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cggerwin's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVE this series! Kate's well-researched books dispels many of the myths about Christopher Columbus. Our history needs to be told truthfully!
tiffanysaoirse's review against another edition
Read this because one of my teacher friends asked for an opinion on it. I'm not a subject matter expert, but I'd still recommend it to people wanting to teach children about the history of Christopher Columbus in the Americas.
kmpierce5's review against another edition
4.0
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley.
I just love these books! I'm such a history nerd. I love finding out what really happened!
I just love these books! I'm such a history nerd. I love finding out what really happened!
erine's review against another edition
5.0
A mythological history worth smashing.
It is so nice to see an approach to Christopher Columbus that adds the voice of a Taino author. Trying to temper the long-standing hero-worship of Columbus with reality isn't easy; there's a lot of disentangling to do. But this was an interesting and informative approach to the saga of exploration in the Americas.
Every time I read something about Indigenous history, I am struck by how much word choice matters. In this instance, authors Barreiro and Messner note that the terms "old world" and "new world" vividly convey a specific European perspective , not an Asian, Caribbean, or Indigenous one. So when we repeatedly use those words, they reinforce the idea that the Old World was traditional and European, long-standing, established, venerable, and representative of "tradition." By contrast the New World sounds like a fresh place, uninhabited by humans, and a blank slate. The very words dehumanize and devalue the people who were already there.
For all Columbus' faults and errors, I love that the authors also note his strengths: persistence and self-promotion. These are qualities that bring to mind many modern personalities who have little substance, but are robustly equipped to craft myths about themselves. And humans have not progressed enough to resist that kind of self-mythmaking. It's so important to stand up for one-self, but also necessary to balance self-confidence with humility and perspective.
It is so nice to see an approach to Christopher Columbus that adds the voice of a Taino author. Trying to temper the long-standing hero-worship of Columbus with reality isn't easy; there's a lot of disentangling to do. But this was an interesting and informative approach to the saga of exploration in the Americas.
Every time I read something about Indigenous history, I am struck by how much word choice matters. In this instance, authors Barreiro and Messner note that the terms "old world" and "new world" vividly convey a specific European perspective , not an Asian, Caribbean, or Indigenous one. So when we repeatedly use those words, they reinforce the idea that the Old World was traditional and European, long-standing, established, venerable, and representative of "tradition." By contrast the New World sounds like a fresh place, uninhabited by humans, and a blank slate. The very words dehumanize and devalue the people who were already there.
For all Columbus' faults and errors, I love that the authors also note his strengths: persistence and self-promotion. These are qualities that bring to mind many modern personalities who have little substance, but are robustly equipped to craft myths about themselves. And humans have not progressed enough to resist that kind of self-mythmaking. It's so important to stand up for one-self, but also necessary to balance self-confidence with humility and perspective.