Rise and Fall of North America's Indians: From Prehistory through Geronimo

by William P. Brandon

Overview

Who were the first settlers in North America? Where did they come from? How did they survive? In this expansive one-volume account of the native peoples of North America, eminent historian William Brandon—who devoted much of his life to examining this subject—presents this revelatory history of the development and culture of the native peoples of North America, from their incipience through the late nineteenth century. From the Valley of Mexico to the Bering Straight, a multitude of diverse cultures settled and created art, healing medicines, and an agriculture that brought us maize, potatoes, chilies, avocado, and tobacco. Among those from central America were the art-obsessed Mayans and Olmecs; from North America came the Ojibwa, Powhatan, Cree, Illinois, Apache, Cherokee, Natchez, Sioux, and many others. In The Rise and Fall of North America's Indians, Brandon brings this world to life and chronicles 10,000 years of Indian history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589790360
Publisher:	Taylor Trade Publishing
Publication date:	11/15/2003
Pages:	616
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.28(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Noted historian William Brandon(1914-2002) was the author of The American Heritage Book of Indians, The Last Americans: The Indian in American Culture, and The Magic World: American Indian Songs and Poems.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
Part 1	The Ancient Americas
1	The Dawntime	3
2	In the Footsteps of the Ancients	19
3	Art and Numbers	25
4	Under the Wheel of Time	31
5	Turmoil and Temples in Central Mexico	43
6	From the Toltecs to the Incas	51
7	Empires of the Sun	71
8	When Worlds Collide	83
9	Through the Lookinglass I	101
10	March of the Metal Men	110
11	The Plumed Serpent	118
12	Cornfield and Kiva	128
13	Blood, Gold, and Souls	147
Part 2	Heritage of the New World
14	Through the Lookinglass II	167
15	Serpent Mound to Tattooed Serpent	185
16	People of the Forest	202
17	Puritans and Indians	218
18	European Cannon Meet Longhouse Diplomacy	236
19	Muskets across the Mountains	254
20	The Road Not Taken	275
21	Along the Trail of Tears	290
22	A Man for All Seasons	318
23	Death and Dispossession in the Heartland	331
24	Through the Lookinglass III	339
25	Under the Northern Lights	354
26	Golden Hills, Crimson Blood	378
27	From Sacajawea to Chief Joseph	395
28	Buffalo Indians and Pony Soldiers	412
29	The Last Stronghold	446
30	Through the Lookinglass IV	478
	Epilogue	489
	Notes	491
	Index	575

Editorial Reviews

One of the more well rounded history books on the North American Indians. The book is objective and pays great attention to detail.

Springs Independent Colorado Springs Gazette

An eloquent and exhaustive chronicle of the history of North America's peoples.

American History - Brian John Murphy

The Rise and Fall of North American Indians: From Prehistory Through Geronimo provides a scholarly account tracing the history of Native Americans from their Stone Age roots through their rise and fall to today's world. It's a sweeping and impassioned survey that tells the stories of all kinds of tribes, their encounters with white people, and the evolution of Indian-White relations that would become the blueprint for the eventual near-extinction of not just tribes, but an entire culture. Tribes chronicled here range from Mayans and Olmecs to Cree and Apache and beyond, and offers a definitive survey of the extent of tribal relationships and struggles in North America. Any collection looking for such an in-depth survey will find this reference a 'must have' addition.

Midwest Book Review

In this posthumously published work, historian Brandon (1914-2002; The American Heritage Book of Indians) presents a sweeping epic history of the Indians of the Americas from prehistory through European contact and subsequent subjugation. A more inclusive title would have better reflected the true scope of the book, as Brandon pays a good deal of attention to the Native peoples of Mesoamerica and South America in his opening pages while reserving his primary coverage of most North American groups for the latter part of the book. Most chapters provide broad coverage of the history of the native inhabitants of specific regions, while others, interspersed occasionally, present perceptive historical analyses of Old World and New World relationships and explore the influence that each had upon the other. The information is presented mainly from a historical, rather than an anthropological, perspective, although evidence from archaeological sources is sometimes given, as is primary-source material from various archives in Spain, France, and England. Overall, this is a fine effort, rich in detail, that provides an objective but telling history of European-Native American interactions over several centuries. Valuable for academic libraries. [Both public and academic libraries will also want to see Jake Page's In the Hands of the Great Spirit: The 20,000-Year History of American Indians.-Ed.]-Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Coll. Lib., Westerville, OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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