Rating: 
Summary: Great food (no pun intended) for thought!
Review: "Indian Givers" presents information and ideas that are too often overlooked in our day-to-day thinking about what we have, and where those things came from. Weaterford does a grand job of introducing a wide variety of topics that the Indians of the Americas have developed or contributed to the modern world. As a reader you should we forewarned, however, that Weatherford has a tendency to occasionally push a discussion to the point of being overly biased.Weatherford raises issues such as American Indians' contributions to the geopolitical influence of American silver and gold on the rest of the world...toward the end of that discussion it appears that the thread of connection between Indians' contributions and eventual impact of gold and silver is thin at best. There are extremely valuable discussions about the diversity and impact of food, medicinal, and other plants. Those probably had a much larger impact on the rest of the world than did any of their other contributions. Consider the impact of potatoes, corn, many species of beans, peanuts, and long-fiber cotton on the rest of the world. I'm not sure that I agree with Weatherford on this...but he goes as far as to suggest that the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century was driven by the importation of long-fiber cotton from the Americas to Europe. Weatherford also discusses the contributions of Indians of the Americas to political philosophy, including the framing of the Constitution of the United States. I believe there is some significance to that, but perhaps not as much as Weatherford suggests. Regardless of those kinds of potential academic disagreements and the periodic forays into speculation by the author, "Indian Givers" remains a book well worth reading. This would be a great book for anyone interested in the culture and history of the Indians of the Americas, or for those with interest in ethnobotany, the imact of the Indians of the Americas on the rest of the world, or the impact of the rest of the world on the Indians of the Americas (disease, conquests, etc. -- sad business, that!) A good book, but a litte to speculative in some parts for me to award it 5 stars...definitely a strong 4 stars though. I'm grateful for all the benefits I enjoy that came from the Indians of the Americas. Alan Holyoak, Director of Environmental Studies, Manchester College, IN
Rating:
Summary: Great food (no pun intended) for thought!
Review: "Indian Givers" presents information and ideas that are too often overlooked in our day-to-day thinking about what we have, and where those things came from. Weaterford does a grand job of introducing a wide variety of topics that the Indians of the Americas have developed or contributed to the modern world. As a reader you should we forewarned, however, that Weatherford has a tendency to occasionally push a discussion to the point of being overly biased. Weatherford raises issues such as American Indians' contributions to the geopolitical influence of American silver and gold on the rest of the world...toward the end of that discussion it appears that the thread of connection between Indians' contributions and eventual impact of gold and silver is thin at best. There are extremely valuable discussions about the diversity and impact of food, medicinal, and other plants. Those probably had a much larger impact on the rest of the world than did any of their other contributions. Consider the impact of potatoes, corn, many species of beans, peanuts, and long-fiber cotton on the rest of the world. I'm not sure that I agree with Weatherford on this...but he goes as far as to suggest that the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century was driven by the importation of long-fiber cotton from the Americas to Europe. Weatherford also discusses the contributions of Indians of the Americas to political philosophy, including the framing of the Constitution of the United States. I believe there is some significance to that, but perhaps not as much as Weatherford suggests. Regardless of those kinds of potential academic disagreements and the periodic forays into speculation by the author, "Indian Givers" remains a book well worth reading. This would be a great book for anyone interested in the culture and history of the Indians of the Americas, or for those with interest in ethnobotany, the imact of the Indians of the Americas on the rest of the world, or the impact of the rest of the world on the Indians of the Americas (disease, conquests, etc. -- sad business, that!) A good book, but a litte to speculative in some parts for me to award it 5 stars...definitely a strong 4 stars though. I'm grateful for all the benefits I enjoy that came from the Indians of the Americas. Alan Holyoak, Director of Environmental Studies, Manchester College, IN
Rating: 
Summary: Finally, Real Indian history that happened!
Review: An Author, a learned, well researched historian has come along somewhat like a Charles Darwin. Yes, Weatherford explores Native American gifts to the World and gives that information credence which really happened yet was covered up and even lied about by Euro-centric historians who could not stand to give the Indians credit for any great cultural achievment. Wxford must have had an honest Mom & Dad or maybe he is really an alien that has no need to carry over European superiority into academic fact finding. Wait until you read about the Iroquois and where our Democracy truly spawned from. Jack must have had an influence on Congress- they now recognize where the real roots of this greatest of all human gifts to humanity came from. And the effect the Indians had on the world: The almost total disappearance of famines due to these new foods that were nourished by Indians from tiny weeds. I learned a whole new aspect of agriculture. This book rates right up there with Black Elk Speaks
Rating:
Summary: A must read for history or anthropology buffs.
Review: Anyone who thinks American culture was provided intact by European settlers should read this book. There were millions of civilized inhabitants of the Americas before the first European set foot on their shores. You will find out how much we really owe to these aboriginal "savages"
Rating:
Summary: Did you know...?
