Very interesting and thought provoking. Not sure I agree with all of the conclusions, some were a bit of a stretch and I'd need to do more research to see how plausible they are, but a good reminder to look at things from other angles.

I read this book long ago - lent it out to someone and it never made it back to me. Anyhoo...informative!!! loved it!

Not as good as 1493, but a great read for history buffs.

This book is an interesting look into the culture of the Americas before European contact and how that contact changed the rest of the world. It is a bit dense, but my real problem with it was when I found a couple of errors in botany that made me wonder how well researched the rest of the book was. A fun read, but don't take it as fact.

On the one hand, sure, this had some good historical tidbits. On the other hand (like so many others pointed out), there is little reference and little connection throughout. It is just fairly random.

My biggest issue though is that it is so focused on how Native Americans of all different communities affected the rest of the world, which meant that most of the book wasn't about those societies at all! Oh, there were islands where the sweet potato came from? That's cool, heaven forbid discussing that, let's just talk about how other countries now eat it. Basically, this is alright for a skim but not really so great for learning about those societies on their own.

I was very interested in this book and it was a big disappointment. The topics are treated in a very superficial way and the author tries too hard to prove his points. I felt he had an offhand and unbalanced approach to the information.

I also kept coming across blunt references that I questioned. For example, early on (p. 28) he states that the Hudson’s Bay Company is “the oldest company in the world …continuously operating since May 2, 1670.” Since I was aware that the Cambridge University Press has been operating since the 16th century, his assertion made me question his other facts. Of course, if he means oldest in the new world or oldest commercial trading company, he may be correct. Later (p 226-229) he kept referring to the cure of malaria in the world. Malaria is hardly in the cured category and is still one of the major causes of death. Quinine may treat malaria but I don’t think it is a cure. These may be picky on my part, but he is so offhand about his facts, that I was uncomfortable believing what he said about other things.

That said, I did enjoy the two chapters on farming. And, I enjoyed finding out how beaver hats were made. My favorite sentence in the book: According to the Hurons, the Europeans lost their freedom in their incessant use of “thine” and “mine”

There must be better written books on this topic.

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*Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World 5 stars
*The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire TBR
*Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World TBR

If you are expecting a book about native Americans, that is not what you are going to find in this book .In my opinion, this book Is just another proof of how hard it is for many white people not to consider themselves the center of the universe. Some information in the book might be interesting, but I found it 25% about resources of the "New world", 60% about how white people used these resources, 5%on how asians & africans used these resources and less than 10% is about actual native Americans "AKA Indians!". Although I believe in the good intentions behind the book and the well of his writer and beside the fact that I agree with most of what is in the closing chapter of the book, I wish it was just written in a way that looks at native Americans as simply just equals to other cultures without putting them in a negative or a positive exotic frame.

"Every step in the discovery and conquest of America was spurred on by a greed for gold that overshadowed the quest for silver, spices or souls."

"Silver coins flowing through Europe at first promised to strengthen the feudal order, but in the end they forged whole new classes and changed fortunes in many countries. New coins helped wash away the old aristocratic order."

"American silver probably did more to undermine Islamic power for the next one-half millennium than any other single factor."

A very fine treatment of Native American contributions in the realms of agriculture and pharmacology, and of abuse of native cultures. The other material is rather uneven, and in the case of politics and economy is a reach: reminds me of the old Soviet schtick about the Russians having invented everything. The footnotes are sparing and the bibliography is awfully thin, suggesting that Weatherford may be a little more imaginative than scholarship would demand.

Another very good book that makes you realize how much of Indian history has been scrubbed out of American history. It points out lots of things that should be obvious, like hey--all that gold in European churches? Pulled out of the ground by Indians. All the peppers and peanuts that make cuisines from around the world delicious? Cultivated by Indians. It's a good companion piece to 1491 (and, seriously guys, read 1491).

This book was recommended to me by the Chancellor of the National Hispanic University. I haven't read it yet but I am definitely going to as soon as I get the chance to (meaning, when I find some time to read anything but what is on my syllabi).