An Introduction to Native North America, Second Edition

Rating:
Summary: Get the first edition
Review: My rating is based on price alone. I had to buy this book for a class I am required to take. That said, the price seemed high for a broke student like me. So instead, I found out they still sell the first edition of this book (it took some searching mind you). Thing is, I found the first edition and it cost me about six bux total including shipping. So my first edition arrived, and I compared this to the second edition by going to the publisher's website of the second edition. They have a detailed table of contents, along with purportedly "major revisions" to the second edition. First off, the table of contents is nearly identical, except for a few minor pages (i.e. more pictures). Secondly, the second edition was published only three years after the first (come on, how much is going to change in our academic understanding of native north america in 3 years...this isn't biotechnology or comp sci). There's a reason why I think the first edition is not easily accessible (i.e. $$$).

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: Sutton's book is an excellent resource for both researchers and students of Native North America. Its coverage is complete, and the geographical regions delineated match those used in the Smithsonian's Handbook of North American Indians, making this volume an excellent text. The cross referencing with the Smithsonian's multivolume resource adds a great deal of utility for the use of Sutton's book as a classroom textbook or starting point for research. Sutton's treatment of Native American culture and history is excellent, not excluding contemporary Native American issues and the roots of modern problems. The study of the past may bring us closer to finding solutions to the problems we face today in intercultural relations. I highly reccommend this book to both instructors and researchers who deal with Native American issues, culture, and history.