| The Friends of Pine Hawk have begun a year-round book discussion group focusing on topics like the exploration and peopling of the New World, how early civilizations grew and flourished, developing ideas in archaeology, especially as these topics relate to our region. If you would like to join, please email: Pinehawk@mit.edu |
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Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War Brooks, Lisa 2019-02 – Yale University Press 9780300244328 Check Our CatalogBook Discussion: Tuesday, July 6, 2021, 6:00 p.m. at Sydney Blackwell’s house. Meeting included discussion of Memory Lands.
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Memory Lands: King Philip’s War and the Place of Violence in the Northeast Delucia, Christine M. – Yale University Press 0300201176 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Tuesday, July 6, 2021, 6:00 p.m. at Sydney Blackwell’s house. Meeting included discussion of Our Beloved …More
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The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Moffett, Mark W. 2019-04 – Basic Books 9780465055685 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.
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Kindred: 300,000 Years of Neanderthal Life and Afterlife Sykes, Rebecca Wragg 2020-10 – Bloomsbury SIGMA 9781472937490 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Tuesday, February 2, 2021, 7:00 p.m. via Zoom teleconference.
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Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century King, Charles 2019-08 – Doubleday Books 9780385542197 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Thursday, November 19, 2020, 7:00 p.m. via Zoom teleconference.
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The Day Before America: Changing Nature of a Continent MacLeish, William H. 1994-09 – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) 0395468825 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Monday, May 18, 2020, 7-8:30 p.m. via Zoom teleconference. Discussion continued on Thursday, July 16, 2020, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.
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This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving Silverman, David 2019-11 – Bloomsbury Publishing 9781632869241 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Thursday, March 5, 2020, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden Restaurant, 36 Great Road (Route 2A) Acton. Ahead of the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving, a new look at the Plymouth colony’s founding events, told for the first time with Wampanoag people at the heart of the …More
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The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Indian America from 1890 to the Present Treuer, David 2019-01 – Riverhead Books 9781594633157 Check Our Catalog
Awards:
Book Discussion: Thursday, January 9, 2020, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden Restaurant, 36 Great Road (Route 2A) Acton.
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The Indians of the Nipmuck Country in Southern New England, 1630-1750: A Historical Geography Connole, Dennis A. 2000-12 – McFarland & Company 0786407999 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Monday, November 18, 2019, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden Restaurant, 36 Great Road (Route 2A) Acton The North American Indian group known as the Nipmucks was situated in south-central New England and, during the early years of Puritan colonization, remained on …More
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Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice Age America Childs, Craig – Pantheon Books 9780307908650 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, October 9, 2019, 7:00 p.m. at Acton Memorial Library (repeat of January 2019 discussion).
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Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America Fischer, David Hackett 1989-10 – Oxford University Press, USA 0195037944 Check Our Catalog
Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America Book Discussion: Wednesday, June 12, 2019, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden Restaurant, 36 Great Road (Route 2A) …More
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Where the Lightning Strikes: The Lives of American Indian Sacred Places Nabokov, Peter 2006-02 – Viking Books 0670034320 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, April 24, 2019, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden Restaurant, 36 Great Road (Route 2A) Acton.
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Spirit of the New England Tribes: Indian History and Folklore, 1620-1984 Simmons, William S. 1986-03 – University Press of New England 0874513723 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden Restaurant, 36 Great Road (Route 2A) Acton. Legends, folktales, and traditions of New England Indians reflect historical events and a changing Indian identity over a 365-year period.
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The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story Preston, Douglas 2017-01 – Grand Central Publishing 9781455540006 Check Our Catalog
The #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, named one of the best books of the year by The Boston Globe and National Geographic: acclaimed journalist Douglas Preston takes readers on a true adventure deep into the Honduran rainforest in this riveting narrative about the …More
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An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne 2014-09 – Beacon Press 9780807000403 Check Our Catalog
2015 Recipient of the American Book Award The first history of the United States told from the perspective of indigenous peoples Today in the United States, there are more than …More
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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Harari, Yuval Noah 2015-02 – Harper 9780062316097 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, August 1, 2018, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden Restaurant, 36 Great Road (Route 2A) Acton.
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Living the Sky: The Cosmos of the American Indian Williamson, Ray A. Author Hodges, Snowden Illustrator Hodges, Snowden 2012-05 – University of Oklahoma Press 0806120347 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, May 23, 2018, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Red Raven Restaurant (‘The Nest’ on the second floor), 3 Nagog Park, Acton.
