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The First Americans: Prehistory-1600

(A History of US #1)

Joy Hakim (Goodreads Author)

3.87 · Rating details · 904 ratings · 77 reviews

Presents the history of the Native Americans from earliest times through the arrival of the first Europeans. Author: Joy HakimReading Level: Ages 4-8Format: 160 pages, Paperback Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA 3 edition (July 11, 2002) ISBN: 978-0195153200

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Paperback, Third Edition, 160 pages

Published September 15th 2002 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published January 1st 1993)

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Dec 05, 2018 Jim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-and-kids, 3series, historical, 1audio, 2non-fiction

This is fantastic as a history for kids. I guess it's geared toward 10 year olds since the pilot of the time ship is, but it has a lot of good information & questions. (The time ship thing wasn't overdone, just used occasionally.) For instance, Hakim didn't pull any punches when describing the colonization of the Americas, but she didn't vilify anyone. She managed to show their mindset & circumstances pointing out where they were brutal, but also how tough they were.

She covers the time from abou ...more

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Aug 07, 2019 Aslan Tudor rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. To begin – this book is a dumpster fire. It is full of factually incorrect information, baseless opinions, and very little information about Native peoples. The information about Native peoples is from euro-centric viewpoint. The book almost entirely focuses on Europe and Europeans. Only 10 out of 39 chapters are actually focused on Native peoples of the Americas, and much of that information is wrong. It uses the word “Indian” throughout instead of correct terminology. She likes to quote Europe To begin – this book is a dumpster fire. It is full of factually incorrect information, baseless opinions, and very little information about Native peoples. The information about Native peoples is from euro-centric viewpoint. The book almost entirely focuses on Europe and Europeans. Only 10 out of 39 chapters are actually focused on Native peoples of the Americas, and much of that information is wrong. It uses the word “Indian” throughout instead of correct terminology. She likes to quote European opinions about Natives, but doesn’t do the same for Native opinions of Europeans. The book repeatedly calls the Americas a “wilderness,” when in fact it was far from it. The information about Natives that is sprinkled throughout is either wrong or extremely biased. This book makes me seriously question her ability to write anything correct in the rest of the series and I am genuinely horrified to read the next book. As a Native educator, this is one of the worst books I've ever seen on this subject. If I could give it 0 stars, I would. Seriously... don't buy this book.

Here is a chapter by chapter review:

It calls us the “first Americans,” which is something many of us don’t like because we aren’t “American.” The map in the beginning is incorrect, places some nations in the wrong locations and puts ancient nations on the same map as later nations as if they existed at the same time.

