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Post by garyzaboly on Nov 17, 2010 5:51:48 GMT -5
Allen, I mainly recommend MONTCALM AND WOLFE as a more thorough MILITARY history of the French and Indian War than Anderson's work. Nor does Parkman ignore the Indians' role in the scheme of things---and in fact his coverage in that area virtually matches Anderson's--- but of course he often lacks the more "enlightened" view that 21st century historians employ. On the other hand, some modern writers (like Ian Steele) often go too far in the other direction, romanticizing Indian cultures and giving many of the tribes (some of them, primarily the French-allied western tribes, still in the Neolithic stage) levels of sophistication they simply did not possess. One can indeed admire the high level of advancement achieved by the Iroquois and Cherokee, but to deliberately ignore their disturbing common wartime practices of prolonged torture and mutilation---practices that went a long way in forever sealing white bias against all Indians---is just as dishonest a tack as Parkman's highly critical one, and does not do History justice. The truth lies somewhere in-between.
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