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Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors Wade, Nicholas 2006-05 – Penguin Press 9781594200793 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Thursday, November 30, 2017, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Linda McElroy’s house, 8 Valley Road, Acton (note change of usual venue). Pot luck; contact serenahowlett@gmail.com for further information. Based on a groundbreaking synthesis of recent scientific …More
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American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America Woodard, Colin 2011-09 – Viking Books 9780670022960 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Monday, October 23, 2017, 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the Acton Memorial Library Woodard leads readers on a journey through the history of this fractured continent, and the rivalries and alliances between its component nations, which conform to neither state nor international boundaries. He illustrates and explains …More
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The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art Lewis-Williams, David 2002-11 – Thames & Hudson 9780500051177 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, September 13, 2017, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Red Raven Restaurant (‘The Nest’ on the second floor), 3 Nagog Park, Acton.
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The Settlement Of The Americas A New Prehistory Dillehay, Thomas D. 2000-05 – Basic Books 0465076688 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, July 26, 2017, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the home of Sydney Blackwell, 15 Willow Road, Harvard, MA. Note that book is c. 2000, 1st ed. –more recent edition-dates are only re-printings.
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The Memory Code: The Secrets of Stonehenge, Easter Island and Other Ancient Monuments Kelly, Lynne – Pegasus Books 9781681773254 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Thursday, May 11, 2017, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Red Raven Restaurant, 3 Nagog Park (off Rt. 2A), Acton, MA 01720.
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Breaking the Maya Code Coe, Michael D. 1999-10 – Thames & Hudson 0500281335 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden Restaurant, 36 Great Road, Acton, MA 01720.
Coe’s classic inside story of one of the major intellectual breakthroughs of our time–the last decoding of an ancient …More
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Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, and the Discovery of the Lost Civilization of Carlsen, William – William Morrow & Company 9780062407399 Check Our Catalog
The acclaimed chronicle of the discovery of the legendary lost civilization of the Maya. Includes the history of the major Maya sites, including Palenque, Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Tuloom, Copan, and more.
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Captive Histories: English, French, and Native Narratives of the 1704 Deerfield Raid Haefeli, Evan Editor Sweeney, Kevin 2006-06 – University of Massachusetts Press 1558495436 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion with Co-Author Kevin Sweeney : Sunday, October 23, 2016, 2:30-4:00 p.m. at the Acton Memorial Library This volume draws together an unusually rich body of original sources that tell the story of the 1704 French and Indian attack on Deerfield, Massachusetts, from different vantage points. Texts range from one …More
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Vikings: Vikings Fitzhugh, William Editor Ward, Elisabeth Editor Fitzhugh, William F. 2000-04 – Smithsonian Books (DC) 156098970X Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion, Wednesday September 14, 2016, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Filho’s Great Road, 59 Great Rd., Acton.
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Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilization Kennedy, Roger 1994-08 – Free Press 0029173078 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion:
Wednesday, May 18, 2016, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Rapscallion Table and Tap, 5 Strawberry Hill Road, Acton.
Few realize that some of the oldest, …More
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Ceremonial Time: Fifteen Thousand Years on One Square Mile Mitchell, John Hanson 1997-03 – Counterpoint LLC 0201149370 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Rapscallion Table and Tap, 5 Strawberry Hill Road, Acton (note new location).
‘Ceremonial time’ is the moment when past, present and future can be perceived simultaneously. In this, John Mitchell’s most magical book, first published in …More
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Cahokia: Ancient America’s Great City on the Mississippi Pauketat, Timothy R. 2009-08 – Viking Books 9780670020904 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Wednesday, January 20, 2016, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Larry Kerpelman’s house, 9 Puritan Road, Acton (note change of usual venue).
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American Passage: The Communications Frontier in Early New England Grandjean, Katherine 2015-01 – Harvard 9780674289918 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: American Passage: The Communications Frontier in Early New England, by Katherine Grandjean. Tuesday, October 13, 2015, 7:30-9:00 p.m. at Acton Memorial Library (note change from usual …More
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The Chaco Meridian: One Thousand Years of Political and Religious Power in the Ancient Southwest Lekson, Stephen H. 2015-03 – Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 1442246456 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Thursday, September 17, 2015, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Linda McElroy’s house, 8 Valley Road, Acton (note change of usual venue).