Chapter 1 is about her opinions of history. It is full of cringe worthy quotes. It says that being American means your ancestors are Indians, Vikings, Pilgrims and slaves…as if we all have a common heritage…and even says we have a common heritage. She cays the U.S. is the “most remarkable nation that has ever existed.” It makes false claims about how supposedly no other nation has ever “provided” so much freedom, justice and opportunity. It claims the US corrects its mistakes. It also said that a peoples government had never been made before the US. Chapter 2 is about Mongolia and the Stone Age. It is extremely biased. Chapter 3 presents the land bridge theory as fact. It has a made up story about how Natives may have migrated through the Americas that is not based on any facts. It says the Kenwick Man is from a “different stock,” as if we are animals. It perpetuates the myth that some Native nations thought Cortes was a god. Chapter 4 says that “Indians” is a good word for us and that “Native” is confusing. “Anyone born in a country is a native of that country, so many of us are native Americans.” That quote is extreme erasure of our own identities, among others in this chapter. It lumps us all together in to one group and says “Indians…” did this or that, but then later explains that no one group did all those things, which is extremely confusing to children. She contradicts herself several times. She then goes back to generalizing us as one group. This chapter is then interrupted by something about dinosaurs. Chapter 5 uses the racial slur “esk*m*s” to describe arctic peoples. She contradicts herself multiple times and flip flops on what terms to use and when. She only mentions Inuit people by name. The information about arctic peoples is mostly incorrect here. She also says that in order to know about Native Americans’ pasts that you must fictionally time travel, rather than getting your information from us. Basically she implies that modern Natives don’t know anything about our peoples histories. She barely acknowledges that modern Native people exist. Chapter 6 is almost entirely incorrect. Virtually nothing written here is anywhere close to correct. She compares us to animals multiple times and implies how inferior we are to Europeans at the time. She spells Native nation names incorrectly and puts people groups together at the same time when in fact they existed in different time periods. She also says people have no freedom. Chapter 7 is also almost entirely incorrect. It’s also written with extreme bias and says very rude things about the people groups. She focuses almost entirely on her perceived negative aspects of these cultures and says nothing positive. Chapter 8 is also mostly incorrect. The “tour” over the continent focuses on plants and animals and not on people. The information about the people is pretty wrong. She again says Native peoples didn’t have any freedom. Chapter 9 is also factually incorrect. It infantilizes the Plains nations. It says Europeans made them not “poor” anymore and that they got lazy after Europeans came. It is full of baseless opinions. Chapter 10 is full of false information and baseless opinions yet again. It calls the mound builders weird and says we only know things about them because of M.C. Hopewell, not from actual Native peoples. It talks about their governments and societies, but doesn’t do that for any other Native peoples or regions in the rest of the book. Chapter 11 is just weird and makes very little sense. She contradicts herself in the footnotes. She again gives baseless opinions throughout and much of the information is factually incorrect. She calls the people “unusual” and uses incorrect names for nations. Chapter 12 gets a few things sort of correct, but from a biased perspective. She introduces the cannibalism myth as if it’s fact. Chapter 13 is where we stop talking about Native peoples and move on to focusing on Europeans. This chapter is entirely about Vikings. It is worded in a Eurocentric way – ie: it says Thorvald was the first white man to be killed by Indians rather than saying he was the first white man to kill us. Chapter 14 is odd and contradictory. It talks about Europeans inventing things that already existed, says “well actually…” these things already existed, and then goes back to praising European “inventions.” It is entirely about Europe. Chapters 15-18 are about Columbus. It perpetuates many myths about him and says he was a “gentleman” and one of the best sailors ever. It perpetuates the cannibal myths that Columbus made up, infantilizes the Taino, and says he killed ALL of the Arawak peoples. It’s all extremely biased and some information is incorrect. Chapters 19 and 20 are about other “explorers.” It says nothing accurate about Natives and perpetuates cannibalism myths again. Chapter 21 makes multiple false claims. It says most Natives didn’t have religious freedom, lumps us all together into one, and perpetuates European myths about the Aztec. It makes claims about the US birthing religious freedom and has tired tropes about “good” people doing “bad” things. It specifically names European nations, but then lumps all Africans, Arabs and “Indians” into homogeneous groups. Chapters 22 and 23 basically say that conquest was just the way of the world and that Cortes was an okay guy. It perpetuates many myths about the Aztec and implies how inferior they were. It gets very little right. It uses the “they thought they were doing right” defenses for the Spanish, but not for Natives. Chapter 24 claims most Native deaths were accidental by disease and completely ignores genocide and biological warfare. It makes extremely biased assumptions. And it says this: “It wasn’t all bad though. Spaniards brought their religious faith and their architecture to Mexico and South America. They brought their language, their arts, and their elegant manners. They brought learning: the first printing press arrived in mexico city in 1539 and a university in 1551. They encouraged truth telling: they let their historians write the good and the bad about what was happening in America. They built magnificent churches and palaces. They ended the terrible blood sacrifices that had been part of the Indian religion in middle America.” Not only is this almost entirely false – it’s extremely pretentious. It’s an implication of superiority. Chapters 25-29 are all about Spanish “explorers” searching for the mythical city of Cibola. It’s full of inaccuracies about Natives and baseless opinions. It calls the Spanish actions “adventures,” perpetuates myths about us and “Indian attacks,” and how the Americas were “wild.” It calls conquistadors “tough, energetic and brave.” I am also annoyed that she says “poisonous snakes” instead of venomous. Chapter 30 is all about praising the Spanish and their colonizing of the Americas and calls it an amazing accomplishment. It says nothing nice about Natives, though. Chapter 31 is all about Spain and Catholic/Protestant conflict. Chapter 32 is about the French. It talks about them eating someone so they wouldn’t starve, but doesn’t call them cannibals like it calls several Native nations throughout the book, even though those nations were never cannibals and these French people actually ate someone. Chapter 33 at least acknowledges they’re fighting over land that isn’t theirs…that’s the only nice thing I can say. Chapter 34 is about the French. It calls Samuel De Champlain “outstanding” and lumps Native all together into one group again. It uses incorrect Native nation names again. It says St. Augustine and Quebec are the oldest continuously inhabited cities in North America, ignoring the fact that Taos Pueblo and several other Pueblos actually are. It is about the Fur trade. Again with the cannibal myths and surviving “Indian attacks.” It also talks about civilizing the Indians. Chapters 35 and 36 are about England. Chapter 37 is another weird one full of opinions. It calls Europeans arrogant and calls the Aztec arrogant, but then says it’s “too bad” to have to call the Europeans arrogant and doesn’t say that of the Aztec. It’s all very strange. It uses the slur “s*v*g*s,” but doesn’t explain why it is bad. It calls the Americas a wilderness again. It also perpetuates the myth of the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke even though historians and the Native peoples in the area actually know what happened. Chapters 38 and 39 are all about the English. It calls the Americas a “sleeping giant of a land,” which basically implies we didn’t do anything amazing with ourselves or the land, and then it ends. ...more

