Critique du Library Journal

This work provides a valuable look at the place of Native Americans in the discourses of American writers attempting to create a literary tradition separate from that of Europe. Bergland (English, Simmons Coll.) firmly places her narrative within the psychoanalytic and historical-critical tradition from which she draws, allowing the reader to follow closely the evolution of her argument. Focusing on the spectralization of the Indian by American writers, she traces the disappearance of the Native American. While encompassing the literary output of the 17th and 18th centuries, Bergland focuses on works produced within the period 1824-50, referred to as the "Indian removal period of American history" as well as "the American Renaissance period of American literary history." Bergland gracefully unravels the particulars of how this worked for writers like Defoe, Hawthorne, and others. Recommended for academic libraries.--Karen E. Lempert, Facing History and Ourselves, Brookline, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.