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House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest Childs, Craig 2007-02 – Little Brown and Company 9780316608176 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: House of rain: tracking a vanished civilization across the American Southwest. Thursday, May 14, 2015, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden restaurant at 36 Great Road (Route 2A) in East Acton. The greatest unsolved mystery of the American Southwest is the fate of the Anasazi, the native peoples who in the eleventh century …More
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Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America Richter, Daniel K. 2001-12 – Harvard University Press 0674006380 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America. Thursday, March 19, 2015, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden restaurant at 36 Great Road (Route 2A) in East Acton. In the beginning, North America was Indian country. But only in the beginning. After the opening act of the great national drama, Native Americans yielded …More
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Who Discovered America?: The Untold History of the Peopling of the Americas Menzies, Gavin Author Hudson, Ian 2013-10 – William Morrow & Company 9780062236753 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Who Discovered America?: The Untold History of the Peopling of the Americas. Thursday, January 29, 2015, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden restaurant at 36 Great Road (Route 2A) in East Acton. Greatly expanding on his blockbuster 1421, distinguished historian Gavin Menzies uncovers the complete untold history of how …More
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Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England Cronon, William Afterword by Cronon, William Foreword by Demos, John 2003-09 – Hill & Wang 0809016346 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion: Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. Book Discussion Wednesday, December 10, 2014, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Spice Pepper Garden restaurant at 36 Great Road (Route 2A) in East Acton. Lauded on Amazon.com as “The book that launched environmental …More
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Behind the Frontier: Indians in Eighteenth-Century Eastern Massachusetts Mandell, Daniel R. 1996-05 – University of Nebraska Press 0803231792 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion Monday, October 27, 2014, 7:30-9:00 p.m. at Acton Memorial Library [This book discussion is a part of Acton’s annual Massachusetts Archeology Month program. Please note the change from our usual venue and day].
The book, by historian Daniel R. Mandell is a detailed yet readable look at the development of Native American communities in our …More
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Across Atlantic Ice: The Origin of America’s Clovis Culture Stanford, Dennis J. Author Bradley, Bruce A. Foreword by Collins, Michael B. 2012-02 – University of California Press 9780520227835 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion Monday, September 22, 2014, 6:30-8:00 pm at Spiceppper Garden, a nice Chinese restaurant on Route 2A in East Acton. [Please note the change from our usual Thursday day]. According to a long-accepted story, the first mammal hunters entered North America from Asia some 12,000 years ago via a …More
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Trespassing: An Inquiry Into the Private Ownership of Land Mitchell, John Hanson 1999-06 – Counterpoint LLC 9780738201467 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion Thursday, June 19, 2014, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Bella Famiglia, an Italian restaurant on Route 2A in East Acton. John Mitchell is a noted local author who lives in Littleton and is editor of the award winning magazine, Sanctuary, published by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He has written several books, with subject matter …More
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Manitou: The Sacred Landscape of New England’s Native Civilization Dix, Byron E. Author Dix, Byron E. 1989-11 – Inner Traditions International 0892810785 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion Thursday, April 17, 2014, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Bella Famiglia, an Italian restaurant on Route 2A in East Acton. Archaeoastronomy has received much public and professional attention in recent years, especially in relation to Mesoamerican civilizations. This book attempts to establish that rock piles and other stone formations in New England are …More
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The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity Lepore, Jill 1998-01 – Alfred A. Knopf 0679446869 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussion Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Bella Famiglia, a nice Italian restaurant on Route 2A in East Acton. King Philip’s War, the excruciating racial war – colonists against Indians – that erupted in New England in 1675, was, in proportion to population, the bloodiest in American history. Some even argued that the massacres and outrages …More
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1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Mann, Charles C. 2006-10 – Vintage 9781400032051 Check Our Catalog
Book discussion Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at Bella Famiglia Restaurant, Route 2A in East Acton In this work, Mann, an established science writer, assembles recent work by archaeologists and anthropologists which challenges many of the common conceptions of our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans in 1492.
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Caleb’s Crossing Brooks, Geraldine 2011-05 – Viking Books 9780670021048 Check Our Catalog
Awards:
Book discussion Tuesday, October 29, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at the Acton Memorial Library. Inspired by true events, this novel tells a story of cultural understanding that unfolds in Massachusetts in the mid-1600s around the young daughter of a Calvinist minister and the son of a Wampanoag chieftain.
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The Farfarers: A New History of North America Mowat, Farley 2011-04 – Skyhorse Publishing 9781616082376 Check Our Catalog
Book Discussionn Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at Bella Famiglia Restaurant, Route 2A in East Acton. Mowat, a well-known Canadian environmentalist and writer, creates an engaging historical novel which details an alternative version of pre-Viking contacts with North America. |