It was pretty dry and I'm glad I listened to it rather than read it. That being said, it was very eye opening for me and I'm really glad for the information it contained. I've never been taught this perspective and it was very sobering, especially juxtaposed with what is taught in American history classes. What the United States considered big wins such as the Louisiana Purchase, Manifest Destiny, and the Homestead Act were completely devastating to the original inhabitants of this continent. Everyone should read this book or a book that covers the same material but may be a little easier to read.

NYT Notable Books 2022: 39/100

This was a really dense, but interesting book. There's a lot of content to absorb, but it's interesting and varied. I appreciated that Hämäläinen didn't just focus on the United States, and that Canadian Indigenous history was also covered in good detail. I knew some of what was covered going in, but not a whole lot, and certainly not to the level of detail that was included. I also appreciated learning the context of things that I didn't know before, like the Battle of Wounded Knee. My biggest gripe is some of the audiobook pronunciations. I know the intention was to pronounce names as close to the tribal pronunciations as possible, but I've never heard Métis pronounced as muh-teece, so it took me a second to realize the author meant Métis. 

Exhaustively researched and well-written. 

Not my style of history, not easy to follow, too much about the different battles