Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (Penguin Classics)

Average customer rating:

Must read for all Viking descendants and people interested in Orkney Islands.

Research

A different look at UK history

Orkneyinga Saga reviewed

Orkneyinga Saga

Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (Penguin Classics)
Anonymous
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Norse & Icelandic Sagas | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Eyrbyggja Saga (Penguin Classics)

Laxdaela Saga (Penguin Classics)

Saga of the Jomsvikings

The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki (Penguin Classics)

King Harald's Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway: From Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 0140443835

Customer Reviews:

Must read for all Viking descendants and people interested in Orkney Islands........2007-06-08

What an amazing compilation of stories. The Vikings really were horrible, just like Hagar. Written about 1100, 900 years ago, these stories tell the horrible truth about Vikings and what they did to get by, as collected by an unknown author from that time. Life was primitive, just like this book.

I highly recomment this book.

Research.......2006-08-28

This is a marvelous book. I bought it to find out more about the people involved there during Viking times. I found all I wanted to know about that, plus I found a very interesting and entertaining read. The information contained in this saga is priceless.

A different look at UK history.......2004-11-21

This saga cover eight or ten generations of Norse rulers of the islands north of Scotland, from the 900s up to about 1200AD. Despite its subtitle, it's not a history in the sense that modern reader might expect. Instead, it's more a series of vignettes or anecdotes, strung together in more-or-less chronological order.

Like other sagas, this was put in current form and written down by an Icelander. Until then, the stories had been part of the oral tradition. Small surprise, then, that events of minor interest were dropped and other events dressed up after the fact - despite the book's historical value, it can't always be taken at face value.

This is quite unlike Icelandic sagas in many ways. First, is that Norse paganism was largely supplanted by Christianity. Bishops appeared in positions of power, and pilgrimages to Rome were part of the tale. St. Magnus gets more attention than just about any of the other Earls, even the later ones whose stories had less time to fade.

The difference that struck me most was that, compared to the Icelanders, this was a very violent crowd. They lacked the realtive peace of Icelanders' democratic rule of law and system of courts. Instead, more depended on the authority of kings or of the best-armed thug in the region, not always a clear distinction. Many of the characters, Svein Asleifarson in particular, seemed to rely on twice-annual plundering as their major source of income. Those trips get generally minor attention, as if the vikings were shearing sheep or harvesting grain, instead of reaping plundered loot and human life. I know that peaceful times don't make history, so the stories that are kept always present a skewed view. Still, this sounds like a very different culture.

There's no real plot or character development, and names come and go at a dizzying rate. The translator has provided a glossary of personal names at the end, and that helps keep track of all the players. Still, it's a somewhat dry book by the usual standards of recreational readers.

Anyone interested in medieval Europe, Scotland or Norse culture in particular, will find a lot to like here. It's not the most exciting of the sagas, but gives a remarkable look at a powerful influence on English history.

//wiredweird

Orkneyinga Saga reviewed.......2004-06-17

I am a fan of all things to do with Orkney and Shetland. The viking history fascinates me. The complex Norwegian/Scottish history of Orkney is extremely interesting. I would recommend this book to people interested in Vikings, western European history and on the distinct culture of Orkney,U.K.

Orkneyinga Saga.......2004-02-15

The general concensus by many people is that the Vikings became instant pussies when they finally converted to Christianity. Well think again. This is an almost all post pagan epic and they are as bloodthirsty in this one as they are in any. Lots of inter family killings for the right to have domain over the Orkney Isles, lots of raiding, lots political skullduggery, everything you know and love about these Viking sagas.

Scottish Islands - Orkney & Shetland (Scottish Islands, Book 2)

Average customer rating:

Good on sites, unreliable on practicalities

Scottish Islands - Orkney & Shetland (Scottish Islands, Book 2)
James Penrith , and Deborah Penrith
Manufacturer: Vacation Work Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1854582682

Book Description

Orkney and Shetland's history goes back over 5000 years creating the richest legacy of archaeological remains in the British Isles; with stunning coastal scenery and unique flora and fauna, the islands are a spectacular and unspoilt destination for visitors. This definitive guide to the islands gives information on their history and culture, ferries and flights, finding accommodation for all budgets, local crafts and music, prehistoric sites and monuments, nature and wildlife, and outdoor pursuits including fishing, sailing and diving.
Take the shortest scheduled flight in the world - Book a bed in a lighthouse or a castle - Find the lochs with the largest trout - Identify the call of the world's smallest seabird - Find the best of the islands' traditional folk music - Recognise the graffiti carved by Viking raiders - Find the best-preserved Stone Age village in Europe - Cruise in a replica of a Viking longship - See whales, seals, dolphins, porpoises and otters - Watch merlins, skuas, puffins, razorbills, gannets, kittiwakes and fulmars.

