500 Nations: An Illustrated History of North American Indians

by Alvin M. Josephy Jr.

Book Overview

This is the stirring, epic story of the hundreds of Indian nations that have inhabited North America for more than 15,000 years and of their centuries-long struggle with the Europeans. It is a story... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679429301
• ISBN13: 9780679429302
• Release Date: November 1994
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 468 Pages
• Weight: 3.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 9.7" x 11.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent!!!

Confirms that so-called native Americans make up the 12 tribes. Too bad we still haven't acknowledged the genocide and deceit we perpetrated as a nation then, and now. A fascinating and complex documentation that our schools should include. They don't, but reading this enables us to at least educate ourselves as responsible citizens. Buy the book and share with your children

A must have for all households; Also buy DVD's

This book is a must have for all U.S. households, along the with the DVD's. It is important for adults and children alike to know the Truth, as harsh as it is. I watched each disc with my two children and they were engrossed with each episode. We have used the book for research for school reports and on the local Native American history for my job. This book is an eye opener for some teachers. I bought the book and the VHS tapes when they first came out, after watching the show on PBS. After I watched the VHS tapes several times, I borrowed them to my Dad, who has never given them back! I told him to keep them, when I purchased the DVD's. I have also purchased this book for friends and family who are interested in Native American history. It has been great to see what some of our ancestors were really like and how they were treated by the white men. If you do genealogy, or know that you have Native American ancestors or even closer relatives, you should definitely read this book. I can say that the way my ancestors were treated, angered me a lot. Prepare to feel anger and guilt for what the white men did. But most of all, share your knowledge with someone else, who has the wrong idea about the Native Americans.

History 101

This book is a grand overview of the history of the native peoples of North America, from the time of first settlement until their ultimate confrontations with European immigrants. Josephy takes us on a tour of the continent from the Mayan and Aztec civilizations to the Inuits. For each group of people, he describes their major accomplishments and customary ways of life. He then traces what happened to the tribes when Europeans determined to take away their lands or resources. Although I thought I knew a fair amount about the history of Native Americans, as I read this book, I became more and more aware of the enormity of my ignorance. For example, I always wondered before why there were no Native American cities-but Josephy explains that that there were indeed numerous large cities in North America before the arrival of Europeans, but for some reason, most people have never heard of them. Native American history has been suppressed to the extent that school kids never come to understand Native Americans as having any history at all. They never hear about the role the Native Americans played in the early wars over the sovereignty of the continent, let alone the policies of genocide set in place in the Nineteenth Century. It's time that more of this information gets included in general school curricula.

Eye opening experiance

This book opened my eyes to my heritage as a Native American (Hopi/Zuni). Straightforward writing, beautiful illustrations & wonderful pictures. I liked this book because it is a comprehensive study of the First Nations through prehistoric times to the Great Civilizations on to the time of Columbus and the coming of the Europeans. Finally, to the dissemination & destruction of the Native People's religion & culture. This book delves into an often overlooked period of American history- the Native slave trade. For hundreds of years Native peoples were kidnapped and forced into servitude, either sent to European countries or to European owned plantations in the Caribbean. The average Native died within a year after being captured due to harsh cruelty or European disease for which they had no immunity. European diseases wiped out whole tribal populations. I fully recommend that anyone interested in real American history reads this book.

Wonderful overview

I love my copy of this book and read it often. It is very informative, sensitive, and beautifully illustrated. You know: this book would make a perfect college graduation or birthday present, because the recipient will dip into it every now and again, enjoyably, for ever.

The Truth Hurts

Throughout my days in school, prior to college, the history classes taught me a sugar coated version of what happened in our history. Obviously, history is indeed written by the victors, and most likely, the version will be slanted towards making the ones in charge look good. This book did not focus on an anthropological study, but rather the effects of the Europeans upon the many tribes. In almost all cases, the effect was horrific for the native tribes. If you want to know what injustices were done to the Native Americans by historical figures such as Columbus, for example, read this book. It is not easy to read, but it does open your eyes to how this country came to be.