The Modern Scholar: A History of Native America

By: Professor Ned Blackhawk

Narrated by: Ned Blackhawk

In these illuminating lectures from Professor Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone), a history of Native America is provided from the time shortly before the expeditions of Christopher Columbus to the present. Focusing on the Columbian Exchange, Indians and the American Constitution, American Indian Removal, the Civil War, and the modern age, Professor Blackhawk concludes his revealing course by addressing the issues that continue to affect Native Americans today.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2010 Ned Blackhawk (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Outstanding

Outside of the part on the 7 years war, in which Indian people had a much greater role, the book is superb history, definitely worth the listening experience. Performance is good though.

Really appreciated this, but…

….I found the narration really hard to follow; in some places I just couldn’t understand what was being said. Otherwise truly found it informative and helpful.

Very uneven but ultimately worth it

While the delivery was somewhat excruciating to endure, the content of Ned Blackhawk's survey (from the pre-Columbian era through the beginning of the Obama administration) was mostly solid. A few of his choices confounded me - for example, spending significant time on Mark Twain (?) while never even mentioning Tecumseh and his pan-tribal alliance or key role in the War of 1812 - but on the whole Blackhawk condensed a great deal of history into a streamlined and fairly audience-friendly narrative. His discussion is particularly strong when dealing with the important court cases and legal precedents that shaped U.S. American Indian policy, and those sections alone made me glad I invested time in this, despite its other shortcomings.

Compelling, thorough

Blackhawk is a fantastic scholar and chooses carefully how to weave many threads together for this overarching history of native north americans.