Stolen Continents: The Americas Through Indian Eyes Since 1492
Wright ( Time Among the Maya ) here presents a "New World" history, told from the perceived perspective of natives and lambasting the conquering whites, going back to Columbus: Cortes, de Soto, Pizarro, for example, are seen as crass, cruel, greedy invaders. To illustrate what he views as an epic wrong, the author probes five tragic encounters--with Aztec, Maya, Inca, Cherokee and Iroquois cultures. Using materials recorded as contemporaneously as possible, from the Incas to Cherokee principal chief Wilma Mankiller, the book follows a trail of treachery, blood and futility. Had the white race's diseases not wreaked havoc on the natives, writes the author, the "conquest" may have ended differently. While his scholarship proves marvelous, Wright's disjointed account is not likely to hold the reader's attention.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.