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Racial and religious groups have played a key role in shaping the American West, yet scholars have for the most part ignored how race and religion have influenced regional identity.In this collection, eleven contributors explore the intersections of race, religion, and region to show how they transformed the West.From the Punjabi Mexican Americans of California to the European American shamans of Arizona to the Mexican Chinese of the borderlands, historical meanings of race in the American West are complex and are further complicated by religious identities. This book moves beyond familiar stereotypes to achieve a more nuanced understanding of race while also showing how ethnicity formed in conjunction with religious and regional identity.The chapters demonstrate how religion shaped cultural encounters, contributed to the construction of racial identities, and served as a motivating factor in the lives of historical actors.The opening chapters document how religion fostered community in Los Angeles in the first half of the twentieth century. The second section examines how physical encounters—such as those involving Chinese immigrants, Hermanos Penitentes, and Pueblo dancers—shaped religious and racial encounters in the West. The final essays investigate racial and religious identity among the Latter-day Saints and southern California Muslims. As these contributions clearly show, race, religion, and region are as critical as gender, sexuality, and class in understanding the melting pot that is the West.By depicting the West as a unique site for understanding race and religion, they open a new window on how we view all of America. ... Read more

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InFrom Yeoman to Redneck in the South Carolina Upcountry, Stephen A. West revises understandings of the American South by offering a new perspective on two iconic figures in the region's social landscape. "Yeoman," a term of praise for the small landowning farmer, was commonly used during the antebellum era but ultimately eclipsed by "redneck," an epithet that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. In popular use, each served less as a precise class label than as a means to celebrate or denigrate the moral and civic worth of broad groups of white men. Viewing these richly evocative figures as ideological inventions rather than sociological realities, West examines the divisions they obscured and the conflicts that gave them such force.

The setting for this impressively detailed study is the Upper Piedmont of South Carolina, the sort of upcountry region typically associated with the white "plain folk." West shows how the yeoman ideal played a vital role in proslavery discourse before the Civil War but poorly captured the realities of life, with important implications for how historians understand the politics of slavery and the drive for secession. After the Civil War, the South Carolina upcountry was convulsed by the economic transformations and political conflicts out of which the redneck was born. West reinterprets key developments in the history of the New South--such as the politics of lynching and the phenomenon of the "Southern demagogue"--and uncovers the historical roots of a stereotype that continues to loom large in popular understandings of the American South.

Drawing together periods and topics often treated separately, West combines economic, social, and political history in an original and compelling account.

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Customer Reviews (2)

Great source for biographical info

This is another volume culled from the 10-volume MOUNTAIN MEN AND THE FUR TRADE OF THE FAR WEST by LeRoy R. Hafen. The men chosen for inclusion here were all associated with the fur trade in the Upper Missouri region. Some of the trappers and traders dealt with are John F.A. Sanford, Charles Larpenteur, Alexander Culbertson, William Laidlaw, and J.B. Moncravie. Personalities run the gamut from honorable and intelligent (Moncravie and Kenneth McKenzie, for example) to brave and able (just about everybody). The biographies are encyclopedic: all known pertinent facts are given, but not expanded on. I wish for this volume Hafen had perhaps broadened the category for inclusion a bit, because the book is about half the length of companion volumes; most of the biographies are only a few pages long. Other than that, it's an excellent source for biographical information on important figures of the Upper Missouri trade.

Commendable portrayals
This book offers some very good, concise descriptions of eighteen lesser known fur trappers,traders and mountain men of the early American west.After reading several books on this subject myself,there were some names I never came across before who were very instrumental during this time period: James Kipp, Gabriel Franchere, William Laidlaw, David Dawson, William Gordon and John Sanford to mention a few.Each one of these men's lives had obstacles of hardships, disasters, frustrations, etc. to overcome and all had something to do with the founding and development of the early American west in one way or another. It was a fun book to read and the bibliographies in each chapter simply 'whet the appetite' to read more about these interesting early frontiersmen. ... Read more

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When Spanish and French explorers first landed in Florida early in the 16th century, Timucua speakers occupied more land area and were more numerous than any other aboriginal group. This is their first detailed history, a major study that places its author in the forefront of Spanish colonial historians working in the United States.

