marisbest2's review against another edition
5.0
This was a pretty good listen. Covers all the European settlements in North America and the Native populations thereof. It doesn't have a grand narrative (though it does have subnarratives, eg around why the British succeed where the Dutch did not) which is fine. It doesn't try to match to present day circumstances like American Nations. It doesn't go as deep as 1493 or A Native American History of the United States. Its fairly unpolitical and yet not naive (there's lots of talk about the evils of slavery and about the human costs of European imperialism). Its definitely not Anglo Centric. Almost no mention of individual actors and definitely no biographical musings which is a risk in some of these kinds of books. Overall very good.
pnsk13's review against another edition
4.0
A comprehensive and easy-to-read study of the origins and early development of the North American colonies. The author shifts focus from various geographical areas and provides analysis on the different factors that influenced their evolution while retaining a relatively neutral stance. I appreciated that the author refrained from over-complicating the implications of the diverse players' actions and leaves the reader to make his/her own conclusions. However, the book was mildly flawed by occasional repetitiveness.
stephen_angliss's review against another edition
2.0
The book would be better titled “How People Inhabited the Americas.” The work is less a thread of the famed thirteen colonies of the American Revolution, and more a sweeping overview of the initial settlements in uninhabited places.
The work goes out of its way to wag its finger at western civilization. It makes the predictable comments about white cruelty and greed. It comes across, less as a sincere stance, but more as a right of passage. It’s as if, by writing the usual critiques of Columbus, he’s signaling to the secular world that he belongs in the big leagues and knows how to play ball.
His analysis of Puritanism and American evangelicalism is uninformed. His judgements are often based on quotes given with his own implied context, and he prefers to ignore positive effects of Christianity and focus on the negative. For example, he quotes by name John Newton when retelling then horrors of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, but he never mentions that this same slave trader repented, followed Christ, and wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
The work goes out of its way to wag its finger at western civilization. It makes the predictable comments about white cruelty and greed. It comes across, less as a sincere stance, but more as a right of passage. It’s as if, by writing the usual critiques of Columbus, he’s signaling to the secular world that he belongs in the big leagues and knows how to play ball.
His analysis of Puritanism and American evangelicalism is uninformed. His judgements are often based on quotes given with his own implied context, and he prefers to ignore positive effects of Christianity and focus on the negative. For example, he quotes by name John Newton when retelling then horrors of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, but he never mentions that this same slave trader repented, followed Christ, and wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
iambartacus's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It presented the information in a different way than the traditional "here is a boring ass timeline, now memorize it" method history books/teachers/school textbook writers usually favor. Instead the author chose to present the colonies by colonizer and included the relationship of the colonizing powers with each other as well. Very interesting to see the different layers at play here. Another thing I like is how it went beyond just the revolutionary war era both before and after.
Overall I felt this was a fresh look at a subject that has been both exhaustively written about and overlooked at the same time.
Overall I felt this was a fresh look at a subject that has been both exhaustively written about and overlooked at the same time.
songyousing108's review against another edition
4.0
A solid detailed account of the colonial time period of America. This is not a light read, but covers this time period nicely and with manageable tone.
gregbrown's review against another edition
5.0
Outstanding look at the events in North America before the American Revolution. Taylor juggles a number of threads very well, helped along by the book’s cogent structure that tends to follow areas through time instead of offering slices of the whole continent at once. He does an especially great job tying in the environmental history, showing how each group shaped their habitat and the effects they wrought, purposely or accidentally. Taylor lays out the material forces at work and doesn’t shy away from depicting the colonists in all their ugliness.
I haven’t read much about this period since the textbook in high-school, and this was such a huge jump in clarity, understanding, and depth. Excited to read Taylor’s two subsequent books covering the revolution and aftermath.
I haven’t read much about this period since the textbook in high-school, and this was such a huge jump in clarity, understanding, and depth. Excited to read Taylor’s two subsequent books covering the revolution and aftermath.
lukescalone's review against another edition
5.0
This should be the starting point for all interested in colonial America.
cmbohn's review against another edition
4.0
This is the most comprehensive book on pre-Revolutionary America that I've ever read. It covers everywhere and virtually everyone, from the Pilgrims that you always read about, to the slaves, women, and native people that are usually overlooked. It is sometimes grim reading. Europeans were frequently cruel to the natives. There's a lot about the conditions the slaves lived in. So many massacres, so much bloodshed.
But it's not all dismal. Some of it talks about politics, land speculation, exploration, trade, and social customs. Even if you thought you knew about pre-Revolutionary America, you're going to find a lot of stuff you didn't know. I enjoyed listening to this, but I think it would have been better in print with some maps. Fortunately, I know basic American geography so I was able to follow along. I really recommend this one.
But it's not all dismal. Some of it talks about politics, land speculation, exploration, trade, and social customs. Even if you thought you knew about pre-Revolutionary America, you're going to find a lot of stuff you didn't know. I enjoyed listening to this, but I think it would have been better in print with some maps. Fortunately, I know basic American geography so I was able to follow along. I really recommend this one.