The first landings in the Atlantic World generated striking and terrifying impressions of unknown peoples who were entirely foreign to anything in European explorers experience. From the first recorded encounters with the native inhabitants of the Canary Islands in 1341 to Columbus's explorations in 1492 and Cabral's discovery of Brazil in 1500; western Europeans struggled to make sense of the existence of the peoples they met. Were they Adam's children; of a common lineage with the peoples of the Old World; or were they a separate creation; the monstrous races of medieval legend? Should they govern themselves? Did they have the right to be free? Did they know God? Could they know God? Emphasizing contact between peoples rather than the discovery of lands; and using archaeological findings as well as eyewitness accounts; David Abulafia explores the social lives of the New World inhabitants; the motivations and tensions of the first transactions with Europeans; and the swift transmutation of wonder to vicious exploitation. Lucid; readable; and scrupulously researched; this is a work of humane engagement with a period in which a tragically violent standard was set for European conquest across the world.
#1057054 in Books 2006-01-12Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.90 x .85 x 5.96l; .97 #File Name: 0300109652320 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Memoirs of a Memorable LifeBy Michael Martin De SapioRichard Pipes is the most lucid writer I have ever had the pleasure to read—a clear thinker who expresses himself in crystal-clear prose. And what a remarkable life he has led: from a perilous and adventuresome escape from the Holocaust to a forty-year career teaching Russian history at Harvard; an advisor on Soviet and Eastern European affairs to President Reagan; and an acclaimed author of dozens of books and articles on communism and the Soviet Union. Reading these memoirs; I grew to admire Pipes: an introspective; fiercely independent and intensely intellectual man whose love for culture and scholarship; high moral principles; and unshakable faith in God saw him through many tribulations. Pipes' eloquence is of a sort not seen much among the younger generations; as is his bone-dry humor.Here are some notable nuggets from this book:On faith:“When I was eight or nine; mother taught me a brief prayer in German....Neither then nor since have I experienced any doubts about God's existence or benevolent guidance. Nor did I ever feel the need to prove either. Indeed; God's existence is all that I was absolutely certain of for His presence was everywhere; all else seemed and still seems to me conditional and problematic.â€On old age:“In time; you begin to feel like a foreigner in your native land even if the physical surroundings remain the same. It came as a shock to me; for instance; in the year 2000 to wander into a shopping mall near Washington; D.C.; and realize that among the hundreds of milling people; I was the only one wearing a jacket and tie; a Frenchman must have felt like this during the post-Napoleonic Restoration era if he ventured in public dressed in knee breeches and a powdered wig.â€0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Richard Pipes' insights are useful as we fight the new totalitarianBy Robert GuzzardiFascinating. Richard Pipes is an historian whose own history is entwined with the most significant events of the 20th century; WWII and the rise of the Stalinist Soviet Russia. Richard Pipes provides insights into the ideas that permeated the conventional thinkers and how he differed. Well written and fast moving; Richard Pipes' insights are useful as we fight the new totalitarian; expansionist; violent Islamist ideology that threatens the American Way of life and our Constitution. This historian has much to teach us about current events.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Amazing lifeBy Portia's MomA fascinating life. Worth reading for many important insights. But my fave episode was the author's family running for their lives with a cocker spaniel.
