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Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World

jack weatherford

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" As entertaining as it is thoughtful....Few contemporary writers have Weatherford's talent for making the deep sweep of history seem vital and immediate."
THE WASHINGTON POST
After 500 years, the world's huge debt to the wisdom of the Indians of the Americas has finally been explored in all its vivid drama by anthropologist Jack Weatherford. He traces the crucial contributions made by the Indians to our federal system of government, our democratic institutions, modern medicine, agriculture, architecture, and ecology, and in this astonishing, ground-breaking book takes a giant step toward recovering a true American history.

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 12,1988
Literary awards
minnesota book award, 

This edition

Format
272 pages, Paperback
Published
November 29, 1989 by Ballantine Books
ISBN
9780449904961
ASIN
0449904962
Language
English

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About the author

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jack weatherford

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Jack McIver Weatherford is the DeWitt Wallace Professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota. He is best known for his 2004 book, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. In 2006, he was awarded the Order of the Polar Star, and the Order of Genghis Khan in 2022, Mongolia's two highest national honors. Moreover, he was honoured with the Order of the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho by the Government of Bolivia in 2014.
His books in the late 20th century on the influence of Native American cultures have been translated into numerous languages. In addition to publishing chapters and reviews in academic books and journals, Weatherford has published numerous articles in national newspapers to popularize his historic and anthropological coverage of Native American cultures, as well as the American political culture in Congress in the 20th century. In recent years, he has concentrated on the Mongols by looking at their impact since the time that Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes in 1206.

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Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
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Richard740
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Very well written and super eye-opening! Many times reading this book I had one of those “that sounds familiar... that makes sense!” moments. I was able to connect the information in this book with what I know of world (largely European) history. The story of Native Americans as told by Weatherford is both enlightening and sad, and as the book concludes: the Americas were found 500 years ago but have yet to be discovered.

Fun moment reading this: written in the early 90s, Weatherford mentions the American quinoa crop as mostly unknown to Western people. Now, quinoa is ubiquitous!
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saltedsnail
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Nice introductory book, the citations/syllabus were a little light but still gave me plenty of follow up material after this whet my appetite. A rare author that successfully balances the human interest narratives with historical scope, i.e. tying in the daily of life of indigenous Bolivians now with the vast changes from the prehispanic, colonial and modern periods. Full of fun little factoids. The chapters on plants (food, medicine, drugs) and their associated technologies (farming, healing, etc) were the strongest, political chapters were the weakest.
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emberreviews
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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We used many of Weatherford's details to help shape our American Studies curriculum more than 15 years ago. The real history of North America is almost unknown in the United States. This book is an good place to begin.
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titanguy654
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I am stunned by the scope of this book. There was so much to take in that I feel I need to start at the beginning and listen to it all over again. I would like to obtain a hard copy to underline. I could study this for the rest of my life, in fact. The author covers so many topics that have profoundly influenced our contemporary world and that I have never heard of before. In fact I would have to admit my head is spinning. Just reflecting upon, for instance, the background of quinine's use to relieve millions of malaria sufferers each year, even now, outdoing anything in the European tradition's medical armory. How did the South American Indian groups discover these things? Amazing book.
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thmaszhnag
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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¨Really cool read for anyone traveling through the Americas, or anyone curious how indigenous cultures rock the house¨
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red_888
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This book does a great job reminding readers just how much we owe to the native people of the Americas, especially in like of colonization and such. It's always good to be reminded of the richness that others add to your life.
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i_love_guts
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I really liked the information and how it was written. If you are interested in Natives culture and contributions natives have made to the current world, this is a nice starting point.
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xwinax
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Loved this book. Reminded me of how much is owed to America's Native Americans. I like Jack Weatherfords writing. Enjoyed his Genghis Khan as well.
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