A necessary and interesting corrective to popular perceptions on the 'pre-Columbian' eras of the American continent. Many may have already doubted the old narrative of Natives being 'uncivilized' and the stereotype of being 'communal with nature' and the 'noble savage', when they have already built pre-existing complex societies. 
 The author does scatter from topic to topic, but he paints a broad overview of some of the various trends in Native Studies and anthropology. Some tens of millions of people lived in these vast cities, with their culture and art and society comparable to the pre-Socratics in ancient Greece, or in size, comparable to ancient China. As such, they are naturally worthy of study. 
 Although with the limited resources of archaeology and the openly destructive inhabitants of the colonial populations, piecing the story has been difficult, with numerous conflicting stories and misconceptions still blundering about today.