The Timucua are the only native people of Florida whose language survives in literature in sufficient quality and quantity to permit significant study. Relying on previously unused documents, this account of the Timucua traces their experience from first contact with Europeans to their exile to Cuba in 1763 and their final eradication.

Beginning with the question of their number and their locations in northern Florida and southern Georgia, John Hann examines the Timucua's contacts with various European groups, starting with Ponce de León's expedition. He includes a detailed presentation of their experience under the mission regimes, and covers such topics as the Europeans' descriptions of the people, their language, culture, and political structures, the derivation of their language, and the meanings of their placenames and titles. He also resolves confusion over the extent of the territory of a Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, and discusses other Florida native peoples who moved into Timucua territory as refugees during the first half of the 18th century. ... Read more

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With general introductions, and in some cases, new translations, this collection comprises all of the 38 principle narratives, written from 1634 to 1810, describing the Mohawk valley and its Iroquois inhabitants. It provides a detailed look at an American Indian nation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

40 visitors to the Mohawk Indians
This is probably not a book you will read from cover to cover.It consists of an introduction and the writings of nearly 40 visitors to the Mohawk Valley of New York between 1634 and 1810.The focus is on the Mohawk tribe, the easternmost and perhaps the more important of the five nations of the Iroquois.

The Iroquois held the balance of power between competing French and British interests in North America for more than one hundred years until the French and Indian War ended in 1763.This position gives them outsized importance in American history despite their meager numbers which, after smallpox epidemics in 1635, was barely over 10,000 of which the Mohawk counted about 2,000.

The authors have accomplished a useful service in collecting between two covers this collection of primary sources on the Mohawks. Following an excellent introduction, the selections are presented as written with few notes and little explanatory material.Included are Dutch, French, British, Italian, and American writers. Some of the selections make for good reading; others are probably of interest only to specialists. For the enthusiast about early North American history, it's a good reference book to have on your shelf.I enjoy picking the book up now and then to read one or another of the selections.

Smallchief

In Mohawk Country: Early Narratives of a Native People
I was disappointed by this book. It was difficult to read and offered no historical perspective on the narratives which were included. The narratives were interesting and certainly have a value of their own, but on the whole this book has more utility as a reference source than as entertainment.

An important book on Mohawk history.
As a Mohawk historian I am very impressed with this book, which brings together numerous source which may well have taken me years to find otherwise.It offers us insight into what the early colonists thoughtabout as well as descriptions of what they saw and experienced in visitingthe Mohawk villages.I would love to see a similar treatment of the otherIroquois nations as well as other aboriginal peoples.While there are afew accounts that may come across as racist to the modern reader, it isnevertheless an opportunity to "time travel" to the old Mohawkhomeland.This book should be required reading for anyone who wants tostudy Mohawk history. ... Read more

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In 1915, Wilhelm Miller (1869-1938), an influential author and editor, published "The Prairie Spirit of Landscape Gardening," a profusely illustrated book that championed the "prairie style" of landscape gardening. It was the first book to address the question of a truly American style of landscape design and remains one of the most significant early treatises on that topic.This handsome volume features several projects by Jens Jensen, a Danish immigrant whose ecologically based, conservation-oriented approach to park and residential design had a strong impact in Chicago and formed the foundation of the stylistic school Miller was promoting. The book also features photographs of O. C. Simonds's designs for Chicago's Graceland Cemetery and midwestern landscapes by Walter Burley Griffin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Warren H. Manning, among others. Before and after images vividly demonstrate Miller's taste for abundant use of hardy native plants in landscape design. His emphatic captions--"Away with Gaudy Foreigners and Artificial Varieties!" "Restore the Native Vegetation!"--leave little doubt about his aesthetic position.Christopher Vernon's new introduction links the prairie style to Wright and other architects of the Progressive Era, arguing that Wright's use of prairie landscape elements actually preceded that by Jensen, Simonds, and their peers. Vernon shows how prairie imagery provided design ideas for some and also provided a label--prairie style--that helped promote naturalistic work generally. Architects, landscape architects, and garden enthusiasts will be intrigued by Vernon's insights and inspired by Miller's impassioned call to celebrate, replicate, and conserve the midwestern landscape. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Prairie School Insights
A great re-print of one of the best documents about the landscape design aspect of the Prairie School.Vernon's introduction contains well-researched information about this important aspect of a significant American regional design expression.

