Customer Reviews

Dispossession by Degrees: Indian Land and Identity in Natick, Massachusetts, 1650-1790 (Studies in North American Indian History)

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2 star:		(1)
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Dispossession By Degrees: Indian Land And Identity In Natick, Massachusetts 1650-1790 by Jean M. O'Brien (Associate Professor of History, University of Minnesota) is a close and scholarly study of how Native American peoples from different tribal backgrounds came together for the purpose of working collaboratively to cope the cultural impact of European invaders, and to form a life for themselves even as English settlers extended their range of influence during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Dispelling the myth that Native Americans simply disappeared from the land, Dispossession By Degrees presents a carefully researched focus upon the Natick tribe and settlement that sought to coexist with an unending influx of settlers. An invaluable, informative, insightful contribution, Dispossession By Degrees is an original and very highly recommended addition to Native American Studies reading lists and American History reference collections.

A carefully researched, thoughtful, well-written study. I suspect reviewer number two is just plain dull. I suggest potential readers refer to the editorial reviews.

Academic jargon and boring prose doom this short book from the beginning. The authoir has forgotten she needs to tell a story. Details of land transactions, of which she goes on far too long, read about like a phone book.