America as Seen by Its First Explorers: The Eyes of Discovery (Dover Language Books and Travel Guides)

While not exactly edge of your seat reading, this book depicts the ravages of human activities on our land from shortly after the early days of exploration up to modern times. This is an atypical glimpse into the past on what our first explorers witnessed in the different types of land forms, animals, plants, native peoples, natural resources, etc. and how that has dramatically changed since those days. Many of these particular land forms from Maine to Washington, from California to Florida and all points in between have been altered one way or another due to human endeavors such as: Colonization; agriculture in the form of farms, ranches and grazing; damming, draining and irrigation of rivers; the careless introduction of weeds and insects; lumbering and deforestation; hunting and fishing; mining; petroleum production; etc. have all influenced the way we see the country now as opposed to our first adventurers. We read of the early Spanish explorers venturing in the southwest and southeast, the English and French in the northeast and northwest; the lands, also in terms of flora and fauna, were drastically different in size and abundance, some taxonomic species are now extinct, some now more numerous due to open fields from tree removal; certain birds, fish and mammals filling in ecological gaps, etc. The explorers, to mention a few that are covered in the book, would be: Cabeza de Vaca, Coronado, Cartier, Champlain, the Verendryes, Verrazano, LaSalle, Marquette and Jolliet, Boone, Drake, Vancouver and of course Lewis and Clark. It is an insightful look into how the continental United States land area has changed in 500 years. Makes one wonder what the future holds.

This is a documentary history of the discovery and exploration of our American continent written from the perspective of those Europeans and early Americans who saw the land as it was while it was still pristine and unspoiled. Although history, I appreciate this book more as an ecological treatise telling us what we destroyed as we settled and developed our nation. The disparity between what we found and what we have left contradicts the whole concept of 'PROGRESS'. While reading this book, I can't get out of my mind the image of Iron Eyes Cody from the '70s anti-littering campaign on television, with tears running down his face, as he surveys what has become of America's natural resources and beauty. The descriptions of the untamed wilderness and bucolic scenery are almost poetic. The variety and abundance of wildlife then is almost unimaginable to those of us today whose most likely daily interaction with non-domesticated animals consists of encounters with pigeons or roadkill. This book should help us appreciate more and perhaps not be so quick to "improve" the natural wonders and resources we still have left.

A roughly chronological arrangement of chapters on the first-hand experiences of several explorers, both famous and lesser-known. It is very interesting to read the thoughts and observations (liberally quoted in the idiosyncratic spelling of the era) of the first encounters with people, animals, and plants of the Americas. The illustrations are from the period, though one might wish for a few modern maps to help illustrate the wanderings of some of these explorers. There are a few well-known explorers omitted, but that does not detract from what is included. Still, those who enjoy their history first-hand, and especially those interested in the natural history of North America, will find this book compelling reading.

The text is quite easy to grasp and makes for easy reading. Focus is on what the thoughts of the individual explorer are as it relates to animal, plant and land forms. The avid and experienced reader will be a bit dissapointed with this work. Several key explorers are not included which is a suprise. Written at a 7-8 grade level.