1491: New Revelations of the Americas: Amazon.ca: Charles C. Mann, Peter Johnson: Books

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From Publishers Weekly

This production is—as most nonfiction audios ought to be—a "reading" as distinct from a "performance." Johnson renders this thoroughly researched, well-written history of early North and South American Indian populations in a strong, clear voice, with excellent intonation. His diction is almost too perfect—one occasionally focuses on pronunciation rather than content. Most of the book is written in narrative form that sweeps listeners through an exciting rethinking of all we ever learned about when so-called Indians first inhabited the American continents and how they may have come here, about their numbers, religions, cultures, inventions, social structures and their relations to European invaders and settlers. When Mann relates the internecine battles among schools of anthropologists and archeologists, however, the listener might wish he had the book in hand for clarity. It might be wise from the start to make a list of the numerous Indian and European individuals and groupings. This audiobook is well worth the trouble.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Science journalist Mann proves audacious as a surveyor of pre-Columbian history, for few topics are so fraught with controversy. Emanating from the academic, activist, and environmental arenas, the disputes share a revisionist drive to dismantle the popular perception that the New World was a pristine wilderness in balance with its inhabitants. Accordingly, Mann opens with an episode familiar to most Americans, the Plymouth colony of the Pilgrims and its salvation by the friendly Squanto, or Tisquantum, his proper name, according to Mann. Indian altruism toward encroaching Europeans was never quite convincing, so following a discerning inquiry into Tisquantum's more likely motivations, with his Wampanoag people devastated by disease, Mann discusses examples of when warfare abruptly terminated Indian history, as with Pizarro and the Inka (formerly the Inca). Drawing upon the research of recent decades, Mann constructs fascinating narratives of Indian empires, interweaving theories about their rise and fall that are debated by specialists in archaeology, physical anthropology, linguistics, and ecology. Mann had to master an impressive breadth of material but better yet is his clarity and judgment, which meld into a compelling and balanced introduction for general readers. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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11 Reviews

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4.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Revelationary, Feb 15 2012

By

wildnfld "David Tilley" (Newfoundland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1491 (Second Edition): New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (Paperback)

This is a very compelling work, rife with revelation amounting to a rewrite of the history of the Americas. It is a well referenced volume with extensive use of footnotes, maps and diagrams to clarify an emerging, more complete picture of our history. Inspired by recent groundbreaking discoveries made with the aid of technological advances, it makes for an eye opening account of a rich heritage not previously afforded by scholars. Imagine for example knowledge of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and other founding civilizations buried by a tumultuous past event suddenly coming to light. This is every bit as revealing. To think that the Americas once housed such great cultures in parallel with the known world is truly inspiring. Mann is an entertaining writer who overcomes the constant need to reference facts with dramatic detail, thought provoking insight and who also can surprise us with an occasional colorful metaphor.

As a Canadian I was disappointed and somewhat puzzled that we were for the most part omitted, especially since I live on the island of Newfoundland who's native population, the now extinct Beothuck were first encountered by the Norse who arrived centuries before Columbus to settle in Lanse aux Meadows. The Beothuck inspired the term Red Indian with their use of red ochre as ceremonial face paint. The use of the term to describe natives in general was inaccurate but well intended in that regard.

The discovery of an historically cultivated Amazon is unexpected but should not detract as the author suggests from efforts to preserve parts of the jungle that have reverted
to a completely natural state. The notion of civilizations overextending their reach and succumbing to environmental degradation is a universal theme that reverberates in the book.
An Amazon improved upon ecologically by the native presence is revolutionary but could never be paralleled with modern methods and modern expectations. There are a great many arguments that support the need to preserve current wilderness areas in a regional and global context regardless of historic uses.

Europeans creating a wilderness rich with game as an unintended consequence of their arrival is another startling concept revealed in the book, a subject deserving of more attention. The theory that species such as passenger pigeons exploded when the native populations disappeared and the forests reverted to a wild state is plausible but not fully explained in the text. Subjects like this provoke further discussion.

