An independent and indigenous revision of established historyThe American Discovery of Europe investigates the voyages of America's Native peoples to the European continent before Columbus's 1492 arrival in the New World. The product of over twenty years of exhaustive research in libraries throughout Europe and the United States, Jack D. Forbes employs a vast number of primary and secondary sources to paint a clear picture of the diverse and complex societies that comprised the Americas before 1492 and reveals the surprising Native American involvements in maritime trade and exploration. Starting with an encounter by Columbus himself with mysterious people who had apparently been carried across the Atlantic on favorable currents, Forbes proceeds to a detailed discussion of ocean currents and then to exploring the seagoing expertise of early Americans in the Caribbean, on the coasts of Greenland, and beyond. He also discusses theories of ancient migrations, the evidence for human origins in the Americas, and other early visitors coming from Europe to America, including the Norse. The book closes with a discussion of Native travelers to Europe after 1493, when they came mostly as slaves. The provocative, extensively documented, and heartfelt conclusions of The American Discovery of Europe present an open challenge to received historical wisdom. This book will be of lasting importance to Native peoples and will redefine the way future scholarship views American history.''A fascinating book that makes an important . . . contribution to the subject of pre-Columbian contacts between American and Europe. . . . Highly recommended.''--Choice ''Provocative. . . . Turning the concept of 'discovers' on its head, Forbes dispels a lot of common assumptions about who 'discovered' whom in the Americas, in an extensive and fascinating exploration of early maritime histories of the Native Americans.''--Bloomsbury Review ''Interesting and thought provoking. . . . [It] raises many significant questions.''--American Anthropologist ''Highly refreshing. . . .Very convincing.''--Elixir [Forbes'] extensive use of manuscript or published sources, interviews, and correspondence with specialists in a wide variety of fields is impressive.--Terrae Incognitae''Forbes makes an unusual and fascinating contribution to the story of the New and Old Worlds and the links between them, questioning in a welcome way the truth and ideological sway of orthodox history. He leads his reader along paths rarely, if ever, trodden, ultimately in search of a fairer account of native America and its role in the world. This is a quest Forbes's own ancestry and--not least--keen sense of language well equip him to undertake. He eminently succeeds.''--Gordon Brotherston, author of Image of the New World: The American Continent Portrayed in Native Texts ''A decisive, independent, and long overdue contribution that pulls the plug from the inflated icon the Christian West has made of the slaver Christopher Columbus in his mistaken attempt to reach India.''--Hartmut Lutz, professor of American studies, Greifswald University, Germany