An informative text that has stood the test of time
The Prairie Spirit In Landscape Gardening is a reprint of a classic treatise first published in 1915, about a uniquely American style of landscape design - the "prairie style." Black-and-white photographs of designs for Chicago's Graceland Cemetery and Midwestern landscapes by Walter Burley Griffin and Warren H. Manning complement an informative text that has stood the test of time as a hallmark of American landscape gardening cultural trends. An extensive introduction to the new edition rounds out this remarkable and enduring work, The Prairie Spirit In Landscape Gardening is a welcome and strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library landscaping and gardening supplemental reading lists and reference collections. ... Read more

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In the tentative early settlements along the Atlantic coast, the ocean meant everything -- offering ties to the outside world and yielding an abundance that allowed colonists to establish thriving outposts. With industrialization in the nineteenth century, some of these coastal communities grew into important cities. Other settlements -- the ones that are the affectionate focus of this book -- fell behind and survived in relative isolation.

Bypassed by the transportation and industrial revolutions, the places surveyed by Warren Boeschenstein have remained unspoiled by the usually unstoppable forces of the modern world. These towns have since become cherished landmarks because of their remarkable natural settings and cultural legacies. Dotting the coast from Maine to Florida, they exemplify historic America at its best.

In Historic American Towns along the Atlantic Coast, Boeschenstein celebrates the scale and style of these places -- more than 140 towns in all -- and offers wonderfully evocative descriptions of each. The book divides naturally into three regional sections: North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic. In these areas, Boeschenstein focuses on nine places that are among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in North America, towns that still possess a delightful pedestrian scale and sense of community, towns whose physical settings evoke time-honored qualities: Castine and Kennebunks' Port, Maine, Edgartown, Massachusetts, and Stonington, Connecticut, in the North; Ocean Grove, New Jersey, and New Castle, Delaware, in the Mid-Atlantic; and Edenton, North Carolina, Beaufort, South Carolina, and Saint Augustine, Florida, in the South.

Each of these coastal villages reveals a different past, and Boeschenstein gives each story its due. Ocean Grove is the accomplishment of primarily one generation, the fervent post-Civil War Methodists. Beaufort reflects most magnificently not one but several generations of antebellum planters, who, over a century, asserted their authority and importance. In Kennebunks' Port, Victorians built a community distinct from that of the earlier Federalists. In Stonington, New Castle, and Edenton residents "infilled" buildings, intermixing structures from different periods.

Using nearly 200 historic maps, drawings, and photographs to illustrate the spectrum of change in these communities, the author also examines qualities common to all: location, community, scale, and time. Here, on the coast, the quality of time is tangibly evident. The reliable rhythms of the tides magnify the perceptions of time repeating and time passing. Human history permeates buildings that reflect the values of different periods. Animal migrations mark the seasons -- birds along the Atlantic flyway, fish through the nearby ocean currents, and vacationers in search of the sun. Geologic time, the most ancient of all and the one usually most hidden, is readily visible within the communities in which water, wind, and sand have worn away the land's edge to reveal the distant past in the underlying strata.

Engagingly written and handsomely illustrated, this book is a fascinating guide for coastal travelers and offers a useful framework for historic preservation and innovative town planning.

