Scan barcode
A review by greenrain
In Search of First Contact: The Vikings of Vinland, the Peoples of the Dawnland, and the Anglo-American Anxiety of Discovery by Annette Kolodny
4.0
This book is about the Viking exploration of North America and how Anglo-Americans have used that history to suit their needs at different points in time. Two Icelandic Sagas that deal with the Viking exploration of Greenland and the North American continent (the "Vineland" in the title) are used as both literary and historical texts to give context to the information laid out later in the book. What follows is a discussion about the nineteenth century Anglo-American response to the English translation of these texts and the many historical and literary books that sprung from America's need to feel as antiquated as Europe. Issues of race, religion, and immigration are viewed through this lens. The book ends with an interesting yet brief section about the Native American stories that tell of first contact with Europeans in New England and Eastern Canada (an area referred to as "Dawnland" in the title).
The middle section of this book that deals with the Anglo-American response is lengthy and a little repetitive. The author lays out the arguments and works written by a particular person, telling us why the conclusions were wrong and what impact those views had on American culture. Instead of moving onto a different point of view, several other people's opinions and writings are dissected which are almost identical to the original person being discussed. I would have preferred being told "Mr. A, Mr. B, and Ms. C all had similar viewpoints and wrote extensively about the matter (see footnote for list of works)." I felt like I was being hit over the head with the same brick over and over, even though I understood the concept quite well. This is an academic work, so it's the nature of the beast, I suppose.
Overall, this was a very interesting read about a subject that I find fascinating. I would have preferred much more about the Native American early contact stories and more about their response to the Viking issue, but that just shows how interested I was in the work.
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
The middle section of this book that deals with the Anglo-American response is lengthy and a little repetitive. The author lays out the arguments and works written by a particular person, telling us why the conclusions were wrong and what impact those views had on American culture. Instead of moving onto a different point of view, several other people's opinions and writings are dissected which are almost identical to the original person being discussed. I would have preferred being told "Mr. A, Mr. B, and Ms. C all had similar viewpoints and wrote extensively about the matter (see footnote for list of works)." I felt like I was being hit over the head with the same brick over and over, even though I understood the concept quite well. This is an academic work, so it's the nature of the beast, I suppose.
Overall, this was a very interesting read about a subject that I find fascinating. I would have preferred much more about the Native American early contact stories and more about their response to the Viking issue, but that just shows how interested I was in the work.
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.