In a Barren Land

A prize-winning historian of America's westward expansion, Paula Mitchell Marks, presents the first comprehensive account of how the United States government and white settlers collaborated to seize the land on which the Native Americans had lived for centuries. Her tragic and appalling story covers all regions of the country, beginning in 1607 and ending in the present. It offers a startling narrative of what happened to this country's original settlers and dramatically illustrates how their attempts to adapt to an alien culture were thwarted by betrayals and power plays that still affect their descendants. The book not only recreates such famous events as the Trail of Tears and the Battle of Little Big Horn, but even more tellingly rediscovers forgotten policies and little-known heroes and villains.