Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Each morning at five-thirty, Rodrigo Cespedes eats two rolls and drinks a cup of tea heavily laced with sugar before he slings his ratty Adidas..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Old World, New York (more...)

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 here examines the many contributions made by New World natives. "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," commented PW .
Copyright 1989 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. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (November 29, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449904962
• ISBN-13: 978-0449904961
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #127,616 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 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 (Idaho) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

"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

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

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

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

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.

32 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good book, though the claims are exaggerated, April 19, 2003

By	David Graham (Shell, Ecuador) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jack Weatherford's book "Indian Givers" is a medium-sized (272 pages) book that attempts to share what Native Americans in North and South America have contributed to our modern world. With a combination of stories and historical discussion, Weatherford's prose makes this book easy reading. Among other things, he points out the contributions made in the areas of money capitalism (with so much of the world's silver coming from South America, especially Bolivia), many types of foods (including various species of potato, cassava, chocolate, corn syrup, etc.), medicinal contributions such as quinine treatment for malaria, architectural styles, or urban planning, among other things.

Unfortunately, the book suffers from some serious shortcomings. In attempting to make up for the lack of credit historically witheld from Native Americans, Weatherford does more than just correct this deficiency: he goes too far. He makes claims that go well beyond what the historical record can substantiate. In contrast to what history shows, he claims, for example, that the Industrial Revolution started in America(!), and that "without American precious metals and methods of processing, the industrial revolution would never have spread to Europe." (!!!!) He furthermore implies that Indians "gave" democracy to the fledgling U.S. ("Washington, D.C., has never recognized the role of the Indians in the writing of the United States Constitution") and promoted peaceful civil disobedience that inspired the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and even claims that liberation movements in Africa and Asia(!?) owed something to American Indians, since "the repeated failures of the Indian movements during the nineteenth century prepared the way for the successes of other peoples in the twentieth century."

It is a shame that Weatherford's book is so dreadfully misleading and unbalanced, for it also legitimately points out many of the things for which American Indians do indeed deserve credit. It points a spotlight on the many interesting contributions that the various peoples in America have made to our societies over the years and, as previously mentioned, it is easy to read.

In short, it is worth reading, but needs to be scrutinized with caution as it frequently overstates the case for "how the Indians of the Americas transformed the world." For a far more balanced presentation, I recommend Thomas Sowell's book "Conquests and Cultures".