Powerful Inversion

Porter, Joy

Abstract

First paragraph:
Big, successful popular histories generally tell their audience something they would like to hear. This one is no exception. Written by one of the most erudite, talented and justifiably lauded thinkers of his generation in a pithy, pellucid and engaging style, this book will fly off the shelves now and for years to come. It offers readers a welcome synthesis of the vast, contested fields that address themselves to the Indigenous American past, recounting a narrative from the earliest records of settlement up until the end of the ‘Indian Wars’ in 1877 and the Ghost Dance revitalisation movement after 1889. It also offers an alluring interpretative ‘middle course’ between generalised studies and tribal histories, which it deems too specific to see larger patterns.

Citation

Porter, J. (2023). Powerful Inversion

• Other Type: Newspaper Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jan 1, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Deposit Date: Mar 2, 2023
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4227493
• Related Public URLs: https://www.historytoday.com/archive/review/powerful-inversion
• Additional Information: Book review published in History Today Volume 73 Issue 1 January 2023; ; Title reviewed:; Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America; Pekka Hämäläinen; W.W. Norton 538pp £30