In Search of First Contact is a monumental achievement by the influential literary critic Annette Kolodny. In this book; she offers a radically new interpretation of two medieval Icelandic tales; known as the Vinland sagas. She contends that they are the first known European narratives about contact with North America. After carefully explaining the evidence for that conclusion; Kolodny examines what happened after 1837; when English translations of the two sagas became widely available and enormously popular in the United States. She assesses their impact on literature; immigration policy; and concepts of masculinity.Kolodny considers what the sagas reveal about the Native peoples encountered by the Norse in Vinland around the year A.D. 1000; and she recovers Native American stories of first contacts with Europeans; including one that has never before been shared outside of Native communities. These stories contradict the dominant narrative of "first contact" between Europeans and the New World. Kolodny rethinks the lingering power of a mythic American Viking heritage and the long-standing debate over whether Leif Eiriksson or Christopher Columbus should be credited as the first discoverer. With this paradigm-shattering work; Kolodny shows what literary criticism can bring to historical and social scientific endeavors.
#2074928 in Books Duke University Press Books 1997-01-16Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.27 x 1.29 x 5.95l; 1.62 #File Name: 0822318741448 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy niena croninbought for daughter she's in fashion4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating topic; fascinating bookBy Michael J. RyanI thoroughly enjoyed "Ready-to-Wear and Ready-to-Work"; Nancy L. Green's erudite and expansive study of a century of the garment industry in Paris and New York. I've worn clothes for most of my life; but never knew much about where they come from. Now I do. Clothes don't come from stores-- they come from people; piece by piece. People with a story to tell.Green's vastly-researched work is not only a history of the people; usually immigrants; often Jews; who have populated the garment industry. It is also a social history; an economic history and a technological history. The book is not an easy read-- it is a complex analysis of complex topics-- but it is a worthwhile read. Green successfully weaves the topics into a fabric of consistently excellent quality from beginning to end.I found the book fascinating. I recommend it to anyone who wears clothes. Naked people probably won't be interested.
