This eloquent, pathbreaking account follows the Catawbas from their first contact with Europeans in the sixteenth century until they carved out a place in the American republic three centuries later. It is a story of Native agency, creativity, resilience, and endurance. Upon its original publication in 1989, James Merrell’s definitive history of Catawbas and their neighbors in the southern piedmont helped signal a new direction in the study of Native Americans, serving as a model for their reintegration into American history. In an introduction written for this twentieth anniversary edition, Merrell recalls the book’s origins and considers its place in the field of early American history in general and Native American history in particular, both at the time it was first published and two decades later. “One of the most carefully crafted and smoothly written narratives I have ever read.” — James Axtell, The Journal of Southern History “This thoroughly researched and gracefully written book sets a new standard in American Indian history.” — Daniel Usner, Journal of American Ethnic History “Working with difficult evidence and supplementing his reading of the historical record with material from anthropology, folklore, and archaeology, Merrell has produced a well-written and impressive study.” — Colin Calloway, The Journal of American History “The title says it. . . . By choosing as his protagonists a new people, the Catawbas, who emerged from encounter with Europeans, Merrell made change the central story. In the process, he gave historians a new world, too.” — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Harvard University The pioneering book that showed how Indians were important actors in early American history This eloquent, pathbreaking account follows the Catawbas from their first contact with Europeans in the 16th century until they carved out a place in the American republic three centuries later. It is a story of Native agency, creativity, resilience, and endurance. In a new introduction for this 20th anniversary edition, Merrell recalls the book's origins and considers its place in the field of early American history in general and Native American history in particular, both at the time it was first published and two decades later. James H. Merrell is Lucy Maynard Salmon Professor of History at Vassar College. He is author and editor of numerous books, including his second Bancroft Prize-winner (and a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Into the American Woods: Negotiators on the Pennsylvania Frontier . Used Book in Good Condition