The Native American Experience: Containing 30 Rare and Newly Researched Removable Facsimile Documents of Historical Importance

by Jay Wertz

The Native American Experience Foreword by Dr. Blue Clark Native Americans have fascinated the world ever since European explorers discovered the Western Hemisphere. The Native American Experience tells their story from migration during the Ice Age to the influence of Native American culture today, examining early Native American tribal history and the turbulent relationship between Native Americans and Western settlers. The Native American Experience contains a 64-page book with over 200 illustrations and 30 rare and newly researched removable facsimile documents of historic importance, An issue of The Cherokee Phoenix newspaper from 1828A Mid-Eighteenth century map based on the travels of Chegeree, a Native AmericanPresident Lincoln’s hand-written pardon of 38 Dakota warriorsTop-secret Navajo Code Talker documents from the Second World WarA full-size replica of the painting God Gives the World to Arapaho Children by America Meredith

Genres: Nonfiction

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Lanacelot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm Native American and this book was boring to me.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I'm not usually one to be sold on packaging, I picked up "The Native American Experience" largely because I was intrigued by the slipcover, unusual proportions, and finding out what was inside the shrink-wrapped case. Had I been able to actually flip through the pages before purchase, I likely would not have bought the book.

The main selling point of "The Native American Experience" is, of course, the facsimiles of original documents, maps, photographs, letters, and other primary source materials related to Native Americans. They honestly are quite fascinating to look at, and I can see where they would be valuable for showing in a class as a teaching tool. Unfortunately, the novelty factor just isn't enough to merit the expense of the book. The reality is, there is very little text -- the comparison another reviewer made between "The Native American Experience" and DK Publishing's books is perfect -- and none of what is there is groundbreaking info. It's more for the casual reader, not anyone looking for in-depth information on the topics glossed over.

The format of the book is simple. Each pageset revolves around a particular theme, and instead of including long essays, there is a brief introductory paragraph and then a collection of images with detailed captions. Since the book is short, only about 30 themes are covered. Heavy emphasis is placed on the 1800s, with only a cursory exploration of pre-contact, Colonial, or modern Native Americans.

The author's background is in film editing, sound effects, and camera operating, not history, so it's not surprising that he doesn't provide a formal academic text. Still, it would be nice to glean a little more from the text. Even by amateur historian standards, it's lacking.

I think "The Native American Experience" is a good choice for someone with casual interest in Native American studies or not enough focus to read books without a lot of pictures. If you know the subject and actually want to learn something, however, the book's only utility is in the facsimiles and unique presentation.

[Andreas Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modestamente ricco
Non è un libro particolarmente ricco di informazioni, né di storia, perché del resto ce ne sarebbe da dire. Ci sarebbero centinaia di immagini e migliaia di pagine per raccontare la storia dei popoli delle americhe, ma questa rimane comunque un'opera interessante ed elegante in sé. Gli "item", gli inserti che non sono altro che riproduzioni di documenti, servono più che altro come campioni, ma hanno un loro fascino malgrado la fragilità della carta.

[Helen K]

Elana