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A review by jmckendry
In the Hands of the Great Spirit: The 20,000-Year History of American Indians by Jake Page
3.0
Let me preface this review with the fact that I know very little about Native American history, and I knew even less before reading this book.
As far as the writing goes, it could have been better, I think. The way the author wrote sometimes felt very unintuitive and more complex than it needed to be. That being said, after I got used to the author's writing style (which took about a third of the way through the book) I was able to truly enjoy the narrative.
As far as the history goes, wow. I knew very vaguely how terribly Europeans and then Americans treated Native Americans, but I did not know how much Native Americans still struggle in this nation. Policies up to the 1950s and beyond worked to dismantle the culture and beliefs held by Native Americans, hoping they would assimilate into Anglo American culture without retaining their own cultural identity. Some American policies still retain remnants of this today.
This book talked extensively about the rich history and highly complex cultures and societies that Native Americans had long before Europeans arrived. While the book is very general and does not really focus on any specific culture of Native Americans, it was a great introduction to the history for someone who previously knew very little about the subject. So glad I got the chance to read this, and I will be reading more books about the true First Americans in the future.
As far as the writing goes, it could have been better, I think. The way the author wrote sometimes felt very unintuitive and more complex than it needed to be. That being said, after I got used to the author's writing style (which took about a third of the way through the book) I was able to truly enjoy the narrative.
As far as the history goes, wow. I knew very vaguely how terribly Europeans and then Americans treated Native Americans, but I did not know how much Native Americans still struggle in this nation. Policies up to the 1950s and beyond worked to dismantle the culture and beliefs held by Native Americans, hoping they would assimilate into Anglo American culture without retaining their own cultural identity. Some American policies still retain remnants of this today.
This book talked extensively about the rich history and highly complex cultures and societies that Native Americans had long before Europeans arrived. While the book is very general and does not really focus on any specific culture of Native Americans, it was a great introduction to the history for someone who previously knew very little about the subject. So glad I got the chance to read this, and I will be reading more books about the true First Americans in the future.