The Native Americans: An Illustrated History

by David Hurst Thomas, Jay Miller, Richard White

Spanning thousands of years, this comprehensive history of the diverse native American cultures ranges from the time when humans first set foot in America and provides incisive analyses of modern-day issues and problems. TV tie-in. 250,000 first printing.

Genres: History, Native American, Nonfiction, American History, Native Americans, Anthropology, Reference

479 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

David Hurst Thomas (born 1945) is the curator of North American Archaeology in the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History and a professor at Richard Gilder Graduate School. He was previously a chairman of the American Museum of Natural History's Anthropology Division.

Reviews

[Belinda Vlasbaard]

4,5 stars - English Ebook

Review follows later.

[Shannon]

Gorgeous book. The writing was better than I expected for a book that I assumed would be mostly pictures. I only wish it hadn't been mostly about the Indians in what is now the US. There was some stuff about Canada and Mexico, but very little about South America at all. I wish there had been more about the natives before the Europeans arrived (especially the Inka) but there was still a lot of good stuff. It just would have been nice if the title was a bit more accurate.

[Vannessa Anderson]

It's always disheartening to read how the Europeans put their best foot forward to eradicate the first Americans.

The Native Americans is beautifully illustrated and the quotes by the first Americans were straight on but the information was incomplete.

The Native Americans is a good book for the coffee table but not a good book for in depth information.

[David]

Colorful pictures on every page of this informative encyclopedic volume. It covers the entire history that show Native Americans as the true First People of the North America (focusing strongly on USA /Canada/N.Mexico). The scope of this book might be almost too broad, but that is the purpose here. I can find other books with specificity to certain tribes. The text is friendly to read.

I have not read this entire book. It is great to pick up and skim/read specific sections.

I like the appendix page entitled: Tribes by Culture Area and Language Family.
(I'll expand just the Northeast, to give some more detail)
Arctic
Subarctic
Northeast
- Algonquian
- Iroquoian
- - Erie
- - Huron
- - Neutral
- - Tobacco (Petun)
- - Iroquois
- - - Mohawk
- - - Oneida
- - - Onondaga
- - - Cayuga
- - - Seneca
- - Tuscarora
- - Susquehanna
- - Conestoga
Southeast
Great Plains
Plateau
Great Basin
Southwest
California
Pacific Northwest

Truly 500 Nations!

[atom_box Evan G]

For weeks I have been enjoying this as bedtime reading. I'm up around Page 300.
Though never deep, this book has something for everyone; it's a survey, stretching from the invention of squash, by American women, to De Soto's arrival in Florida, to the pueblo rebellions of the west, to "Being a Twentieth Century Indian" , and a chapter on "Termination" (that recent and awful legal movement).

For breadth I give it five stars. For easy readability I give it four stars. For choice of illustrations, vision of the project, and quality of scholarship I give it three stars. It's not portable or easy to read in bed, unless you are very strong or looking to become so.

Reading it, I get a sense of how the making of a book-by-committee must have been a mixed bag for the five authors and two editors.

[Madeline Puckett]

Important for Americans to look back and acknowledge this history.

[Tamara aka SoMysteriousLee]

My dust jacket is not the same as this one, mine has no sticker on the front and is more tans and browns, no blue. Otherwise the rest is the same listed.

This is one huge, fascinating book. So much information, it's one you take months to read, not a day or so!

[BarbaraW]

Terrible bias as syphillis was not brought to them- they sent it back with Columbus. No discussion of the Seminoles or of any other Fla tribes. Discussion ends at Virginia. Said they invented things: like what? The boat?

At least they pointed out that they are NOT native Americans: they came from the North- that is all that is known at this point.

Special box with discussion about NOT coming over the Behring Straits then the paragraph below confirms they DID come that way. Crazy.

If you know South American people personally- they look down on the ‘native Indians.’ Mexican, Peruvians etc don’t consider themselves native Americans.

Just looking for a fair analysis.

[Chrissie]

Having completed Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West I now know I must soon read this book. I simply cannot read everything that has to be read! It is a gorgeous book with tons of illustrations, photos, charts. The art shown is fantastic. It is a coffee table book but with detailed text too. You can see where every tribe lived.

No, not right now.

[Harley]

An excellent narrative overview of North American Native Americans,and guide to future studies and reading materials that are readily available. I found the drawings, art and photos most enjoyable, and I'm grateful to have a personal copy of this book that I can pass on to my grand children... so they can learn more about the first settlers and residents of the country we call America.

[Dianne Merridith]

Excellent general history of the Native Americans and the problems they have encountered since the arrival of Europeans in the so-called New World. Fully
illustrated with photos and Native Americann art. Highly recommended.

[Valerie]

I had to read this for an Archaeology class I took. It's a great resource. Ian has used it for some research papers.

[Michael]

Very enjoyable, lot's of historical information. Nice photos and illustrations.

[Michael]

Ein üppig farbenfroher, zugleich sachlicher Einblick in die Geschichte und Welt der Indianer ist das.

[Elaine]

Fascinating! Pictures, maps, Histories, paintings, wars, from the time before the white man came, to when the book was published in 1993. A huge book with five contributing authors.