Praise for "The Mound Builder Myth" in the Midwest Book Review

4/22/2020

With many of the popular pseudo-historians silent and conspiracy theorists focused on COVID-19, there is not a whole lot to talk about relevant to this blog today. I thought I would instead share a rave review of my Mound Builder Myth by Jack Mason that ran in the Midwest Book Review this month. The review excerpt is reprinted by permission of MBR.

An inherently fascinating read from cover to cover, The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race" is a unique and seminal work of meticulous scholarship that is further enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a twelve page Bibliography, six pages of Notes, and an eleven page Index. While especially and wholeheartedly recommended for community and academic library American History and Native American History collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race" is also readily available in a digital book format (eTextbook, $22.51).

15 Comments

E.P. Grondine

4/22/2020 10:55:10 am

Jason, you have the start of a great book, but in my opinion it needs substantial improvement. I was particularly disappointed by the lack of inclusion of any images of the models for the Grave Creek Stone.

I could go on about the Redstone works and your mistake about Thomas Ashe, and the growing knowledge in colonial America of the substantial mesoamerican remains

It will be a chuckle to watch how Brad Lepper handles the new colonial accounts of mound building by the Native Peoples cited in your book.

E.P. Grondine Fan

4/22/2020 09:38:44 pm

This is interesting! I would love to hear you expand upon it. Thanks!

Brian

4/22/2020 11:46:33 am

Congratulations! There's nothing like a rave notice to perk up one's day. Well done.

Doc Rock

4/22/2020 11:49:14 am

I would assume that Okie Press is going to make sure that the book get reviewed by the likes of American Antiquity, American Anthropologist, etc? they should know the drill.

Phil

4/23/2020 03:40:02 pm

So you are a 250 year old Navy Corpsman to have livedthrough all of this Doc Rock?

Doc Rock

4/23/2020 06:11:12 pm

I'm hoping this comment will make more sense after I polish off this second bottle of semi-sweet red while watching my lady friend work her magic with the BBQ grill. In the meantime, any help with translation would be appreciated.

Rock Knocker

4/22/2020 11:56:04 am

It is a great break from the plethora of pseudo-history tripe. I very much enjoyed my copy, and learned a lot, it’s a well-deserved review Jason.

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Machala

4/22/2020 03:36:15 pm

Mr. Grondine's bias is obvious. You are puncturing his balloon of preconceived notions ... but that is neither here nor there. Your excellent research and conclusions will never satisfy him e they don't not fit within his own ideas.
That said, I must say, that one of the pluses of this sequestration, was that I was able to sit down, read, and thoroughly enjoy your book. Not only did I learn a great deal but was surprised how easy it was to read. I highly recommend it to anyone from the serious scholar to the casual reader.
All the Best, with your future endeavors. DLTBGYD (Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down)

E.P. Grondine

4/22/2020 07:43:02 pm

Hi Machala, Mr. Grondine here -

I have dealt with both the crap that Jason reported on and the modern versions of the crap Jason reports on for about 17 years now. This is up close and personal. Yeah, I have my biases.

I would like a better book from Jason, or a better version of Jason's book. There is no picture of the Bat Creek Stone, or the forgeries planted around Newark. Its chapters could have been divided by specific frauds for ease of use. There are problems with flow as well.

I easily could have done a better copy edit than Lepper. Apparently Lepper could not spot several single word errors.

(It took me about 10 years to get Lepper to admit that the Shawnee were Hopewell descendants, which he does now, but not very vocally in the professional literature. Any day now Brad may get around to Marksville and the Lenape.)

In any case, the comet impacts at the end of the Holocene, which I wrote about 15 years ago,are pretty much accepted now. But in practical terms, the NEOWISE is due to launch in 2025, and I worked promoting that with what was left of me following my stroke.

I did not manage to produce a great book. The type kerned wrong. Jason still has a chance. If he does not to do it someone else wtll, using the materials he collected.

You have no idea how much of a bastard I can be. I look at him in the morning when I shave.

Kent

4/23/2020 08:07:04 am

Mr. Grondine:

"Retard" and "crap". Indoor language if you please.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_Creek_inscription

"I did not manage to produce a great book. The type kerned wrong."

A poor workman blames his tools. I have little sympathy for someone who blames his pocket poodle of shame on the typesetter.

The Bat Creek Inscription is a known fraud.

E.P. Grondine

4/23/2020 01:59:01 pm

"pocket poodle of shame on the typesetter."

Actually, I am pleased with my book., It simply would be nice if it were much easier to read. What I learned was to use Adobe fonts instead of True Type Fonts.

"The Bat Creek Inscription is a known fraud."

Yes, and that is why Jason should have included a picture of it in his book to accompany his discussion of it there.

Cesar

4/22/2020 04:05:25 pm

It is interesting as indication of Colavito's acceptance (or not) in the academic field, which is new to him, although almost all of his pieces have an academic flavor. Congratulations.

Rock Knocker

4/22/2020 11:00:04 pm

And here I though that M. Grondine was being facetious in his initial post......silly me.

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T. Franke link

4/24/2020 06:06:57 am

Still reading, I would find a table or tree diagram helpful about who influenced whom. It is labyrinthic. Did anyone ever crawl through all these connections?

E.P. Grondine

4/24/2020 12:35:04 pm

Hi T -

As you will see, Jason has a great ability to remember texts and spot "lifts" of passages. Almost as good as a machine (AI computer).

He caught several cases if plagiarism and several personal disputes of which many, including myself, were unaware.

That is good, but he lacks network analysis abilities. The colonists' "scientific organizations" and some of the personal contacts are not readily apparent to him. The whole of Benjamin Barton's role and the Thomas Ashe affair eluded him. The importance of the Redstone Works eluded him as well.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1988/07/17/monticello-mellow/4db4c762-9892-4d05-b12e-8769151892a9/