The Rediscovery of America gets off to a slow start by belaboring a straw man: 'historians' who have neglected the American Indian past ... Who are these bad historians? Blackhawk’s introduction identifies only two, one of them dead ... In the early chapters Blackhawk’s book lacks cohesion and flow, looping back and forth in time with much repetition ... The Rediscovery of America gains momentum as the narrative moves beyond the colonial period and into the American Revolution ... As Blackhawk’s narrative reaches our current day, he shows how Native Americans continue to express the duality fundamental to their way of life: an ability to manage change while preserving identity, traditions and sovereignty. Native endurance enriches the American ideal of a democratic society for all.
A thoughtful, innovative, and provocative book that puts the first inhabitants of North America at the center of the history of North America ... Much of this is broadly known — in half measures ... The legends about the founding and growth of the United States have been promulgated so often and so widely that Blackhawk’s conception of American history is long overdue. It is, more than any other attempt at re-interpreting our national story, US history turned upside down.
Striking a masterful balance between the big picture and crystal-clear snapshots of key people and events, this is a vital new understanding of American history.