"All [of these towns] have experienced the inevitable economic cycles, population shifts, technological revolutions, political changes, human disasters, and natural calamities that communities of this age have faced... In every one, intimacy is a part of everyday life -- continually fostered by the human scale of the town fabric, the pedestrian orientation, and the proximity of people to institutions and commerce and to other people." -- from the Preface (pp.xi-xii)

Customer Reviews (1)

Good overview, not much depth
This book contains short sketches of nine towns situated along the Atlantic Coast (Castine & Kennebunkport, ME; Edgartown, MA; Stonington, CT; Ocean Grove, NJ; New Castle, DE; Edenton, NC; Beaufort, SC; and St. Augustine, FL). The sketches mainly show how each town developed over the years, many in a roller-coaster fashion. Most of the towns reached their peak period in the 19th century before falling on hard times - only to be revived by either tourism or carefully controlled development. The book is heavily illustrated with maps and photos, which is a big plus. Unfortunately, the writing is wooden and overly academic which makes reading the text not much fun. Good as far as it goes, but not a memorable work. ... Read more

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The First African Baptists Church (FABC) remains were accidentally discovered and eventually excavated during the 1980s in Philadelphia. The history and artifacts of the church and cemetery, active from 1823 to 1850, provide a glimpse into the life of the poorest segment of Philadelphia society. Who these people were and the conditions of their lives is the focus of this book. Using census data, skeletal remains, and church documents, Dr. Rankin-Hill recreates the life of this community and compares their conditions to that of other Afro-Americans living in the United States. ... Read more

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This work establishes the Amerindian burial experience as essential to understanding all neolithic religious customs. It also includes a selection of technical illustrations, a bibliography, and an appendix. ... Read more

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There is a surprising amount of data available about Native Americans in the Schoharie River Valley, and this volume is a useful tool for further research into this wealth of historical records. The author provides detailed descriptions of source material ... Read more

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The development of the fur trade, the European struggle for its control, and the involvement of Native Americans are discussed. Acting as middlemen for the colorful European trappers and traders who arose during this period, the Native Americans controlle ... Read more

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Collected almost 100 years ago, these timeless tales reveal the central beliefs and guiding principles of Winnebago, Ojibwa, Menominee, and other peoples and provide a window into their outlook and aspirations. An introduction by historian Peter Iverson highlights the divergent ways Native American identity has been constructed through such legends ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Provides the reader with insights
Native American Legends Of The Great Lakes And The Mississippi Valley is an outstanding collection of legends, tales and myths drawn from the Native American peoples of the Great Lakes area, the Midwest, and the Mississippi River valley. This rich and diverse collection reveals the central beliefs and reflects the guiding principles of Winnebago, Ojibwa, Menominee, and other native tribes, providing the reader with insights into their outlook and aspirations. Native American Legends Of The Great Lakes And The Mississippi Valley is a welcome addition to personal, academic, and community library Native American Studies reading lists and reference collections. ... Read more

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Five centuries before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, indigenous North Americans had already built a vast urban center on the banks of the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today. This is the story of North America's largest archaeological site, told through the lives, personalities, and conflicts of the men and women who excavated and studied it. At its height the metropolis of Cahokia had twenty thousand inhabitants in the city center with another ten thousand in the outskirts. Cahokia was a precisely planned community with a fortified central city and surrounding suburbs. Its entire plan reflected the Cahokian's concept of the cosmos.Its centerpiece, Monk's Mound, ten stories tall, is the largest pre-Columbian structure in North America, with a base circumference larger than that of either the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt or the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan in Mexico. Nineteenth-century observers maintained that the mounds, too sophisticated for primitive Native American cultures, had to have been created by a superior, non-Indian race, perhaps even by survivors of the lost continent of Atlantis.Melvin Fowler, the 'dean' of Cahokia archaeologists, and Biloine Whiting Young tell an engrossing story of the struggle to protect the site from the encroachment of interstate highways and urban sprawl. Now identified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and protected by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Cahokia serves as a reminder that the indigenous North Americans had a past of complexity and great achievement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

There are better books on the subject available
My advice is to get "Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians" by Pauketat, which is a much better book, with many more illustrations, and concerns itself with the archaeology and culture of Cahokia.This book "Cahokia the Great Native American Metropolis" is great if you want to learn much more about the interactions between the archeologists themselves, and not much about the culture of the Cahokia people and the archaeological site.I much prefer to spend my valuable time reading about the culture and the site, rather than the petty squabbles between the archaeolgists.Buy the book by Pauketat, not this book.