Customer Reviews:

Good on sites, unreliable on practicalities.......2005-07-25

I bought this in my local bookstore and tried to use it to plan a weeklong trip to Orkney. Unfortunately, while it helped me decide where to go and what to see, it failed me once I tried to make concrete plans. Many of the B&Bs had changed hands and were no longer accepting guests and those that were had often TRIPLED their prices. Save your money and visit the websites of VisitScotland and Historic Scotland which will do a better job on trip planning for free.

Northern Scotland, Orkney and Shetland (OS Travel Map - Road)

Average customer rating:

Northern Scotland, Orkney and Shetland (OS Travel Map - Road)
Ordnance Survey
Manufacturer: Ordnance Survey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Map

Look Inside Travel Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0319230775

COX'S NAVY: Salvaging The German Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow 1919-1922

Average customer rating:

COX'S NAVY; Salvaging The German High seas Fleet at Scapa Flow 1919-1922

COX'S NAVY: Salvaging The German Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow 1919-1922
Tony Booth
Manufacturer: Pen and Sword
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Scotland | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

World War I | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1844151816

Book Description

On mid-Summer's Day 1919 the interned German Grand Fleet was scuttled by their crews at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands despite a Royal Navy guard force. Greatly embarrassed, the Admiralty nevertheless confidently stated that none of the ships would ever be recovered. Had it not been for the drive and ingenuity of one man there is indeed every possibility that they would still be resting on the sea bottom today.

Cox's Navy tells the incredible true story of Ernest Cox, a Wolverhampton-born scrap merchant, who, despite having no previous experience, led the biggest salvage operation in history to recover the ships. The 28,000 ton Hindenberg was the largest ship ever salvaged. Not knowing the boundaries enabled Cox to apply solid common sense and brilliant improvisation, changing forever marine salvage practice during peace and war.

Customer Reviews:

COX'S NAVY; Salvaging The German High seas Fleet at Scapa Flow 1919-1922.......2006-03-13

A very good book. Wish it had more photos.The dates in the title are off as the book actually chronicles the saga through the 30's.
The book is detailed enough to satisfy the intelligent and readable for those seeking an interesting story.

Average customer rating:

Orkney (Images of Scotland)

Manufacturer: Birlinn Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Gifts | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

Pictorial | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1841584452

Book Description

This book is part of a new and exciting photography series in which Scotland's finest photographers have sought out the quirky, the curious, and the unknown as they capture the country's most beautiful scenery. Moberg's collection on Orkney reflects these ideals, and her photography gets to the heart of both landscape and its human component.

Tales of the Seal People: Scottish Folk Tales (International Folk Tale Series)

Average customer rating:

Scottish Tales sure to please

Tales of the Seal People: Scottish Folk Tales (International Folk Tale Series)
Duncan Williamson
Manufacturer: Interlink Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0940793997

Customer Reviews:

Scottish Tales sure to please.......2002-07-26

Tales of the Selkies, half human, half seal people are woven in Scottish myth and lore - even in my own family. So I was delighted to find this wonderful collection of short tales about the Selkie collected by Duncan Williamson.

Just wish the tales were presented in a bit more depth.

Book Description

Under the terms of the treaty ending World War I, the German High Seas Fleet was compelled to sail to the Scottish anchorage at Scapa Flow. Before the British could take control of the ships, the German officers scuttled the fleet, sending 16 capital ships and numerous smaller craft to the bottom. From 1924 the German ships were raised and their high-quality metal fittings converted to scrap, in the greatest salvage operation of all time.

Customer Reviews:

For Hochseeflotte buffs only.......2005-04-24

This is a reprint of a book published in the UK 1973. It is the only one so far published that tells the whole story of the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet from June 1919 to the end of major salvage operations. As such, it is an obvious `must buy' for any student of the High Seas Fleet; it will also be read with interest by anyone who has dived or is planning to dive the remaining wrecks.

