American Odysseys

Written in an engaging and student-friendly style, American Odysseys examines the entire period between 1492 and 1763, covering important topics that shaped the colonial experience across time and in a variety of places. Authors Timothy J. Shannon and David N. Gellman use a thematic approach, focusing on colonial development and integration within a wider Atlantic world. Each chapter begins with the story of an individual who experienced the wonder and terror of colonization firsthand, so that students can feel a human connection to each of these topics and themes. Taken together, these figures--Indians, servants, slaves, explorers, planters--embody the full array of peoples and cultures that gave the colonial era a trans-Atlantic, multicultural character. Each chapter also features a chronology of events described in that chapter. Maps and images throughout the book help visually orient readers to the stories that comprise this concise yet broad-ranging narrative.

"The authors have synthesized a vast amount of material, including the newest scholarship concerning colonists, Native Americans, and enslaved Africans in colonial America. The writing is clear and lively."--Matt Mulcahy, Loyola University Maryland"American Odysseys is clearly written and the thematic approach gives the book a coherence that others often lack. It tackles complex problems in interesting ways--witchcraft and gender are two that come to mind."--Thomas Humphrey, Cleveland State University

Timothy J. Shannon is Professor and Chair in the Department of History at Gettysburg College. He is the author of several books, including Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier (2008), Atlantic Lives: A Comparative Approach to Early America (2004), and Indians and Colonists at the Crossroads of Empire: The Albany Congress of 1754 (2000). David N. Gellman is Professor of History at DePauw University. He is the author of Emancipating New York: The Politics of Slavery and Freedom, 1777-1827 (2006) and coeditor, with David Quigley, of Jim Crow New York: A Documentary History of Race and Citizenship, 1777-1877 (2003).