Good Overview of a Neglected Archaeological Site
Few today will have ever heard of Cohokia, the vast urban center once located on the banks of the Mississippi River.Cahokia is not only the largest archaeological site in North American, but one of the least well preserved or analyzed ancient civilizations in the world. Located in a present urban area near St. Louis, the failure to study and catalog this site until the past few years is a stunning example of modern ignorance and mismanagment.This study is the best single volume work on the subject of Cahokia.

That being said, the limitations of this volume are many.It is apparent that Professor Fowler's research is essentially presented by Young, a non-specialist writer.Unfortunately, the writing is uneven and not particularly memorable.There is also a dearth of photographs and diagrams.Finally, I was dissatisfied with the lack of discussion of the context of the Cahokia culture with the other prehistorical peoples of North and Central America.

Cahokia
Over the past decade or so, Cahokia (located in Illinois just east of St. Louis) has emerged as the most extraordinary archaeological site in North America. In the 500 years between roughly 900 and 1400, Native Americans(no one can yet identify the group) built a great settlement, carefullyplanned, with temples, palaces, stockades, and other accoutrements that onewould identify with a city, marked by tremendous earthen constructions --the mounds that dominate the site today. The Cahokians' influence spread upand down the Mississippi valley, and the magnetism of their achievementdrew people and wealth into their sphere of control.

The tale of thediscovery, preservation, excavation, and interpretation of this magnificentsite is told with verve and excitement in this collaboration betweenBiloine Whiting Young, a professional writer, and Melvin Fowler, one of theleading lights of Cahokian archaeology. They write in an accessible stylebut without sacrificing any of the complexities of the history andinterpretation of Cahokia, and an abundant bibliography allows easy accessto the technical literature on which the book rests. My advice: read thisbook, then hop in the easiest mode of transportation and get yourself toCollinsville, Illinois. You will come away from both with a new admirationfor the achievements of our predecessors on this continent.

A superb book for the non-archeologist
This book provides a wealth of detail about the great prehistoric city which we now callCahokia.Written in layman's terms, the authors cover every aspect of the archeological investigations of the city.It is hardto believe that a large metropolis existed in mid-America a thousand yearsago.In this book, Ms. Young and Dr. Fowler document the many studies madeover the years that prove it did exist.And they do so in an easy tounderstand manner.This book is very easy to read. ... Read more

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In the mid1700s, the tip of present-day Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle at the Forks of the Ohio was a valuable piece of land to both the British and French colonial powers vying for control of North America. This guidebook traces the story of the construction of Fort Duquesne by the French, the failed attempt of Gen. Edward Braddock and his British forces to capture the fort in 1754, its eventual capture in 1758 by British general John Forbes's troops, its transformation into Fort Pitt, and the siege on the fort by Indian forces during Pontiac's War in 1763. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Actually the book is correct
This is a great book for anyone interested in this period and region and the book is accurate.As for the regiment strength under General Braddock see Paul Kopperman's "Braddock at the Monongahela" p. 14, it notes that troops were rectruited in America to enhance the regiment's strength.As for the account of Grant's Defeat, everybody knows there are often many accounts of historical events that have conflicting information.Dixon chose information that appears in most accounts of the battle (and Grant's account as well), not just a single individual.