However, the book cannot be recommended without reservation. There is a nagging feeling that the author is not always 100% sure of his material. One example of this is a bizarre passage on page 81 where he notes that one of the salvors' wives went up the Hindenburg's mast for a spot of knitting after the `Hindi' was finally refloated. However, a photo shows quite clearly that by this time all masts etc had been cut away. George (or perhaps an editor?) then concedes that the book's German publisher did indeed question this `fact'! Another example can be found on page 100, where there is a description of Metal Industries' oxygen making arrangements that raises more questions than it answers. And one could go on.

Also, disappointingly, the rather plodding text somehow fails to evoke much of the atmosphere of these remarkable salvage operations. Yes, the basic facts are (more or less) there, but the result is not very involving. And while there is a good selection of photos from various phases of the salvage operation, the reproduction is generally mediocre.

One can also question whether it was really worth including the account of the Battle of Jutland at the beginning of the book, which is far too brief to cover this topic adequately and which uncharitable readers might feel was included to pad things out.

On the plus side, however, there are some useful diagrams in the text and a number of interesting appendices giving some statistics of the salvage operation.

So, if you have an interest in the High Seas Fleet, buy this book. But if you are looking for a solid work of maritime history, you could be disappointed.

A Lightweight Account of the Greatest Salvage Operation.......2000-12-18

This book is an attempt to chronicle the greatest underwater salvage operation in history, which took place in Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands between 1924 and 1939. In June 1919, the surrendered German High Seas fleet, interned in Scapa Flow, scuttled itself to avoid being handed over to the victorious Allied nations. At the time, it was thought that the ships were lost beyond retrieval.

However a band of intrepid businessmen, engineers and divers decided that the ships could be raised and sold for scrap metal. The initial effort, by Ernest Cox, started by raising the smaller German destroyers from relatively shallow water. The author effectively describes the methods used to winch these light vessels up from the seabed. Yet the best parts of the book focus on the intense efforts to raise the battleships. All but one were lying upside down on the sea floor and they were usually 100-200 feet underwater. Each battleship took about 9-10 months to raise and required the use of tall compression chambers drilled into the overturned hulls.

Although Cox's company lost money on the salvage effort, another company that started in the 1930s was far more successful. This company, Metal Industries, was able to realize a profit of about £50,000 on each battleship it raised. By 1939, a total of 12 battleships, 1 light cruiser and 27 destroyers were raised. Only 3 battleships and 4 light cruisers were left underwater since they were located too deep for economical salvage.

The best value of this book is the large collection of unusual photographs of the raising of the sunken battleships and diagrams on how it was done. However this book has a cursory quality to it and it is quickly apparent to the reader that the author has not expended much effort on research. Most of the research in fact, appears based on contemporary local newspaper accounts. It is also odd that the author devotes two chapters to the coming of the First World War and the Battle of Jutland, yet covers salvage operations since 1939 in only 2 pages! Although the book was written in 1973, the forward to this edition was written in 1999 and yet it fails to mention that steel from the sunken battleships was used on US space probes in the 1970s and 1980s due to its freedom from radiation. The author does briefly mention that since all steel since 1945 has been slightly tainted by radiation, the high quality armor plate from the ships still under water in Scapa Flow possess a unique value but he fails to really address this current value of the salvage operations.

Book Description

Scapa Flow is known worldwide. In two world wars it was the northern base which sheltered shops of the Royal Navy and Allied fleets from both storm and enemy attack, with sometimes well over a hundred vessels lying at anchor. Massive defense guns, searchlights, booms and minefields were built up between 1914 and 1918, and then demolished, only to be built up again twenty-five years later when the harbor's security was again threatened. This time there was the additional danger from the sky, and an antiaircraft 'umbrella' of over eighty guns was deployed to ward off the Luftwaffe bombers.

In This Great Harbour Scapa Flow, W.S Hewiosn tells how this was achieved as the anchorage known by mariners since the time of the Vikings and perhaps even before them, with its key position athwart the northern sea routes came into the ken of the Admiralty's strategic thinking.

The Grand Fleet sailed from Scapa in 1916 to do battle at Jutland. Five days later, Lord Kitchener, went to his death from here in the cruiser Hampshire, sunk by mines off Orkney's west coast. There was tragedy again in 1939 when the German submarine U47 slipped through the incomplete defense to sink the battleship Royal Oak at her moorings with the loss of 800 men. And between the wars the world's greatest feat of salvage the raising of the scuttled German fleet was carried out in its waters.

