Heart of American Darkness

Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier

By: Robert G. Parkinson

Narrated by: Shawn Compton

An acclaimed historian captures the true nature of imperialism in early America, demonstrating how the frontier shaped the nation.

We are divided over the history of the United States, and one of the central dividing lines is the frontier. Was it a site of heroism? Or was it where the full force of an all-powerful empire was brought to bear on Native peoples? In this startlingly original work, historian Robert Parkinson presents a new account of ever-shifting encounters between white colonists and Native Americans. Drawing skillfully on Joseph Conrad's famous novella, Heart of Darkness, he demonstrates that imperialism in North America was neither heroic nor a perfectly planned conquest. It was, rather, as bewildering, violent, and haphazard as the European colonization of Africa, which Conrad knew firsthand and fictionalized in his masterwork.

Parkinson argues that American history is, in fact, tied to the frontier, just not in the ways we are often told. Altering our understanding of the past, he also shows what this new understanding should mean for us today.

©2024 Robert G. Parkinson (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

A narrator that makes you want to end your life

I was excited about this title, I love history books and this one seemed like it was going to have some great detail. I could not get past the narration, it was so very bad. I just couldn't believe that the narrator read for more than 5 minutes and the recording studio didn't say, "ok thats enough get the hell out of here you piece of wet bread!" Ive seen old clapped out shoes that have more personality than this narrator, it was like listening to Stephen Hawking read me a book with somehow less enthusiasm and excitement. I bet this book is good, Im bummed that I simply could not listen to this title and I feel bad trash talking this narrator. But seriously bro, don't quit your day job, pick up a different hobby, have you tried pottery? Nobody deserves to pay money to have that kind of audio abuse imposed upon them.