This wasn't set in a traditional historical manner but as it progresses, you begin to see the wider image of how Native people across North America have been treated over the last 500 years. He doesn't necessarily attempt to persuade the reader of any specific view, I appreciated his sardonic tone at times and the way he created a narrative using a variety of historical moments that I'd either not heard of or knew very little about. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about Native people and their history in North America in a less traditional way. The way he split his time quite evenly between USA and Canada, highlighting their similarities and showing what many choose to wilfully ignore. This book covers a variety of topics from hollywood's misrepresentation of Natives, to the various broken treaties, forced assimilation, wars, genocides, the repercussions of the mandatory residential schools just to name a few.

Powerful, witty, scathing, and devastating. This should be required reading.

Thomas King manages to cram a whole lot of information into this book, somehow managing to give us a history lesson told with humor and wit. This book tackles everything from how indigenous people are portrayed in the media, to failed treaties and stolen land - and all of the history in between. I learned so much from this book, and in a way that made it feel accessible and conversational.

Truly a brilliant read - highly recommend.

A very important book for all of us living in the U.S. and Canada (and elsewhere). A truly devastating history of the subjugation of the original inhabitants of our two countries and a truly interesting look behind more modern policies, which seem positive on the outside, but which represent the insidious, incessant oppressor that is colonialism.

3.5/5
- non-fiction is hard and has always been hard for me to read (i'm trying to get better!). so this one is not one of my favs. but it is a good history book for the casual reader, as if told by your very well-educated, verbose, witty, and memorious grandfather. not stuck up on the second-by-second play, and more concerned with what we can glean from history now. it is obviously a biased perspective but i found it very fairly biased, and in fact, in many places, much kinder than it could have been
- i do find it recommendable but only to people who want to read history without a history book, and with a little bit of snark thrown in