A review by sprague
Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America by Pekka Hämäläinen
3.0
For well-researched history of Native America, you can't go wrong with Pekka Hämäläinen, whose previous book transformed my thinking about the Great Plains Indians. But especially in this case, the writing is often so tedious that it distracts from the bigger picture. It's the worst combination of academic and popular -- endless, exhaustive lists of tribe names, often with non-standard (but historically accurate) spelling, tiny irrelevant details.
That Big Picture, which I enjoyed, is that maybe the Indians were actually the *winners* during most of the long European settlement of North America. When even through the Civil War, US officials looked a maps of the country, huge swathes were not under their control. The "Comanche and Lakota Empires" (as the author refers to them) covered most of the area between the Great Plains, from Canada to Mexico, areas that Americans entered at their peril.
Ultimately the book is too ambitious, covering too many people over too long a period. Until a more succinct and engaging writer comes along, use this book as a reference and don't bother reading the whole thing.
That Big Picture, which I enjoyed, is that maybe the Indians were actually the *winners* during most of the long European settlement of North America. When even through the Civil War, US officials looked a maps of the country, huge swathes were not under their control. The "Comanche and Lakota Empires" (as the author refers to them) covered most of the area between the Great Plains, from Canada to Mexico, areas that Americans entered at their peril.
Ultimately the book is too ambitious, covering too many people over too long a period. Until a more succinct and engaging writer comes along, use this book as a reference and don't bother reading the whole thing.