Customer Reviews:

All about this great natural harbour........2007-05-28

A complete history of Scapa Flow from the early days of Viking invasion and their being replaced by Scotsmen right up to the 20th Century and it's two world wars - which, of course, included the sinking of the German High Seas Fleet in 1919 and the raising of much of that fleet some years later.

Whilst this book is an historic document, at the same time it should also be considered by any visiting tourist - especially the scuba diving tourist.

An excellent narrative combines well with an equally excellent collection of photographs - although most of these were of Military/Naval subjects and only two of local farmers and fishing industry. My only criticism is that lack of photographic evidence of life in Scapa Flow and early pictures of the towns and buildings.

NM

Between the Wind and the Water: World Heritage Orkney

Average customer rating:

Between the Wind and the Water: World Heritage Orkney
Caroline Wickham-Jones
Manufacturer: Windgather Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1905119062

Book Description

"Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, 1865-1890: Conquering the Southern Plains" is the third in a planned five-volume series that will tell the saga of the military struggle for the American West in the words of the soldiers, non-combatants, and Native Americans who shaped it. "Volume III: Conquering the Southern Plains" offers as complete a selection of outstanding original accounts pertaining to the struggle for the Southern Plains and Texas as may be gathered under one cover. It contains accounts from such notable military participants as George Armstrong Custer, Nelson A. Miles, Wesley Merritt, and Frederick W. Benteen.

Customer Reviews:

A great series of books.......2006-09-07

The first book in the series that I read. Cozzens provides a nice introduction, followed by a great series of primary documents, grouped by event. Beecher's Island is an example of an event, and there are several accounts from the men who fought there. Each account is well footnoted, and the footnotes themselves make for great reading. Maps are included inside front and back covers showing forts, battle sites, etc. Illustrations throughout.

Eyewitness to the Indian Wars.......2005-08-24

Great historical work. Chock full of differing accounts of incidents from the regular foot soldier to the Indians themselves. Every page lends insights to life in the late 19 century and the fate of the American Indians battle against civilization.

Aboriginal Subsistance Technology on the Southeastern Coastal Plain During the Late Prehistoric Period (Ripley P. Bullen Monographs in Anthropology ,)

Average customer rating:

Aboriginal Subsistance Technology on the Southeastern Coastal Plain During the Late Prehistoric Period (Ripley P. Bullen Monographs in Anthropology ,)
Lewis H. Larson
Manufacturer: Univ Pr of Florida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Chief Left Hand: Southern Arapaho (Civilization of the American Indian Series)

Average customer rating:

Chief Left Hand

Chief Left Hand: Southern Arapaho (Civilization of the American Indian Series)
Margaret Coel
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0806120304

Customer Reviews:

Chief Left Hand.......2001-01-24

A great read for anyone interested in the history of the Plains Indian tribes. It brought to life one of the lessor known, but influential, Indian chiefs of the region. I also learned a great deal about the settling of the Denver/Boulder communities during the Colorado gold rush days.

Average customer rating:

Even-handed treatment of brutality on both sides

Tribal Wars of the Southern Plains
Stan Hoig
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Human Rights | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0806124636

Customer Reviews:

Even-handed treatment of brutality on both sides.......2002-10-31

Given their near extermination by the white invaders, it is easy to look back and believe that the world of the Native Americans was one of peaceful bliss. With lives revolving around hunting the local game, it seems like such a peaceful life and was even the main theme of an episode in the original Star Trek series. However, in the plains, the tribes were at constant war with each other, especially after the Europeans introduced the horse. The new mobility allowed for more efficient hunting of both food and humans, which for some tribes, was the same thing. There are many facts about the lives of the Native American tribes in this book that are simply not mentioned in most histories of that time.
Hoig describes the constant wars between the tribes, with the general time frame being from the first contact with Europeans until the wars ended when the tribes became permanent residents of the reservations. Neither side in the conflict is spared, there was brutality committed by both the Indians and the Europeans. Many whites and natives were tortured to death at the hands of the Indians and the Europeans finally ended the war by simply seeking out and destroying the Indian camps. By eliminating their infrastructure of tents, food stocks, horses and noncombatant population, there was nothing to support the Indian warriors in their battles. Even with the even-handed descriptions of the battles and massacres, it is hard not to feel a bit of sadness for a way of life that passed forever from the planet. The natives were fighting for their right to a home and to exist, but the enemy was too numerous and organized for them to ever have a chance.
Life on the plains for the natives was one of constant battle against nature and other tribes. In the end, bravery was not enough and they succumbed to the twin factors of intertribal animosities and a superior enemy with better weapons and organization. Within two short generations, the tribes of the southern plains went from proud masters of their lands to caged creatures who were decaying and with nothing but visions of their past glories. This is the story of that decline, told well and accurately.

