Reviews
The author has used many original sources, including very rare notes and observations made during the initial contact period between Europeans and the Indians of New England. The book is rich in illustrations and maps, and should be appreciated by both professionals, students and the general reader., "The author has used many original sources, including very rare notes and observations made during the initial contact period between Europeans and the Indians of New England. The book is rich in illustrations and maps, and should be appreciated by both professionals, students and the general reader."- History, "This is an extremely useful book which one returns to again and again as a reference work. Its scope is the broadest, taking in every aspect of Indian life as the early explorers and the colonists found it, from personal appearance and characteristics to diet and agriculture, social organization, and intertribal relations. In addition, the reader learns a great deal about the New England environment, its plants, natural resources, and forest composition, and how it was shaped by the Indians. Russell many times over fulfills his goal of dispelling 'the all too common notion of native New England as peopled by a handful of savages wandering in a trackless wilderness'."- New England Quarterly, This is an extremely useful book which one returns to again and again as a reference work. Its scope is the broadest, taking in every aspect of Indian life as the early explorers and the colonists found it, from personal appearance and characteristics to diet and agriculture, social organization, and intertribal relations. In addition, the reader learns a great deal about the New England environment, its plants, natural resources, and forest composition, and how it was shaped by the Indians. Russell many times over fulfills his goal of dispelling 'the all too common notion of native New England as peopled by a handful of savages wandering in a trackless wilderness'., The picture [Russell] offers is one of a settled, intelligent people, supplying themselves with the necessities of life, and with considerable to spare. It is the sort of daily life that historians need to know, but rarely write themselves . . . It is the fullest and most reliable treatment that I know., "The picture [Russell] offers is one of a settled, intelligent people, supplying themselves with the necessities of life, and with considerable to spare. It is the sort of daily life that historians need to know, but rarely write themselves . . . It is the fullest and most reliable treatment that I know." - Journal of American History
