Amazon.com: A Description of New Netherland (The Iroquoians and Their World): Adriaen van der Donck, Charles T. Gehring, William A. Starna, Diederik Willem Goedhuys, Russell Shorto: Books

Review
"If you've been waiting for centuries for a full translation of Adriaen van der Donck's 1655 work A Description of New Netherland, your wait is over. In this work, edited by Charles T. Gehring and William A. Starna, one of the colony's most astute observers ruminates on flora and fauna (his six-foot-long lobster sounds like the subject of a proverbial fish story), including meditations on "the amazing ways" of beavers and sightings of beached whales near Albany. . . . [Van der Donck] paints a generally positive picture of American Indians. His informative book is surprisingly accessible."-Sam Roberts, New York Times. (Sam Roberts New York Times )

Product Description

This edition of A Description of New Netherland provides the first complete and accurate English-language translation of an essential first-hand account of the lives and world of Dutch colonists and northeastern Native communities in the seventeenth century. Adriaen van der Donck, a graduate of Leiden University in the 1640s, became the law enforcement officer for the Dutch patroonship of Rensselaerswijck, located along the upper Hudson River. His position enabled him to interact extensively with Dutch colonists and the local Algonquians and Iroquoians. An astute observer, detailed recorder, and accessible writer, Van der Donck was ideally situated to write about his experiences and the natural and cultural worlds around him.

Van der Donck’s Beschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlant was first published in 1655 and then expanded in 1656. An inaccurate and abbreviated English translation appeared in 1841 and was reprinted in 1968. This new volume features an accurate, polished translation by Diederik Willem Goedhuys and includes all the material from the original 1655 and 1656 editions. The result is an indispensable first-hand account with enduring value to historians, ethnohistorians, and anthropologists.

(20090130)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press; Reprint edition (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0803210884
ISBN-13: 978-0803210882
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #119,836 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#45 in Books > History > Europe > Netherlands

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
beaver glands

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Netherland, New Amsterdam, Long Island, New England, North River, South River, West Indies, Ofthe Seasons, South Bay, East River, Halve Maen, Staten Island, West India Company, Sandy Hook, Mediterranean Sea

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

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5.0 out of 5 stars An unknown profound shaper of America, May 2, 2009

By	Arlene Bueno De Mesquita "ABdM" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Adriaen van der Donck's account of mid-1600s New Netherlands (NYC etc) is remarkable in its detail, precision, and care for separating fact, fiction, and hearsay. Van der Donck was more a man of the 21st century than the 17th. Here and in other of his writings he gave shape to America as a melting pot. He may be the most important, relatively unknown person in American history. This book provides a fascinating description of every aspect of flora, fauna, and life in New Netherlands, with a tolerance and appreciation for the Indians' culture not seen again for several centuries. It is a book not to be missed. Read it along with Russell Shorto's Island at the Center of the World.

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