Everyday Life Among the American Indians (Writer's Guide to Everyday Life Series)

Rating:
Summary: huge range of information
Review: I am a fan of the "Everyday Life" series, and this is the most detailed of them that I have seen. I was impressed. It has more information over a wider variety of topics than I expected, especially considering that this is such a broad subject.

This, however, is also the book's weakness. The author was asked to cover such a massive range of information (the 'everyday life' of every American Indian tribe within a hundred-year period) that she would have needed three times the page count to do each tribe justice.

Most chapters (Family Life, Wars, Weapons and Treaties, Clothing and Accessories, etc.) are divided into geographical area, with information about the tribes in that area mixed within the section. For example, under Family Life, Great Basin, we find paragraphs on the birthing traditions of the Shoshane, puberty rituals of the Paiute, marriage among the Ute, and death rituals of the Shoshane. All detailed and engaging, making this an excellent overview, but you may be frustrated if you're hoping to learn in-depth about any specific tribe.

Rating:
Summary: huge range of information
Review: I am a fan of the "Everyday Life" series, and this is the most detailed of them that I have seen. I was impressed. It has more information over a wider variety of topics than I expected, especially considering that this is such a broad subject.

This, however, is also the book's weakness. The author was asked to cover such a massive range of information (the 'everyday life' of every American Indian tribe within a hundred-year period) that she would have needed three times the page count to do each tribe justice.

Most chapters (Family Life, Wars, Weapons and Treaties, Clothing and Accessories, etc.) are divided into geographical area, with information about the tribes in that area mixed within the section. For example, under Family Life, Great Basin, we find paragraphs on the birthing traditions of the Shoshane, puberty rituals of the Paiute, marriage among the Ute, and death rituals of the Shoshane. All detailed and engaging, making this an excellent overview, but you may be frustrated if you're hoping to learn in-depth about any specific tribe.