Scan barcode
livcashmere's review
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Colonisation, and Death
jesselopod's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: War, Murder, Genocide, and Racism
jade_luu's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Colonisation
gzevs's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
keeganrb's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Genocide, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Murder and Colonisation
camoo3032's review against another edition
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.75
Extremely informative. One of the books that I think everyone should read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Genocide, and Forced institutionalization
cozylifewithabby's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
I don't know how to rate this. This book explores how actual Australian Aboriginal people lived versus what is taught in Australia and around the world. It criticizes English colonists and their written representation of the Aboriginal people as it diminished their agricultural, fishing, governmental, and civil developments. An important read. Very educational, but also unfortunately dry if you don't enjoy reading about agriculture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Moderate: Murder
littlewishling's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A must read to help decolonize the history I learnt as a child. Although it’s a bit repetitive, Pascoe provides tonnes of references that I look forward to digging into.
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation
clareagrippina's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Listened to on audio book.
The controversy surrounding this book is that it presents itself as a historical authority, which is just ludicrous. The book is clearly a jumping off to inspire debate, challenge bias and actively invites further study into the assertions it makes.
Australia hasn't moved past the colonial lie that our indigenous culture was uncivilised, this book challenges that and uses the evidence of those original colonisers written observations.
In the effort to challenge the lie that Aboriginal and Torres Strait people were actually living in an advanced culture, I think the book can accidentally reinforce the idea that it would have been ok if the culture was simple and uncivilised. But that is a minor nitpick in the scope of the work.
If you read this are inspired to research more, or infuriated and research in an effort to disprove it, either way Bruce Pascoe has achieved his goals. Understanding the indigenous history of Australia and reconciling with that darker parts of colonisation will help produce a better history for all.
The controversy surrounding this book is that it presents itself as a historical authority, which is just ludicrous. The book is clearly a jumping off to inspire debate, challenge bias and actively invites further study into the assertions it makes.
Australia hasn't moved past the colonial lie that our indigenous culture was uncivilised, this book challenges that and uses the evidence of those original colonisers written observations.
In the effort to challenge the lie that Aboriginal and Torres Strait people were actually living in an advanced culture, I think the book can accidentally reinforce the idea that it would have been ok if the culture was simple and uncivilised. But that is a minor nitpick in the scope of the work.
If you read this are inspired to research more, or infuriated and research in an effort to disprove it, either way Bruce Pascoe has achieved his goals. Understanding the indigenous history of Australia and reconciling with that darker parts of colonisation will help produce a better history for all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation
More...