American Encounters: Natives and Newcomers from European Contact to Indian Removal, 1500-1850
Containing essays that were previously published in specialized academic journals or books, these anthologies conveniently consolidate important scholarship that the nonspecialist may overlook when conducting research. Mancall (Deadly Medicine: Indians & Alcohol in Early America) and Merrell (Into the American Woods: Negotiators on the Pennsylvania Frontier) have edited a collection of 25 outstanding articles drawn mostly from journals such as Ethnohistory, William & Mary Quarterly, and American Indian Culture and Research Journal. While not interrelated, the articles provide insight into various contact points throughout North America. Articles such as Theda Perdue's "Cherokee Women and the Trial of Tears" and Helen Tanner's "The Glaze in 1792: A Composite Indian Community" are especially noteworthy as they provide insight into aspects of the Native American experience that is often ignored. Highly recommended for public libraries and essential for academic libraries with Native American collections. The 15 essays in the book edited by Vaughan (New England Frontier: Puritans and Indians, 1620-1675) were all originally published in the New England Quarterly. The authors of the original essays were given the opportunity to revise their essays, and some also included postscripts to further enlighten the reader on their subsequent scholarship. While extremely informative, this book is a bit too specialized to be of interest to libraries outside New England unless they support graduate programs. Libraries interested in the Native American experience in New England might also want to examine Dawnland Encounters: Indians and Europeans in Northern New England, edited by Colin G. Calloway.AJohn Burch, Hagan Memorial Lib., Williamsburg, KYCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.