Description: This series of 12 titles covers the breadth of American history from the first migrations of people over the Beringia land bridge from northeastern Asia to the present day. Each volume in the series brings to the reader a major era of the American story. While politics, conflicts, foreign affairs, and the economy are the principal topics of discussion, home life, fashion, entertainment, media, and the arts and literature are included where appropriate.

This volume sets the stage for the exciting drama of American history, beginning thousands of years ago with the probable migration of people traveling across the Bering Sea over a "land bridge" from Siberia to Alaska. From archaeologists' theories and discoveries the development of these first Americans from Paleo Indian hunters to a variety of archaic cultures is followed as they spread across the Americas.

The arrival of European explorers, adventurers, and traders from the Vikings in about A.D. 1000, through the Portuguese, Spanish, English, and French into the 17th century is thoroughly covered with the aid of colorful maps. The subsequent European settlements in North America from the Spanish in the 1500s through the Dutch and Swedish in the mid-1600s, along with their religious, political, and economic backgrounds, leaders, and experiences are described. There is also a focus on the role of Africans in the Americas and on the frequently devastating effect on the Native Americans of the European presence in their lands

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