The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-Century North America

Any one curious about Indian life must read Jesuit descriptions of their lives among the Indians. The Jesuit priests were missionaries who lived with the Indians in their villages in the 1600s, learned their languages, recorded their culture in great detail, and clearly loved and cared for the native peoples even though naturally repelled by a few of their customs. This 211-page abridgement is fascinating, and includes nice maps and drawings from the period. I found myself wishing it was longer.

If you are student of Native American studies or just interested at all in the early contact of Indians with Europeans this book is perfect. Surprisingly interesting and very helpful in fleshing out an oft shaded part of American/Canadian history. This offers a wonderful though slightly tainted point of view on the customs of specific Indian tribes. My favourite section has to be the writing if father Paul Le Jeune on the non-sedentary tribe of the Montagnaise. Greer's editing is great especially for the non-academic reader (I've read some of the unabridged version which was slightly painful) Maybe I'm just a nerd but I think this book would be entertaining even for those with less than scholarly knowledge on the subject.