Native American Testimony by Peter Nabokov

Goodreads Synopsis:
In a series of powerful and moving documents, anthropologist Peter Nabokov presents a history of Native American and white relations as seen through Indian eyes and told through Indian voices: a record spanning more than five hundred years of interchange between the two peoples. Drawing from a wide range of sources - traditional narratives, Indian autobiographies, government transcripts, firsthand interviews, and more - Nabokov has assembled a remarkably rich and vivid collection, representing nothing less than an alternative history of North America. Beginning with the Indian's first encounters with the earliest explorers, traders, missionaries, settlers, and soldiers and continuing to the present, Native American Testimony presents an authentic, challenging picture of an important, tragic, and frequently misunderstood aspect of American history.


My Review:
This book took awhile for me to finish. And not because it wasn't interesting or relevant, but because the material was heartbreaking. The book is broken up into short 2-3 page accounts. In these accounts you get a very personal glimpse into the life of members from different tribes. Spanning from 1492 to 1992, this book delivers scope. This is not a history book written from a Eurocentric mindset where the telling of events become skewed through the eyes of the victor. This is straight from the underdog's mouth and it's powerful. I wish this were required reading in high schools because young Americans would benefit from native perspectives. I'm so glad I bought this book. Definitely something worth reading again in five years.

The editor, Peter Nabokov, sets up each chapter with a brief overview of what was going on during that particular time period. Then each chapter is broken down into 5 or 6 personal accounts from Native Americans. And he doesn't focus on just one tribe. You really get a feel for what people were going through across the country.

There is, however, some controversy over one of his more recent publications, "The Origin Myth of Acoma Pueblo." Nabokov promised to consult with the Acoma Tribal Council before publishing the book as it discusses sensitive cultural and religious information, but he failed to do so. You can read more about this here: Acoma Pueblo vs. Peter Nabokov

The Editor

About the Editor: Peter Nabokov is an anthropologist, writer, and professor at UCLA.

Favorite Quote:

"The old people came literally to love the soil," wrote the Sioux author Luther Standing Bear. "They sat on the ground with the feeling of being close to a mothering power. It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with their bare feet on the sacred earth. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing."

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The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

Goodreads Synopsis:
She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution.

Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it . . . 


My Review:
I was worried I wasn't going to like this since it wasn't Stieg Larsson putting his final touches on it, but I really enjoyed book #4 in the Lisbeth Salander series. It's a bit slow in the beginning, but give it time. I think David Lagercrantz did a pretty good job reflecting Larsson's style and the Salander/Blomkvist bond that I absolutely love was expressed perfectly. 

There's also quite a bit of plot and drama going on in this one & that's just speaking of Lisbeth's storyline. It definitely delves deeper into her childhood and keeps you wanting to find out more. This does have some sensitive subject matter and references to abuse/rape, but I don't think it's to the same extent as the first book. If you enjoyed the first three books in this series but were hesitant to keep reading after Larsson's death then definitely give #4 a try. It looks like a fifth book came out last year, "The Girl who Takes an Eye for an Eye."

The Author

Author Tidbit: David Lagercrantz is a Swedish journalist.

Favorite Quote: "The doctor said that what matters is not that we believe in God. God is not small-minded. What matters is for us to understand that life is serious and rich. We should appreciate it and also try to make the world a better place. Whoever finds a balance between the two is close to God."

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen

Goodreads Synopsis: Americans have lost touch with their history, and in this thought-provoking book, Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying twelve leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable. Marred by an embarrassing combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer misinformation, and outright lies, these books omit almost all the ambiguity, passion, conflict, and drama from our past. 

My Thoughts: This is a book that every person should read. Having been written in 1996, I think it's still relevant. Without taking a political side, Loewen gives the cold hard facts that our high school textbooks are leaving out. Spending years (about 11) combing through 12 of the most frequently used textbooks in schools, Loewen shows us how most of these books are written in a way that encourages patriotism before truth, blind optimism over reality. I love the country I live in, despite its many shortcomings. Every country has shortcomings because they're filled with PEOPLE. And people fall short. But it's important to know the true history of where you come from. Opening our eyes to this history doesn't make us less patriotic, just more aware and better able to take care of our country. And that's the point of this book. 

I always try to understand the author's angle, the lens they're looking through and what their ulterior motives might be. Loewen writes from a pretty unbiased point of view without the rhetoric of the Republican and Democratic parties that I get SO TIRED of hearing. He's not here to make you vote a certain way. He doles out harsh truth, but leaves praise where it's deserved in a voice that is more observant and analytical than emotional. And while the title of the book might sound cruel, he also spends a chapter trying to find an explanation WHY we're using these textbooks in the classroom and it's not just the fault of the teachers. There is a larger more political issue going on here that goes beyond the classroom. Prepare to take less pleasure in some of our national holidays...

**Also, the man's Notes section in the back of the book total just over 55 pages so if you want to take this reading further then you have plenty of references to look for.

Favorite Quotes: "Lying to children is a slippery slope. Once we have started sliding down it, how and when do we stop? Who decides when to lie? Which lies to tell? To what age group? As soon as we loosen the anchor of fact, of historical evidence, our history textboat is free to blow here and there, pointing first in one direction, then in another. If we obscure or omit facts because they make Columbus look bad, why not omit those that make the United States look bad? or the Mormon Church? or the state of Mississippi? This is the politicization of history. How do we decide what to teach in an American history course once authors have decided not to value the truth? If our history courses aren't based on fact anyway, why not tell one story to whites, another to blacks? Isn't Scott, Foresman already doing something like that when it puts out a "Lone Star" edition of "Land of Promise," tailoring the facts of history to suit (white) Texans?"

"Hugh Trevor-Roper, the dean of British historians, has written, "A nation that has lost sight of its history, or is discouraged from the study of it by the desiccating professionalism (or unprofessionalism!) of its historians, is intellectually and perhaps politically amputated. But that history must be true history in the fullest sense.""

The Author

Author Tidbit: James W. Loewen helped write a US history textbook called "Mississippi: Conflict and Change" in 1974. The textbook was not approved for use in the Mississippi school systems leading to a lawsuit Loewen vs. Turnipseed. This became a historic First Amendment case.