Tribes of the Southern Plains (American Indians)

Average customer rating:

Tribes of the Southern Plains (American Indians)
Time Life Books , and Burnett
Manufacturer: Time-Life Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0809495953

Average customer rating:

Indians of the Southern Plains
William K. Powers
Manufacturer: Putnam Pub Group Juv
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0399201041

Contrary Neighbors: Southern Plains and Removed Indians in Indian Territory (Civilization of the American Indian, Volume 237)

Average customer rating:

Contrary Neighbors

Contrary Neighbors: Southern Plains and Removed Indians in Indian Territory (Civilization of the American Indian, Volume 237)
David LA Vere
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 080613299X

Book Description

Contrary Neighbors examines relations between Southeastern Indians who were removed to Indian Territory in the early nineteenth century and Southern Plains Indians who claimed this area as their own.

These two groups viewed the world in different ways. The Southeastern Indians, primarily Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, and Seminoles, were agricultural peoples. By the nineteenth century they were adopting American "civilization": codified laws, Christianity, market-driven farming, and a formal, Euroamerican style of education. By contrast, the hunter-gatherers of the Southern Plains--the Comanches, Kiowas, Wichitas, and Osages--had a culture based on the buffalo. They actively resisted the Removed Indians' "invasion" of their homelands.

The Removed Indians hoped to lessen Plains Indian raids into Indian Territory by "civilizing" the Plains peoples through diplomatic councils and trade. The Southern Plains Indians, however, were not interested in "civilization" and saw no use in farming. Even their defeat by the U.S. government could not bridge the cultural gap between the Plains and Removed Indians, a gulf that remains to this day.

Customer Reviews:

Contrary Neighbors.......2000-09-30

Contrary Neighbors is an enjoyable and informative book for historians as well as the novice on the subject. Even with its complexity of tribal names, the writer tells a story and holds the readers interest.

Dancing on Common Ground: Tribal Cultures and Alliances on the Southern Plains

Average customer rating:

Inter-tribal relationships from a Native Perspective

Dancing on Common Ground: Tribal Cultures and Alliances on the Southern Plains
Howard Meredith
Manufacturer: University Press of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0700606947

Book Description

Dance, a vital expression of community and spirituality for Native Americans, has been the traditional metaphor for resolving conflict among Southern Plains tribes.

War, on the other hand, has been the metaphor for Anglo-Americans. Attacking conflicts in terms of dichotomies--us vs. them, friend vs. foe, civilized vs. savage--the European-influenced U.S. government has created battles out of almost every military, political, and social situation, from the Revolutionary War to the War on Drugs.

Here lies a fundamental cultural difference, says Howard Meredith, that has led to mistrust, poor communication, frustration, and polarization. The Anglo-American assumption that analysis and argument are universal and permanent traits, he contends, is not only erroneous, but has proven detrimental, even devastating, for Native Americans who have not customarily shared those values. Historically, the U.S. government has tried to disintegrate tribes, alienate, assimilate, divide and conquer. And in the process, it has ignored the positive relationships the tribes had established among themselves and with their physical environment.

Although conflicts have arisen among tribes, Meredith asserts, the Southern Plains peoples have spent the vast majority of their time in mutual support of one another rather than at war. The Wichita, Caddo, Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Apache, Arapaho, Delaware, and others brought together by choice or adversity achieved harmonious coexistence through imagination, mythology, art, dance, commerce, and conservation.

In Dancing on Common Ground, Meredith uses tribal oral histories to describe alliances before the European infiltration and extensive archives, federal documents, and personal interviews to examine the evolution and attempted annihilation of native traditions through the past three centuries. Looking toward the future by assessing the past, he argues that the Southern Plains Indians need to re-establish self-determination, traditional practices and values, and their native languages to overcome the adverse effects of federal paternalism, strengthen tribal relations, and improve economic and social conditions for all people in the Southern Plains.

