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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Come back to this. Was due at the library.
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Very informative book. Worth the read! Book is on Libby if you prefer free audiobook! Support your local library!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Classism
probably should have read this rather than listened to on audiobook. will have to read again when I get home of a physical copy!
This book is a must-read for most Americans. Our educational system is severely lacking when it comes to history, and much of the history of indigenous people is erased, swept under the rug, or downplayed. This book tells what really happened, and how it has affected the descendants of natives today.
My only complaint is that I feel the book could have been organized or arranged a bit better. Most of the chapters made sense chronologically but there were parts that seemed a bit all-over-the-place.
My only complaint is that I feel the book could have been organized or arranged a bit better. Most of the chapters made sense chronologically but there were parts that seemed a bit all-over-the-place.
Heartbreaking, depressing and in a number of cases, entirely unsurprising, while at the same time being a very necessary take on US history.
I will admit I arrived at the book already sympathetic to the author's thesis position, namely that "The history of the United States is a history of settler colonialism -- the founding of a state based on the ideology of white supremacy, the widespread practice of African slavery, and a policy of genocide and land theft."
But I still learned an absolute shedload.
One of the things I really liked about this book is that history here begins well before the actual arrival of the British colonists on US soil. You find out about the millions of Indigenous people living in the Americas pre-arrival, along with specifics about their cultures and locations. Eye-opening, for me, because I was totally taught the Columbus narrative. You learn how the roots of Manifest Destiny lie not in arrival on the continent, but date back to the 15th century and papal bulls, The Crusades and England's invasion of Ireland. All of which help make US history make more sense.
But it doesn't make it any easier to read about.
The breadth and depth of the violence and malfeasance colonial settlers and the US government enacted on Indigenous nations is jaw-dropping. It's a credit to the book that in only a very few places does the author dwell on the specifics of the atrocities committed against Indigenous people. In large part the book simply covers them by time period, explaining the who, the what and the where, then placing those acts within a larger context of politics at the time. It gives the narrative coherence, and makes it easier to navigate and view as a whole. But again, in no way easier to stomach.
I would've liked to see a longer section on California history, but let's be honest: I'd always like to see a longer section on California history. Also I'm not entirely sure I understood the argument against the multiculturalism viewpoint as laid out in the introduction, but hopefully some very smart people will read it next and help explain it to me.
In the concluding chapter of the book, detailing some of the ways the US government continues to enact social, political, financial and geographic violence against Indigenous peoples -- both domestically and internationally -- the author recommends that some history of this conflict be taught in schools alongside the prevailing Columbus narrative. She doesn't go so far as to say it should be her version, this particular book, but I'd have zero problem saying it for her.
(Content note: animal death in the "New Deal to Termination" section of Ch 9; animal harm and death in the "Ramped Up Militarization" section of the concluding chapter. War atrocities throughout.)
I will admit I arrived at the book already sympathetic to the author's thesis position, namely that "The history of the United States is a history of settler colonialism -- the founding of a state based on the ideology of white supremacy, the widespread practice of African slavery, and a policy of genocide and land theft."
But I still learned an absolute shedload.
One of the things I really liked about this book is that history here begins well before the actual arrival of the British colonists on US soil. You find out about the millions of Indigenous people living in the Americas pre-arrival, along with specifics about their cultures and locations. Eye-opening, for me, because I was totally taught the Columbus narrative. You learn how the roots of Manifest Destiny lie not in arrival on the continent, but date back to the 15th century and papal bulls, The Crusades and England's invasion of Ireland. All of which help make US history make more sense.
But it doesn't make it any easier to read about.
The breadth and depth of the violence and malfeasance colonial settlers and the US government enacted on Indigenous nations is jaw-dropping. It's a credit to the book that in only a very few places does the author dwell on the specifics of the atrocities committed against Indigenous people. In large part the book simply covers them by time period, explaining the who, the what and the where, then placing those acts within a larger context of politics at the time. It gives the narrative coherence, and makes it easier to navigate and view as a whole. But again, in no way easier to stomach.
I would've liked to see a longer section on California history, but let's be honest: I'd always like to see a longer section on California history. Also I'm not entirely sure I understood the argument against the multiculturalism viewpoint as laid out in the introduction, but hopefully some very smart people will read it next and help explain it to me.
In the concluding chapter of the book, detailing some of the ways the US government continues to enact social, political, financial and geographic violence against Indigenous peoples -- both domestically and internationally -- the author recommends that some history of this conflict be taught in schools alongside the prevailing Columbus narrative. She doesn't go so far as to say it should be her version, this particular book, but I'd have zero problem saying it for her.
(Content note: animal death in the "New Deal to Termination" section of Ch 9; animal harm and death in the "Ramped Up Militarization" section of the concluding chapter. War atrocities throughout.)
Very informative and interesting book! Well written and put together, easy enough to read although does get a little close to textbookish at times. Could probably dissect this to a 4.5-4.8 but I don’t care to do that as it meets standards for a 5 to me. Has obvious author interpretations and biases at times but any nonfiction book will. If you’ve read others you’ll have no issues navigating this one.
Unrelated to my review of the content; the print/publication of this book is a bit rough imo. Book is extremely stiff and pages are thick paper. Not the end of the world but I really had to break the shit out of the spine to hold it even remotely comfortably.
Unrelated to my review of the content; the print/publication of this book is a bit rough imo. Book is extremely stiff and pages are thick paper. Not the end of the world but I really had to break the shit out of the spine to hold it even remotely comfortably.
An excellent, heart breaking, and infuriating read.
I've been lucky inasmuch as the education I received growing up did not shy away from the atrocities committed agains indigenous Americans. It's still striking to take a steady and unblinking look at the genocide that created the United States - and continues to have reverberating effects on the indigenous populations.
I've been lucky inasmuch as the education I received growing up did not shy away from the atrocities committed agains indigenous Americans. It's still striking to take a steady and unblinking look at the genocide that created the United States - and continues to have reverberating effects on the indigenous populations.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced