Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World [Paperback]

Jack Weatherford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 1988

"As entertaining as it is thoughtful....Few contemporary writers have Weatherford's talent for making the deep sweep of history seem vital and immediate."
THE WASHINGTON POST
After 500 years, the world's huge debt to the wisdom of the Indians of the Americas has finally been explored in all its vivid drama by anthropologist Jack Weatherford. He traces the crucial contributions made by the Indians to our federal system of government, our democratic institutions, modern medicine, agriculture, architecture, and ecology, and in this astonishing, ground-breaking book takes a giant step toward recovering a true American history.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The discovery and conquest of the New World changed the Old World forever, from economy and diet to the concept of personal freedom. Anthropologist Weatherford, author of Tribes on the Hill , examines the many contributions made by New World natives. Exploited in the mines of Peru and Mexico, Indian laborers produced the gold and silver that financed the rise of modern Europe. Weatherford points out that Indians were expert pharmacologists; they knew how to prevent goiter and scurvy, used ipecac and quinine. Their foods, especially the potato, revolutionalized European agriculture; they introduced chocolate, chili peppers and cocaine. Indian social organization was truly democratic, unlike the classic democracies in Europe, and Weatherford notes the connection with modern federal systems. He labors a bit on the topic of architecture but makes a convincing case for Indian Givers and the role they played in re-shaping the world.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- Beginning with a clever title and continuing throughout the book, Weatherford lists the tremendous contributions which have been made by the Indian civilizations of the Americas to world culture. He shows the impact of gold and silver, agricultural techniques, medicine, and government on European history. The book makes for fascinating, thought-provoking reading, showing that Locke and Rousseau were both influenced by the concepts of power and government held by the people of the Americas before they produced their great documents of the Enlightment. Weatherford also shows how the spread of the potato to Europe saved many lives from the malnutrition which had haunted them when grain crops had previously failed. He has a far-reaching scope and even suggests a fascinating theory on the purpose of Machu Picchu. By showing how the world was changed through these contributions, the author gives a greater appreciation of the Indians of America to readers. A fine synthesis book for global studies programs as well as American history.
- Barbara Weathers, Duchesne Academy, Houston
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Crown Publishers, Inc. (December 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517569698
• ISBN-13: 978-0517569696
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Native American

More About the Author

Jack Weatherford is a professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota. He is a specialist in tribal peoples and the author of Indian Givers, Native Roots, Savages and Civilization and The History of Money.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, July 13, 2005

By 

Erik "Mr. E" (Reno, NV, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World (Paperback)

I found this to be one of the most informative books I've ever read, and I've read most of the classics.
When you read this book you must understand that the old adage that history is written by the conquerors is very true as is painfully illustrated in this book.
I'm of mixed Caucasion and American Indian descent. Many of the questions that I've wondered about my whole life were answered in this book. Where did all of the Inca gold go to? Why isn't Spain a major world power? Why does it seem as though most foods are native to the Americas? These are questions that are "skirted" in popular history books, giving all of the stability of modern life to the credit of "civilized" Europeans. As for the quesiton of democracy, the United States is in no sense the same type of democracy as ancient Greece (which was really a republic). If you're open minded an logical this book will blow your mind.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great food (no pun intended) for thought!, February 12, 2001

By 

Alan R. Holyoak - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World (Paperback)

"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

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book!, August 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World (Paperback)

I found this book in the bookstore at Mesa Verde National Monument, which is a terrific site near Cortez, Colorado. I can add very little to the other reviews I have seen except to say that this well-written, fascinating, easy-to-read & highly entertaining book will fill in so many of the missing pieces in everyone's history education, and that it is a superb thinking tool. It will help to cleanse your mind of all those silly, cherished, romantic notions and myths that most of us were spoon fed in public school or in the movie theatres. This book is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in how profoundly the Indians of the New World influenced our world, and in a saner educational system, this little book would be required reading for all students. Every chapter would make an excellent educational film of its own.