Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America, by Pekka Hämäläinen.

Shelf Talker

Indigenous Continent explores the history of the Americas (mostly North America, mostly what is now the United States) from the perspective of Indigenous peoples, briefly covering the period from 20,000 years ago to the 15^th century, and then in detail from then to the late 19^th century.  It is a story of peoples that dominated the continent for thousands of years, and continued to dominate most of the landmass until well into the 19^th century, and the story of how they maintained that dominance through wise alliances and ongoing conflict in the face of a growing colonial power.  The story is complicated and messy, and unfortunately Hämäläinen’s writing style does little to clarify the complex situation or identify and explore useful themes, but he adds and illustrates in detail a vital perspective to the history of the continent and of its conquest by Europeans.