msdaisylaurel's review
5.0
excellent commentary, if not totally relegated to a white perspective of an indigenous culture.
jordanros's review
4.0
A great and very informative read! I wish much more of this content had been taught in my (California) public school growing up. I enjoyed the unconventional narrative style, but I sometimes wished the author just went all the way and wrote a historical fiction novel. Nonetheless I loved this book!
kitchensensei's review
4.0
It was interesting to read about the Ohlone and try to picture what the place I live looked like back then. Definitely worth a read especially if you live in the Bay Area.
meekorouse's review
5.0
original review from July 2011: "This 1978 edition is a good, basic elementary level overview of what Ohlone life may have been like. Each topic is covered in small chapters. "
Feb 2014: The chapters, or segments really, are very small.. a couple pages at a time covering various topics such as fishing, basket-making, hunting, the sweat-house, marriage, childbirth, etc.. A very in depth look, even fanciful stories illustrating what life may have been like.. and a sensitive, empathetic, respectful, but objective historical examination. I read this 2nd (and 3rd as I reviewed my notes) time for a class, and found it interesting but not as amazing or insightful on multiple reads.
Feb 2014: The chapters, or segments really, are very small.. a couple pages at a time covering various topics such as fishing, basket-making, hunting, the sweat-house, marriage, childbirth, etc.. A very in depth look, even fanciful stories illustrating what life may have been like.. and a sensitive, empathetic, respectful, but objective historical examination. I read this 2nd (and 3rd as I reviewed my notes) time for a class, and found it interesting but not as amazing or insightful on multiple reads.
shelleyanderson4127's review
4.0
This is an account of the life and times of indigenous people in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay (USA) before Spanish colonisation. It's a well-written, extensively researched, account aimed at the general reader, by a non-indigenous writer. It's become a classic of sorts, found in many California museums and national parks. It is clear to see why: the writing flows easily, the attitude is respectful (there is an interesting afterword in which the author talks about being taken to task by Native activists) and it depicts a people in their entirety: working, playing, scheming and praying. The Ohlone encompass many different groups, and the rich geography supported one of the most populous Native groups in North America. I especially appreciate the last chapter, for which the author interviewed contemporary Ohlone descendants, as it emphasizes that the Ohlone are still alive and here (though, as one descendant notes: "They have become accustomed to being ignored"). Reading this alongside a more monumental book like David Treuer's The Heart of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present makes an informative combination.
psteve's review
5.0
Terrific book about those who lived in the Bay Area before the Europeans arrived. Great research, and Margolin takes a leap of imagination to really give you what seems to be an accurate portrayal of the lives and even at least a bit of the way of thinking about these people who are all gone now. Though he's probably not as successful at not romanticizing them as he could have been, the picture he paints seems real. A thoroughly enjoyable book.
mcrawfordmiller's review
5.0
I would recommend this book to anyone, especially if they are from California.
kzs's review
I would much prefer the edenic california of the Ohlones to whatever tech dystopia thing is going on now.