Below Average
I did not like this book because it is obvious that the author did not do any research in certain parts but simply repeated the misinformation that other authors have used before him.For example,he states that Braddock arrived with two regiments that were at full strength when they were not.They actually had to recruit colonials,one of whom was Thomas Fausett.He only briefly mentions the Battle of Grant's Hill, which was a significant battle that was fought on the museum's property,and most of his information concerning this battle is incorrect.Dixon states that several buildings that served as sentinel posts were burned in a nightime raid.When in reality,a first person account by one Lt.Alexander Robertson of the 77th states that only one building was burned,and that was used for storage.Somehow the flames were soon extinguished however.Burning the sentinel posts with the sentinels still inside would tend to make them quite irate one would think,andthus ruin the element of suprise.There are no accounts of guardhouses being burned anywhere.I gave the same criticism to the author of the Osprey French & Indian War book(Daniel Marston) for exactly the same reason(Check it out in my other reviews).These brave soldiers who have fallen at Braddock's & Grant's defeats have no Arlington National Cemetery nor memorials to honor them.They lie in unmarked graves that are known only to God.We can at least honor them by telling their story correctly.At the end of the day,the author can always say "Heh,I just made a fast buck off of the War For Empire 250th." ... Read more

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Uqalurait, pointed snowdrifts formed by Arctic blizzards, 'would tell us which direction to go in,' says elder Mariano Aupilarjuk. This oral history, guided by the traditional knowledge of Inuit elders from across Nunavut, also follows the uqalurait. Thousands of quotes from over three hundred Inuit elders about their culture and customs cover all aspects of traditional life, from raising children to hunting, the land, and architecture, to belief systems, cosmology, and the Inuit's remarkable ability to make do with what they had. Given the recent creation of Nunavut and current attention to the Arctic due to climate change, Uqalurait is a timely source of insight from a people whose values of sharing and respect for the environment have helped them to live for centuries at the northern limit of the inhabitable world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Researching the Inuit? Be sure to add this to your library
Uqalurait is a collection of quotations from the Inuit elders themselves. This book is excellent for research, especially anthropology. It helps you get the "feel" of Inuit culture as well as learn about their worldview. It is the next best thing to talking to the Inuit themselves. I used it when I wrote a paper about Inuit religion, but it can be used for any topic from family structure, hunting practices, leadership in the community, music and dance, astronomy, cosmology, shamanism, death, architecture, etc. So be sure to add this to your library.

Good Insight to Inuit
I used this book for a college history class.It was very helpful in understanding the inuit culture.It gave lots of details and I would defintatly recommend this book! ... Read more

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Beginning near the end of the nineteenth century, a generation of reformers set their sights on the growing Mexican community in Los Angeles. Experimenting with a variety of policies on health, housing, education, and labor, these reformers—settlement workers, educationalists, Americanizers, government officials, and employers—attempted to transform the Mexican community with a variety of distinct and often competing agendas.

In Race, Place, and Reform in Mexican Los Angeles, Stephanie Lewthwaite presents evidence from a myriad of sources that these varied agendas of reform consistently supported the creation of racial, ethnic, and cultural differences across Los Angeles. Reformers simultaneously promoted acculturation and racialization, creating a “landscape of difference” that significantly shaped the place and status of Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans from the Progressive era through the New Deal.

The book journeys across the urban, suburban, and rural spaces of Greater Los Angeles as it moves through time and examines the rural–urban migration of Mexicans on both a local and a transnational scale. Part 1 traverses the world of Progressive reform in urban Los Angeles, exploring the link between the region’s territorial and industrial expansion, early campaigns for social and housing reform, and the emergence of a first-generation Mexican immigrant population. Part 2 documents the shift from official Americanization and assimilation toward nativism and exclusion. Here Lewthwaite examines competing cultures of reform and the challenges to assimilation from Mexican nationalists and American nativists. Part 3 analyzes reform during the New Deal, which spawned the active resistance of second-generation Mexican Americans.

Race, Place, and Reform in Mexican Los Angeles achieves a full, broad, and nuanced account of the various—and often contradictory—efforts to reform the Mexican population of Los Angeles. With a transnational approach grounded in historical context, this book will appeal to students of history, cultural studies, and literary studies ... Read more

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Native Americans and their elegant weapons have provided an undeniable mystique for archers, history buffs, collectors, and anyone who appreciates traditional skills. For the first time, authors Allely and Hamm have brought together the most exceptional archery pieces from eastern tribes such as the Mohegan, Mohawk, Cherokee, Seminole, Chippewa, and Winnebago. Beautifully detailed full-page pen-and-ink drawings give dimensions, decorations, and construction details on more than a hundred historic bows, scores of arrows, and two dozen quivers. The running commentary is drawn from research conducted in museums around the world, and gives insights into who used these instruments and how.

