On Records

Reviews / Votes

"A thoughtful meditation on how we know the past."-New Books in Native American Studies "Newman's book makes an important contribution to the study of Colonial and early America because it provides readers with new perspectives on understanding the interactions between historical records and representations."-S. A. Klein, CHOICE "For those looking for an insightful and thought-provoking engagement with questions of literacy, textuality and memory in early America, On Records has much to offer."-Hilary Wyss, William and Mary Quarterly "This book demands reading and rereading. Newman's point-counterpoint approach to each case study invites readers to question and challenge not only long-held assumptions about the nature of documentary evidence but also the intriguing conclusions his research offers."-Dawn Marsh Riggs, Journal of American History "In Newman's study, the question of American origins is a semantic dance, one that oscillates between the original record and the representation of that record, which often takes on an even greater importance through its status as a "symbolic substitution" for that original."-Sarah Rivett, American Literary History "[On Records] raises new questions that could bring together scholars with differing access to sources and result in studies that would have a fundamental bearing on the understanding of colonial encounters and confrontations on issues such as land, memory, and the meaning of history. It could perhaps also lead to new and different glimpses of a past that once was."-Gunlog Fur, American Historical Review