Indigenous Continent by Pekka Hamalainen

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Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America by Pekka Hamalainen (Liveright Publishing, 2022) is a new approach to the history of North America, focusing on the ways Native Americans succeeded in holding on to their territory. The author looks as the strategies the Native Americans used to form alliances to strengthen their position and how these alliances, strategies, and so forth were effective throughout the 400 years from when Europeans “discovered” the West until the present time.

I’ll admit, I’ve entered a new way of reading nonfiction: I will allow myself to skip around and focus on the most interesting parts to me. So, I’ll be first to admit that I have not finished the entire book. I focused on the first half the book, which was my initial interest in picking it up. This covered Native American history to the middle 1800s.

That said, Indigenous Continent is a fascinating premise and one that I’d be sure to revisit when I’m ready to learn more about the later history of Native Americans in America.

Reviewed on May 14, 2024

About the author 

Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid is a homeschooling, stay-at-home mother seeking to make the journey of life-long learning fun by reading lots of good books. Rebecca Reads provides reviews of children's literature she has enjoyed with her children; nonfiction that enhances understanding of educational philosophies, history and more; and classical literature that Rebecca enjoys reading.

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