This is not something one reads to feel good. This is something that should be read and taught frequently, because no one should allow this sort of thing to happen again or continue happening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Slavery, Classism, Rape, Deportation, Animal death, Colonisation, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Gore, Confinement, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Death, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Addiction, War, Police brutality, Grief, and Alcohol