Review: Do we have any idea what we owe to the tribal peoples who populated "America" before it was "discovered" and "settled" and "civilized" by "progress"? What I knew before I read this book could fit on the head of a pin, and I already held great respect for the history I was aware of. Did you know that American silver probably did more to undermine Islamic power than did any other single factor? Did you know that the impact of American silver caused worldwide inflation that lasted for approximately a century and caused silver to fall to its lowest value in history? Did you know that the new wealth in the hands of Europeans eroded the wealth of all other countries in the world and allowed Europe to expand into an international market system? Did you know that because America now had all the silver and gold it needed, this destroyed the African gold markets, leaving Africa with only one commodity that the Europeans wanted: slaves? From the book:
"From silver and money capitalism to piracy, slavery and the birth of corporations, the food revolution, agricultural technology, the culinary revolution, drugs, architecture and urban planning our debt to the indigenous peoples of America is mind boggling. They mined the gold and silver that made capitalism possible. Working in the mines and mints and in the plantations with the African slaves, they started the industrial revolution that then spread to Europe and on around the world. They supplied the cotton, rubber, dyes, and related chemicals that fed this new system of production. They domesticated and developed the hundreds of varieties of corn, potatoes, cassava, and peanuts that now feed much of the world. They discovered the curative powers of quinine, the anesthetizing ability of coca, and the potency of a thousand other drugs with made possible modern medicine and pharmacology. The drugs together with their improved agriculture made possible the population explosion of the last several centuries. They developed and refined a form of democracy that has been haphazardly and inadequately adopted in many parts of the world. They were the true colonizers of America who cut the trails through the jungles and deserts, made the roads, and built the cities upon which modern America is based." America owes a debt to slavery that can never be repaid. That's not to say it shouldn't be. At the very least, it should be acknowledged, validated, and honored with the respect that it deserves.
Rating:
Summary: Unknown Roots Revealed
Review: Everyone who lives in the alleged "flourishing" modern world should read this book, especially Americans. Did you know that Ben Franklin based much of American democracy on the Iroquois political system? Were you aware that much of modern medicine has been a result of studying indigenous cures of the Americas? Did you know that capitalism was born in the ugly bowels of the slave trade, and fueled by American-ored silver and gold mined by Native American and African slaves? These claims are strongly upheld with facts by Jack Weatherford in "Indian Givers." One thing is for sure, we owe much more to our first Americans than we do to the Ancient Greeks. Read this book if you wish to know our true heritage.
Rating:
Summary: Unknown Roots Revealed
Review: Everyone who lives in the alleged "flourishing" modern world should read this book, especially Americans. Did you know that Ben Franklin based much of American democracy on the Iroquois political system? Were you aware that much of modern medicine has been a result of studying indigenous cures of the Americas? Did you know that capitalism was born in the ugly bowels of the slave trade, and fueled by American-ored silver and gold mined by Native American and African slaves? These claims are strongly upheld with facts by Jack Weatherford in "Indian Givers." One thing is for sure, we owe much more to our first Americans than we do to the Ancient Greeks. Read this book if you wish to know our true heritage.
Rating:
Summary: Unknown Roots Revealed
Review: Everyone who lives in the alleged "flourishing" modern world should read this book, especially Americans. Did you know that Ben Franklin based much of American democracy on the Iroquois political system? Were you aware that much of modern medicine has been a result of studying indigenous cures of the Americas? Did you know that capitalism was born in the ugly bowels of the slave trade, and fueled by American-ored silver and gold mined by Native American and African slaves? These claims are strongly upheld with facts by Jack Weatherford in "Indian Givers." One thing is for sure, we owe much more to our first Americans than we do to the Ancient Greeks. Read this book if you wish to know our true heritage.
Rating: 
Summary: Indigenous yes, Indian, no.
Review: I am a Cherokee from The United States of America, where I am called an American. I am not from Peru and called a Peruvian. I do not agree that all peoples from the continents of North and South American should be 'lumped' together to be called 'Americans'. This book was a required read for a college class and served to induce great amusement in our discussions. The disingenuousness of the contents is pitiful; lacking a balanced representation. Errors were discovered which gave cause for concern over what else was incorrectly portrayed. Critical thinking skills are a must in reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Really?
Review: I am an enrolled Northern Arapaho. The first problem I have is the title. Since when did "Indian Giver" have a positive connotation? Secondly, I find it difficult to validate Mr. Weatherford's "research" since Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, NOT 1983. Finally, to me anyway, the book is complete with "facts", unfounded assumptions, and "back-handed" compliments. If the book was intended to "inform" the dominant society of the contributions of Indian people, both from North and South America, then it succeeds. It tells them exactly what they want to hear. It however only irritates the Native populations by providing even more false information to an already poorly informed general public. Ha hou'(Thank you.)
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