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Feb 16, 2014 Suzanne rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Extremely condescending and politically correct bias. On the positive side, my kids are showing what great critical readers they are by picking apart the personal opinion she presents as historical fact.

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Jun 27, 2008 The other John rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: schoolbook, history

This year my elder daughter's history textbook is an eleven volume series called A History of US. Like The Story of the World series, it adds some life and character to the dull old facts and figures of your old fashioned history texts. What's even better is that I get to read it along with the Sonlight curriculum, which offers its own rebuttals to various statements in the text. Not that one really needs the extra commentary. Ms. Hakim does a rather nice job of pointing out that there are two s ...more

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Mar 07, 2008 Matriarchy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: homeschooling or supplementing families

My eldest daughter used these in 5th grade through an online school, and she liked them. We are using them again, this time while homeschooling our younger daughter, now in 5th grade. Elder sister hearing them for the second time (now 9th grade) is absorbing a higher level of detail. Larger public libraries frequently have one of the editions (I think 1999 was first, then around 2002, then the Third Edition is 2006-2007).

I think these are great for homeschooling families, especially if you have ...more

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Oct 07, 2015 Charles rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was introduced to this series by my son, whose elementary school uses this series as a history text in sixth grade. Sure, because of the intended audience, the writing is simple and conclusions somewhat pat, but I am impressed how effective Hakim is at presenting a primer of U.S. history. She is balanced and fair, and her presentation is interesting, thorough, and surprisingly nuanced. She often includes examples from primary sources and lesser-known facts to flesh out the story. As a lover of ...more

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Nov 17, 2010 Amy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: juvenille-non-fiction

This series of books about US History are OUTSTANDING! I used the series when I taught US History in 5th grade and I still refer to them constantly. They are written on a 5th grade reading level but their interest level is huge...old to young. US History is told through stories, accounts, pictures, anecdotes, etc. and it is fun! This is a must have reference library for any household!