This pathbreaking and comprehensive book will strongly appeal to all those with an abiding interest in Native Americans and archery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Great Book
This is a very detailed informative book which has helped me greatly in recreating Native bows and arrows.

Eye Opener
This book really opened my eyes.I couldn't put it down for days.I'm still amazed by the high level of workmanship that the Native Americans achieved with these so-called "primitive" weapons.More amazing to me, however, is the realization that there are so many poor quality reproductions on the market...and thanks to this book, I am able to see them for what they are...."ugly" reproductions lacking the artistic, technological, and even spiritual aspects of the originals.

The second book is available (but not on Amazon...for some reason) and I have purchased that one also.It is even better than the first.

Overall, I think that books like this will lead to an appreciation of the art of Native American archery....and for those who think that pictures alone cannot give insights into the construction of these weapons, think again.Anyone who has advanced experience in both woodworking and archery will immediately appreciate this book.

My only question now is why books like this are so rare.Perhaps it is because we are caught up in the "engineering" of archery and not the "art" of archery.Perhaps these weapons are considered "inferior".Perhaps we don't care.....

Excellent reference
This is a very useful book for studying tribal or regional designs of bows.Most bows on the market have incorrect or nil provenance on the origin of the bow.This book gives the ethnologist some indication of common characteristics of bow design from the regions listed.If you are looking to build your own bow, Hamm (and others) have different works specifically written for would-be bowyers.

Where is Vol. II ??

From an arrow collector
This book, thanks to the very accurate drawings and precise indications (length, diameter, type of wood and fletching, colours indications) have enabled me to duplicate native American arrows with precision. I have often counterchecked the descriptions with some information I have found in museums and found the book very reliable. First pity, there aren't enough photos or colour drawings. Second and most catastrophic pity: why has the publisher apparently given up the idea of publishing the second volume about the Great plains, Columbia and Southwest?

One of a kind, at least for now
It is true that this book is not a how-to book, but I think that was the author's intention.What it is, is a much-needed reference work, indeed, it is the first and certainly most up-to-date record of American Indian archery equipment.It's been at least 50 years since a book of this sort has been published.My only objection is that the book does not (cannot?) provide enough context or provenance; this is a minor objection.Perhaps fans of Hamm would be more satisfied with Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans.I'd say the book is directed more towards the ethnographer or anthropologist; however, the book is clearly an invaluable reference for the traditional archer/bowyer (hey, this is a "living" hobby - be creative), as it provides dimensions, materials used, colors, and closeups of designs.Fans of American Indian art in gerneral will also appreciate it.Volume II, which should be available before the end of the year, should be at least as good. ... Read more

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In The First American Frontier, Wilma Dunaway challenges many assumptions about the development of preindustrial Southern Appalachia's society and economy. Drawing on data from 215 counties in nine states from 1700 to 1860, she argues that capitalist exchange and production came to the region much earlier than has been previously thought. Her innovative book is the first regional history of antebellum Southern Appalachia and the first study to apply world-systems theory to the development of the American frontier.

Dunaway demonstrates that Europeans established significant trade relations with Native Americans in the southern mountains and thereby incorporated the region into the world economy as early as the seventeenth century. In addition to the much-studied fur trade, she explores various other forces of change, including government policy, absentee speculation in the region's natural resources, the emergence of towns, and the influence of local elites. Contrary to the myth of a homogeneous society composed mainly of subsistence homesteaders, Dunaway finds that many Appalachian landowners generated market surpluses by exploiting a large landless labor force, including slaves. In delineating these complexities of economy and labor in the region, Dunaway provides a perceptive critique of Appalachian exceptionalism and development. ... Read more