Customer Reviews:

Inter-tribal relationships from a Native Perspective.......1999-05-26

Most academic books about Natives tend to look at a single tribe at a time, completely missing the extraordinary balances struck by tribes moving through each other's lands or competing in hunting or trading. Meredith (Longhair Clan Cherokee) illustrates that, while WAR is the metaphor for human relationships in Anglo-Saxon cultures, DANCE is the metaphor for tribes on the Southern Plains. Illuminating!

Hold Up the Sky: And Other Native American Tales from Texas and the Southern Plains

Average customer rating:

Hold Up the Sky: And Other Native American Tales from Texas and the Southern Plains
Jane Louise Curry
Manufacturer: Margaret K. McElderry
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0689852878

Book Description

Nearly all that remains of some Indian tribes of Texas and the Southern Plains are their stories. Here twenty-six tales are brought together from fourteen tribes and at least five different cultures. They are stories of humor, guidance, and adventure that have been passed down through the generations.

From the Tejas story that explains how the universe began, to the Lipan Apache tale in which a small lizard smartly outwits a hungry coyote, these stories are sure to delight young readers. Additional information about each tribe is included in the "About the Storytellers" section.

Once again Jane Louise Curry has skillfully retold traditional tales of Native Americans. Hold Up the Sky is in keeping with the style of her previous, highly acclaimed collections of Native American stories, Back in the Beforetime, The Wonderful Sky Boat, and Turtle Island. This, too, is a collection to be treasured.

Book Description

In 1876 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors annihilated Custer’s Seventh Cavalry on the Little Bighorn. Three years later and half a world away, a British force was wiped out by Zulu warriors at Isandhlwana in South Africa. In both cases the total defeat of regular army troops by forces regarded as undisciplined barbarian tribesmen stunned an imperial nation.

The similarities between the two frontier encounters have long been noted, but James O. Gump is the first to scrutinize them in a comparative context. “This study issues a challenge to American exceptionalism,” he writes. Viewing both episodes as part of a global pattern of intensified conflict in the latter 1800s resulting from Western domination over a vast portion of the globe, he persuasively traces the comparisons in their origins and aftermath.

Customer Reviews:

So boring my pillow needs a pillow.......2007-03-20

I absolutely love history and foreign relations, but this book is written in the most boring style possible. Horrible, I wouldn't recommend it. He has some great points, but you are better off reading the book reviews to get his argument.

A major contribution to field of comparative history.......1999-05-25

Please disregard the 2 of 5 rating from the sleep deprived person from North Carolina. This 5 out of 5 work of comparative history will keep you turning the pages. It may actually disturb your sleep with its effective demolition of the historiography of American exceptionalism when it comes to imperialism towards indigenous peoples.

More importantly, this is NOT a narrative about the Sioux or the Zulu as "victims." Although many scholars have noted the impact of Western imperial expansion on indigenous peoples throughout the world, it is only recently that historians have begun to employ the ill-defined and problematic methodology of comparative history to understand the similarities and differences of these diverse colonial encounters.

Gump's book integrates two major themes. One theme is that indigenous societies and cultures are dynamic. This means that they are characterized by intentional action and change. Whether the forces of change are internal or external, indigenous societies are not static.

The second theme is that societies and cultures are components of particular times and actual places. There is a dynamic interrelationship between attitudes, values, beliefs, behaviors and the specific circumstances of historic events. Examining two of these 19th century interrelationships provides us with an understanding of the dynamism of indigenous peoples' cultural adaptation and resilience. The Sioux and the Zulu were as involved in the historical process of change over time as any other people. In spite of their economic and cultural marginalization, adjusting to these circumstances did not necessarily diminish their cultural values.

For a good introduction to the comparative frontier history of the United States and South Africa see Leonard Thompson and Howard Lamar's chapter, "Comparative Frontier History" in their book, The Frontier in History: North America and South Africa Compared, (Yale University Press, 1981), 3-13.

For a comparative study in race relations consult George M. Frederickson's book, White Supremacy: A Comparative Study in American and South African History,(Oxford University Press, 1981).

A compairson of 2 native cultures fighting for a way of life.......1999-03-12

I was put to sleep three times by this book. Those poor natives. They just can't get no justice. This book does provide a new look at what an injustice western civilation has done to native people.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books