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Aug 29, 2013 Dawn Wells rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Good if under the age of 8. When first person and your own opinions are important. Can see why schools use them as they don't want you to know everything in history anyway. ...more

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Sep 04, 2015 Sara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history

From a Christian Creation perspective, the beginning of this book is false. However, I see no reason that I can't use that to my advantage, and seize the opportunity to teach my students (who happen to be my own children) my own belief system and help them to understand the beliefs of others.

I thoroughly appreciated the love that was put into the writing of this book. I love that it was written by a single individual and not a committee or a board. It's a living book, not a dry, mundane textbo ...more

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Mar 16, 2019 Melanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, personal-reading-challenge-2019

I enjoyed this book. The author kept my attention as it was written more as a story instead of like a dry, boring textbook.
I disagree with the point of view that was given for the original inhabitants of this continent, but it was an opportunity to learn to understand differences in belief.
The entire book was interesting enough to continue to go through the series and share it as a springboard for American history with my children.

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Apr 22, 2020 sara rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, part-of-a-series, american-history, american-history-1600s-and-earlier

There’s a lot of great information in this book...almost as much as what has been left out! After reading reviews about this book, I’m glad to have replaced this first book in the series with a more inclusive history of the first Americans. It makes me sad that the author BARELY touched upon what our country was like before the European colonists arrived.

We replaced this book with An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People.

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Aug 08, 2017 Michelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I read this daily to my 7 year old. It's a really good intro to US history for young kids. Apparently it was written for the 5th grade but my son loved it. We're starting the next in the series tomorrow. ...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Tammy rated it liked it · review of another edition

She definitely makes history interesting. :)

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Jun 14, 2018 Penny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history

I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up these books. I'd heard some mixed reviews from other sources, however I was pretty happy with the content of the book.

True to the title, it starts with what is known about prehistory in America, giving some information in what is known about the First Americans/Native Americans. Up until Chapter 13 (and they're short chapters) there is a focus on what life and civilization must have been like in various parts of the territory p I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up these books. I'd heard some mixed reviews from other sources, however I was pretty happy with the content of the book.

True to the title, it starts with what is known about prehistory in America, giving some information in what is known about the First Americans/Native Americans. Up until Chapter 13 (and they're short chapters) there is a focus on what life and civilization must have been like in various parts of the territory prior to European exploration. It introduced a lot of new ideas that weren't discussed back when I was in school, which was honestly refreshing.

Unlike so many other sources I've been introduced to, this first book doesn't just paint a flat description of the events that happened, frequently portraying European explorers in a positive light. This is not a Eurocentric view of history, openly discussing the effects of violence and slavery on the native people who lived in America before the Europeans came to claim territory. On several occasions she highlights the territory being taken from the native people without their permission and the effects of European exploration. More often than not the European explorers are painted in a pretty negative light, which can certainly come across as a biased opinion. A lot of philosophical questions are raised as well, like if you do something bad, but you don't know better, is it justified?

Overall, I think the history in this book is a little light, but it's a good place to start when introducing history. It covers a good deal more of history than even I remember learning in school, and it seems to be a lot more in depth than my high school age daughter is going into in her classes. It's a great age-appropriate resource for kids, which seems to be for kids around 10-11 years old. The story-like format is engaging and keeps it from getting that dry, textbook feel. As an introduction to these topics, it's more than satisfactory, and is a great leaping-off point for subjects that a kid might want to explore more deeply.

While we are going to be using this as a part of our homeschool curriculum this year, I do think it would be a good resource for any kid, whether they're in public school, homeschooled, or unschooled if they have an interest in American history. ...more

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Mar 28, 2020 Susan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I wanted to like this. I did like the next book in the series (which I read before this one). I first cringed at the absolute assertion that the first Americans walked across the Bering land bridge. That’s possible, of course, but it isn’t the only possibility archaeologists have posited. Even kids can handle that there isn’t a definitive answer to the question. Maybe it will even inspire them to become an archaeologist and try to learn more!

