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venturecrapitalism's review against another edition
5.0
A brutal book, and important. I consider myself better educated on American history and Indigenous oppression than the average person and still gained a LOT of context and knowledge through this. The thesis is very straightforward and Stannard provides extremely comprehensive and diverse evidence to support it. Highly recommend
phantomwise's review against another edition
5.0
Words cannot begin to describe how much I loved especially the first part of this book. I've always been interested in the hidden history, the history that the victors, as it were, has spent a lot of energy trying to erase, and I don't think it was until I read this book that I fully realized how much about the history of the Americas I'm ignorant of.
The history of the systematic racism and genocide of the Americas really does shed a light on Europe as a whole. There were times when I had to put the book down every ten pages or so to keep the top of my head from blowing off, but the book in itself is very well-written and offers some explanation as to why and how the Europeans that landed in the West Indies and the Americas could do (and stomach) the kind of atrocities they committed. Stannard gives a vivid image of the Indian cultures of pre-Columbian times, but he also paints a vivid picture of Reformationist Europe -- a Europe in the middle of the Spanish Inquisition, hating on everybody from Catholics to Jews to Muslims on down, using witchcraft and the Other as a scapegoat and an outlet for their repressed frustrations and aggressions.
I bought the book on suggestion from tumblr, and from the first page on, I haven't regretted it for a second.
The history of the systematic racism and genocide of the Americas really does shed a light on Europe as a whole. There were times when I had to put the book down every ten pages or so to keep the top of my head from blowing off, but the book in itself is very well-written and offers some explanation as to why and how the Europeans that landed in the West Indies and the Americas could do (and stomach) the kind of atrocities they committed. Stannard gives a vivid image of the Indian cultures of pre-Columbian times, but he also paints a vivid picture of Reformationist Europe -- a Europe in the middle of the Spanish Inquisition, hating on everybody from Catholics to Jews to Muslims on down, using witchcraft and the Other as a scapegoat and an outlet for their repressed frustrations and aggressions.
I bought the book on suggestion from tumblr, and from the first page on, I haven't regretted it for a second.
mrsbear's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very hard book to get through but it needs to be read. When I say hard I mean because of the heart wrenching content. I had to put it down numerous times. No book has made me physically sick to my stomach like this one did. Certain scenes are now burned into my brain. What this country did to the American Indians is unforgivable. Highly recommended.
jedwardsusc's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliantly written and researched. Devastatingly argued.
alaa_ilikecats's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
4.0
And history repeats itself with the US continuing to support colonizing regimes
It is not enough to acknowledge the past like the author heavily implies. We must also learn to not make those same decisions again
The book although enlightening, was a bit difficult to go through. I understand the authors use of population numbers to understand the scale of death and destruction that was caused by the Spanish and the British but personally, I'm not very good at math so I probably started to "tune" out of reading during it.
And I don't entirely agree with the author that cause of these atrocities is due to Christianity. I feel like Christianity (or Christian views and church heads playing with rules) was more of a justification rather than a cause.
It is not enough to acknowledge the past like the author heavily implies. We must also learn to not make those same decisions again
The book although enlightening, was a bit difficult to go through. I understand the authors use of population numbers to understand the scale of death and destruction that was caused by the Spanish and the British but personally, I'm not very good at math so I probably started to "tune" out of reading during it.
And I don't entirely agree with the author that cause of these atrocities is due to Christianity. I feel like Christianity (or Christian views and church heads playing with rules) was more of a justification rather than a cause.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
Moderate: Child death
char_lotte_g's review against another edition
4.0
technically its a 3 today but in 1990s it would be a 4.5 so giving it a 4 feels like a good medium
there are more current works to read but this is a really important intervention in the field of genocide studies -- if you want to learn about the mass violence against Indigenous people there are more up to date works that could be given attention
there are more current works to read but this is a really important intervention in the field of genocide studies -- if you want to learn about the mass violence against Indigenous people there are more up to date works that could be given attention
jamiezaccaria's review against another edition
4.0
An incredibly informative book about a part of history that too often gets glossed over. I do wish the rest of the book had the same punch as the epilogue though.
bunnanabread's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic, difficult to read, and important. This book gives details on the huge beautiful cities built by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the brutal 4+ centuries after the arrival of Columbus and start of the most massive genocide in history, and the religious and racist reasons behind Europeans' actions.