The Founders of America

by Francis Jennings

"We have lived upon this land from days beyond history's records." These are the words of a Pueblo man, words that describe the experience of Native Americans. They underlie the long work and philosophy of Francis Jennings―the scholar who has done the most to change our view of the relationship of Native Americans and the European settlers. Jennings describes the experience of the first pioneers of the North American continent, who migrated from Siberia across what is now Beringia―nomadic people who traveled over the continents and islands of the Americas, establishing networks of trails and trade and adapting the land to human purposes. He tells of the rise of imperial city states in Mexico and Peru, and of the extension of cultures from Mexico into North America; he describes the multitude of cultures and societies created by the Native Americans, from simple kin-structured bands to immense and complex cities. Jennings shows that Europeans did not "discover" America; they invaded it and conquered its population. We grew up on history written from the point of view of the victor. Here now is the rest of the story, by the acknowledged dean of American Indian history. It is strong, eye-opening, and timely.

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

458 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1993

Reviews

[Jed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense book, written with a wry sense of humor. Demonstrated for me how American national mythologies have blinded us to our national crimes against humanity.

[Lchamp · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just got tired of the author's attitude of "everything you know is wrong and everything I think, believe, guess, or hypothesize is right". He is trying to rewrite history with a politically correct bias.

I have a degree in history and have done original research using historical documents, not historians' interpretation. I have participated in archaeology digs. Many leaders of those digs have a hypothesis that they are trying to prove and if anything shows up in those digs that is contrary to the leader's hypothesis, it is ignored or the person who discovers the item and has a differing opinion is labelled as a fool.

I have long been fascinated by prehistory and the lives of people in documented history. This book perhaps has some interesting facts, but I couldn't get past the authors attitude. This is the first book that I haven't waded through to the end in many years.