I skimmed some more, and I somewhat like her invitati ...more

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Jan 05, 2020 Julia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: native-american, american-history

I found a whole classroom set of this book at the 2nd and Charles off Wadsworth in Littleton. They had all come from the Mackintosh Academy.

I found it intriguing that this school choose this book to teach its students with and I wonder what book they replaced it with. I found this book being one of the best early history books for kids that I have come across. I felt that it did a good job of introducing kids to Native American history while then expanding into the conquest of the Americas. It ...more

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Feb 18, 2017 Wendy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: no

Sarah has been using this as her history curriculum this year. I am probably enjoying it so much more than her, too! She loves to read, so she is always happy to read her chapters in history. I love that she is doing American History in 5th Grade. This reads easily and is concise. We are now on to the next period of American History, the 1800's. ...more

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Apr 23, 2018 Maddie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Yeah it took me FOREVER to finish this but in my defense school has been CRAZY!!!! Anyway I found these books in my school's library and thought they would be good for me to learn some history before I travel this summer! Once I really settled down and started reading this, I really enjoyed this and can't wait to get to the next one!! ...more

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Jul 10, 2018 Hank Pharis rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Since I'm currently teaching a course on the History of Christianity in America I thought it would be good to get an overview of U.S. history for review. This series is actually written for juveniles but it is well done. Of the four volumes I've listened to thus far I enjoyed this first one the least. But they have all been enjoyable and helpful. ...more

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Oct 10, 2019 Carly Seifert rated it liked it · review of another edition

I love the way History is told in this book and also that there is so MUCH information included. It was a lot less Euro-centric than any other history texts I could find for my 5th grader, but it was still Euro-Centric enough that we had to supplement with other resources to get a wholistic and more accurate view of this time in history.

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Sep 19, 2020 David Pierce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A survey of history is a difficult writing assignment. How much detail to include to keep it interesting and connect the dots of cause and effect. Hakim has accomplished this monumental task in this work. She kept my attention and did not feel the temptation to skim. I will purchase another volume in her series. I was not insulted by her defining terminology, I was grateful.

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Jan 16, 2020 Laura Vogt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: native-research

This was fun.

Written for children, as a whimsical, adventurous story. I thoroughly enjoyed stumbling upon this in my search for a good text for my research.

Recommend for the under 1o (?) crowd. My 4 and 6 year old would enjoy it too.

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Aug 15, 2020 Dawn Roberts rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excellent series, probably best for late elementary and early MS. But even for older students, these books give a very good overview of US history. Book 1 gives a good perspective of Native American culture.

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Nov 07, 2017 Mickey Mevissen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-alouds-done

This is a home school book for my grandson. It is very easy to read and understand and is very engaging as well.

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Jan 19, 2018 Jeanette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: homeschool, own-read

We used this for our American History spine. I love her little bits of humor throughout.

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Mar 11, 2018 Esther Filbrun rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: to-review

Good history, for the most part. I didn't find it truly spectacular, but it's a good overview. (Full review coming soon.) ...more

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Mar 20, 2019 Diane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It was very informative, but also like a story.

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Aug 27, 2019 Karen rated it liked it · review of another edition

The presentation of history through this book is interesting, although it does border on silly and condescending.

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Sep 30, 2019 Kimberly Brown rated it liked it · review of another edition

Reading version 3. Yikes, it needs updating. Lots of discussion. I love how it reads like a story. Very engaging. Despite the need for updating, I couldn’t find anything else nearly as engaging.

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Mar 16, 2020 Jonathan rated it liked it · review of another edition

The Spanish were gold-hunger assholes.

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About Joy Hakim

Joy Hakim

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I've just updated A HISTORY OF US to include some new stories, especially those on people who haven't had their full story told, like Native Americans and African Americans. I've been astounded by some of what I've learned, I think you will be too.

My husband and I live most of the year in Colorado. I grew up in Rutland, Vermont and graduated from Rutland High School. I earned a bachelor's degree ...more