Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas Book

Freedman begins with the story of Christopher Columbus, who we now know was actually one of the last explorers to "discover" the Americas. Next he introduces the famed Chinese explorer Zheng He, followed by the Viking Leif Eriksson, all these explorers may have "discovered" parts of the Americas, yet it is clear that there have been native peoples on the Americas' soils for much, much longer. Freedman leads the reader through these famed stories of discovery, then he leads into various histories and theories about the many native cultures we now know once lived in various parts of the Americas. Many of these groups' ancestries remain mysteries to the day, however, new discoveries are being made all the time which bring about new information which leads to a better understanding of where these peoples came from and how they colonized the Americas for as long as 50,000 years ago. This book was a fascinating and visually appealing read; nearly every page included an accompanying image that corresponded with the content being discussed. The images are well-placed and well-chosen, and most importantly they add to the reader's understanding of the topics being discussed. Who Was First? covers a vast topic in a short amount of pages, young readers should find the information easily comprehensible, insightful, and interesting.