You can't read a book like this without becoming thoroughly engaged in the subject. I'm anticipating more of the same in Mann's next work, 1493.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WELL WRITTEN SUMMARY OF RECENT SCHOLARSHIP ON OCCUPATION OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE COLUMBUS, Sep 3 2006

By

Denis Benchimol Minev "Amazonia" (Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (Hardcover)

There has been much scholarly discussion over the years about pre-Columbian societies in the Americas. How many were there? What technologies did they develop? Did they have writing? What destroyed them? Where is the evidence?

In this book, Charles Mann brought together much of the recent scholarly knowledge, piecing together evidence from across North, Central and South America, to come up with a cohesive image of what the Americas looked like in terms of human occupation before Columbus.

The book's main arguemnt is that the Americas were already heavily populated with as many as 20 million people when Columbus arrived. These people possessed technology very advanced that was not, as much of history tells, puny and weak compared to what Europeans had developed. Agricultural methods were advanced and very productive, providing the basis for the establishment of large sedentary populations, much larger than previously thought. These large populations were mainly destroyed by disease. What we see today are in fact the remaining population after the equivalent of a holocaust, which is hardly a good basis to judge their capabilities and one time glory.

To demonstrate this theory, evidence is gathered from archeology and ancient reports from travellers. From most 16th century explorers, we get a picture of a heavily populated landscape, both in the southeastern US and in the Amazon. However, explorers through the same regions roughtly a century later describe a landscape of peaceful nature without large human interventions. The archeological evidence, as more is discovered, points in the direction of large populations and many characteristics (such as religion and art) of sedentary populations.

Particularly interesting is the section on the Amazon forest, in which the author describes the Amazon not as virginal forest but rather an a human construct, a large garden manipulated by ancient inhabitants, now abandoned. Evidence of these people's technology can be found in unlikely places, such as in the formation of terra preta, a highly fertile soil in a land well known for poor soils for agriculture. Additionally, the raised fields of the Bolivian Amazon also point to a highly sophisticated and organized society that would need to be surplus producing in order to spare the manpower for such great public works.

An interesting addendum to his argument is about the freedom enjoyed by antive americans, which is much more similar to the freedom we enjoy today and seek to expand, than the Europeans at the time enjoyed. The author does a superb job of piecing together evidence from across the continent to come to interesting conclusions about our ancestors.

I highly recommend this book not only to anyone interested in the history of the Americas before Columbus, but to anyone looking for an interesting read about our history as humans.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a refutation, Aug 16 2006

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David Bransby-williams - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (Hardcover)

Having read 1491 I find myself in disagreement with Mr Bass. I am neither archiologist or anthropologist but do have a keen interest in history. I feel that Mr Mann makes a good case for the North American Indian population having an impact on their environment beyond that previously thought. It is interesting that recently a University of Calgary professor was on the news, announcing that in his research he had come to the conclusion that the plains Indians were far more numerous and socially organised than previously thought. He felt that the traditional image of small groups of nomadic stone age hunters had to be re-examined. He fell short of suggesting that these same groups were probably the remanents of the largely inadvertant genocide that saw, what is likely, the largest human die off in history. The implication has to be there and Charles Mann addresses this time and again. 1491 is a compelling and worthy read and there is no compunction to accept every argument as gospel, even Mann provides the material with acknowlegment that there are opposing points of view. As for Mr Bass why as a member of the USDA why is he writing to amazon.ca?

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5.0 out of 5 stars Beware of Extrapolating Conclusions without Adequately Examining the Necessary Evidence
"What is the conclusion then?" -- 1 Corinthians 14:15 (NKJV)

Accurately describing the past is tricky business. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Donald Mitchell

5.0 out of 5 stars Response to a one star reviewer
Did Mr Bass read past the dustcover of this excellent book? If he had then he should have mentioned that 1491 embodied recent research, duly presented with counter-arguments that... Read more

Published 15 months ago by K. Reid