BEFORE THE STORM

Lassieur, in her entry in the Library of American Indian History series, uses Native American material culture and ethnographic evidence—accounts from early explorers, drawings, legends, and stories—to describe the daily life of some of the early people of North America before their contact with the Europeans. Arranged by regions of the US, the book classifies the early people as the tribes of Florida, the Eastern Woodlands Indians, the Mound Builders, Plains Indians, and the Southwestern, Northwestern, and Arctic peoples. In a novel and interesting approach to gathering research, the author interviewed contemporary archaeologists who are experts in their respective regions. Notes are provided for each chapter (although without biographical information on the sources), and the amount of detail is impressive in the discussions of the land, people, villages, food, society, warfare, and, ultimately, European contact. Although unfamiliar terms slip in, the writing is accessible for the target audience, and the information is often engrossing. (b&w illustrations, maps, index, not seen, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 12+)