This sweeping account traces the histories of the Native peoples of the American West from their arrival thousands of years ago to the early years of the 19th century. Colin G. Calloway depicts Indian country west of the Appalachians to the Pacific, with emphasis on conflict and change. With broad and incisive strokes Calloway's narrative includes: the first inhabitants and their early pursuit of big-game animals; the diffusion of corn and how it transformed American Indian life; the Spanish invasion and Indian resistance to Spanish colonialism; French-Indian relations in the heart of the continent; the diffusion of horses and horse culture; the collision of rival European empires and the experiences of Indian peoples whose homelands became imperial borderlands; and the dramatic events between the American Revolution and the arrival of Lewis and Clark. The account ends as a new American nation emerged independent of the British Empire, took over the trans-Mississippi West, and began to expand its own empire based on the concept of liberty and the acquisition of Indian land.
"One Vast Winter Count" offers a new look at the early history of the region - a blending of ethnohistory, colonial history, and frontier history. It features native voices and perspectives; a masterful, fluid integration of a wide range of oral and archival sources from across the West; a dynamic reconstruction of cultural histories; and balanced consideration of controversial subjects and issues. Calloway offers an unparalleled glimpse at the lives of generations of Native peoples in a western land soon to be overrun.
Industry Reviews
"The first volume in the publisher's new series History of the American West, this clearly written, monumental history of Native Americans and of white-Indian interaction in the trans-Appalachian West up to the beginning of the nineteenth century synthesizes a vast body of archaeological, ethnographic, and historical scholarship. It will long remain the authoritative treatment of its subject." The September 2003 issue of The Atlantic Monthly "Author of First Peoples and a distinguished Dartmouth historian, Calloway concentrates on the Indian experience from the Appalachians to the Pacific, in a time frame from prehistory to the 18th century. The scope is staggering, but Calloway masters it, demonstrating a remarkable command of a broad spectrum of historical, ethnographic and archaeological sources including printed material and oral traditions... One Vast Winter Count is both a major work in its own right and a magnificent first volume in Nebraska's new History of the American West series." The September 1, 2003, issue of Publishers Weekly "Calloway draws on tribal histories, anthropology, and archaeology, as well as traditional historical sources, to present this useful and insightful overview of vibrant nations actively charting their futures in the time of great change and tremendous challenge before Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery set forth in 1803... Calloway's balanced treatment of a topic so easily given to polemics is welcome indeed. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries." The September 1, 2003, issue of Library Journal the inaugural book in our History of the AmericanWest series, appears on the Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2003 Nonfiction list, along with only two other university press titles. The following description appears in the November 17, 2003 piece: "The scope of this overview of Native American societies - from the Appalachians to the Pacific, in a time frame from prehistory to the 18th century - is staggering, but Calloway (First Peoples) masters it, demonstrating remarkable command of a broad spectrum of historical, ethnographic and archeological sources." Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2003 Nonfiction lisT "A splendid overview of the Native American West to the end of the eighteenth century." New York Review of Books, July 2004
