New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of Early America

I recently graduated with my B.A. in History and am about to start my M.A. in United States History, and I have never read such a well-balanced and amply researched book, not to mention thoroughly enjoyable to read. Neither colonist nor Native American is deified nor demonized.I loved how the book was divided by subject rather than chronologically. One is able to read about everything from both peoples' interaction with the beaver population to their views on religion and politics. I highly recommend this book.

In this book Colin Calloway sums up another cycle in the historiography of the American Indian. The book is arranged topically, and is really more a series of essays than a single narrative. Calloway is even-handed in his approach, avoiding the demonization of both settlers and Indians that have been features of other works on the same topic. Calloway tries to cut through the mythology that has encrusted much of American Indian history and get at the way things really were--cultural give and take, misunderstandings, and accomodations. Overall, an excellent book and a necessary antidote to wrong-headed notions about cultural interactions in early America.