The Rise and Fall of the North American Indians

Who were the first settlers in North America? Where did they come from? How did they survive? From the Valley of Mexico to the Bering Straight, a multitude of diverse cultures settled and created art, medicines, and an agriculture that brought us maize, potatoes, chilies, avocado, and tobacco. They included the art-obsessed Mayans and Olmecs, the conquering Aztecs, the Ojibwa, Cree, Illinois, Apache, Cherokee, Sioux, and many others.

William Brandon traces the development and culture of these peoples from their stone-age beginnings, through the great civilizations of Central America, to their defeat and degradation at the hands of the European invaders. He tells the story of Moctezuma and Tezozomoc, Sacajawea and Sequoia, Andrew Jackson and George Armstrong Custer, placing particular emphasis on the grisly tale of Indian–white relations in what eventually became the United States. He also looks at some of the ways in which New World peoples have influenced Old World culture and thought.

The Rise and Fall of the North American Indians is the definitive account of 10,000 years of Indian history.