Charles C. Mann

Really, really good. i can't pretend i could assess the quality of the history - although it certainly seems well researched and cited - but it's eye opening about the complexity of politics and human organisation and agriculture etc in the Americas before European invasion. goes through biology, anthropology, archaeology and history to talk about things like native American ways of maintaining land for food - showing up the falsity of the pristine wilderness myth- and the complex political interactions which helped European dominance in the early days. the European invasion is only talked about a little bit but as part of an attempt to restore history to native Americans - the invasion wasn't something that just happened, it was something that
different societies responded to in different ways and fought from the start while sometimes collaborating to win influence over their own enemies. he emphasises that many of the groups that were studied as proof of native American "noble savage" nature were the remnants of larger cultures ravaged by disease and attacked constantly by Europeans - this was not their "natural" state

i could quibble a bit over his politics (not radical enough and the coda is very American patriot, although he voices his support for returning native lands on a large scale - also feel he could maybe quote modern Indians more) and if i knew more about the subject I'm sure i could criticise more but for me it was a fascinating, perspective changing book about something i didn't know enough about. can only be seen as an introduction because of the scope of the subject, but gives you an idea of just how much history there is and tells you enough to make you rethink assumptions… (mer)