One of these myths, that the current North America was populated by unruly savages who were easily tamed by the more civilized European invaders, is thoroughly and unequivocally taken apart and revealed in a very different light. In doing so, Wright debunks some stereotypes and myths about Europe’s first encounter with the new world and of the people who were already here. With his trademark ability to take an overwhelming amount of historical data and draw out the most salient and entertaining passages, Wright takes us chronologically through the “founding” of the Americas, not only from the viewpoint of the new occupants, but also from the perspective of the original occupants (as much as possible given the oral nature of First Nations historical accounts). Wright’s newest endeavour seems destined to attain similar academic and popular acclaim. Both of these texts have been not only widely acclaimed, but used as textbooks for university courses on anthropology and political science. What is America: A Short History of the New World Order is Ronald Wright’s third historical text, following in the footsteps of Stolen Continents, a historical account of the conquest of the Americas and A Short History of Progress, the book based on Wright’s 2005 Massey Lectures series.
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