2 posts tagged “book reviews”

There are a lot of conspiracy theories in the world, ranging from the Apollo Moon-Landing Hoax, which suggests that some or all elements of the Apollo missions were faked by NASA, to the Death of Marilyn Monroe. Some of the most exciting recent books that I have read, such as The Map Thief, and The Forgery of Venus have involved conspiracy theories in their plot. However, a lot of recent thrillers that I have seen on the shelves involve some of the same old conspiracy theories with little or no new plot twists. Not very exciting for an avid reader like me.

Recently, though, I had the pleasure of reading DNAby seasoned author W. Craig Reed. Combining a number of intricate plot twists, individual and social enemies, and a unique take on one of the most controversial of the well known conspiracy theories, DNAis a fresh take on a common plot.

Ever since The Andromeda Strain(1969), by Michael Crichton, and it’s techno-thriller plot documenting the efforts of a team of scientists investigating a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism that rapidly and fatally clots human blood, numerous other thrillers have attempted to copy this plot line. Reed, on the other hand, avoids the mistake of attempting to rehash this classic, and rather takes the conspiracy component of the thriller one step further – all the way back to the origins of the human race!

Read more about DNA: The Thriller on Darwins Evolution and Intelligent Design here.

One of the most contentious issues facing indigenous peoples around the world today is the fight to maintain a connection and identity to – and with – traditional homelands. This fight, largely the historical outcome of imperial and colonial processes over the last four hundred years, is in many cases the only fight that matters for indigenous peoples.

After working closely with indigenous peoples in three different countries, I have learned just how important and closely held the land is. For indigenous peoples, the culture, the language, and the identity of the individual is directly tied to the land. It is the land that informs indigenous peoples and their world views (1). One question that has arisen as a result of this understanding centers on the ways and methods indigenous people can use to maintain their relationship to the land – often traditional homelands that have been occupied for generations – in the face of such overwhelming colonial and imperial forces, both present and past. In the recent book by professor Lisa Brooks, The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast,we are given an example from Native North America of one way this identity was maintained.

Looking at indigenous Native American writers, activists, and leaders of colonial Northeast North America, Brooks convincingly argues that Samson Occom, Joseph Brant, Hendrick Aupaumut, and William Apess all used the mechanism of writing to maintain their Native identity and cultural ties to the land. In relying on the tool of writing, these indigenous Native American peoples were able to maintain – and in some instances reclaim – their rights, identity, and culture in the face of incredible colonial and imperial forces. In fact, as Brooks points out this method was indigenous to the Algonquian, Iroquois, Ojibwa, Abenaki, and other Native Americans of the Northeast as demonstrated by their long tradition of making awikhigan.

Read more about the recovery of indigenous Native American Indian space in the Northeast here.