Kindle Price:	$30.04
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Born a Slave, Died a Pioneer: Nathan Harrison and the Historical Archaeology of Legend Kindle Edition

by Seth Mallios (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.7 23 ratings

See all formats and editions

Spectacular recent discoveries from the Nathan Harrison cabin site offer new insights and perspectives into the life of this former slave and legendary California homesteader.

“In many ways, it is a quintessential American story because of the fact that slavery was the American story.”—Julia A. King, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Few people in the history of the United States embody ideals of the American Dream more than Nathan Harrison. His is a story with prominent themes of overcoming staggering obstacles, forging something-from-nothing, and evincing gritty perseverance. In a lifetime of hard-won progress, Harrison survived the horrors of slavery in the Antebellum South, endured the mania of the California Gold Rush, and prospered in the rugged chaos of the Wild West.

From the introduction:

According to dozens of accounts, Harrison would routinely greet visitors to his remote Southern California hillside property with the introductory quip, “I’m N——r Nate, the first white man on the mountain.” This is by far the most common direct quote in all of the extensive Harrison lore. If it is possible to get past current-day shock and outrage over the inflammatory racial epithet, one can begin to contextualize and appreciate the ironic humor, ethnic insight, and dualistically crafted identities Harrison employed in this profound statement.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Drawing upon resources ranging from oral history to private letters to U.S. census records, each scenario is thoroughly analyzed by Mallios and narrowed down to the most likely timeline for Harrison. The author considers not only the accounts about Harrison, but also examines the reasons behind the various myths surrounding him…Overall, he does an excellent job of critically presenting the information while keeping the reader focused on the overall narrative… Reading all the information that examines lines of evidence from history, archaeology, and a little architectural history brings Nathan Harrison’s life to light.” • California Archaeology

“This is a thoughtful, well-written manuscript addressing a multitude of questions relevant to historical archaeologists as well as to others interested in constructions of the past. It is also a manuscript with an important social justice angle; revealing the double consciousness DuBois speaks about in its outline of the life of Nathaniel Harrison – I think this is the most powerful aspect of all the data, photographic, documentary, archaeological. In many ways, it is a quintessential American story because of the fact that slavery was the American story.” • Julia A. King, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

About the Author

Seth Mallios is Professor of Anthropology, University History Curator, and Director of the South Coastal Information Center at San Diego State University. An archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian, Professor Mallios received his BA from the University of California, Berkeley and his MA and PhD from the University of Virginia. Dr. Mallios previously served as Site Supervisor at the 1607 James Fort archaeological site in Jamestown, Virginia. Since moving to San Diego in 2001, Professor Mallios has spearheaded six active research projects resulting in nine books, dozens of articles, and nearly $2 million in over 80 extramural grants, contracts, and awards.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07R21XPBV
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berghahn Books; 1st edition (November 1, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 17441 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 498 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,125,576 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,152 in Black & African American Biographies & Memoirs
- #1,309 in Archaeology (Kindle Store)
- #2,743 in History of Anthropology

Customer Reviews:
4.7 23 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

23 global ratings

3 star

0%

2 star

6%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Diane Williams

From the darkness comes the light! Fascinating history!

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2023

Verified Purchase

I got to witness some of these "digs". The way in which Seth unearths the backstories of thousands of inanimate objects and brings Nate back to life is seamless. What a fascinating read! Enjoyed the pictures too!

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Very Interesting Archeological Read.

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2021

Verified Purchase

A very scholarly, and interesting read of one of the first black immigrants in California.

Helpful

El Cranky

Nate Harrison, what a dude!

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020

Verified Purchase

Amazing history and analysis of Nate Harrisons life.

Helpful

Mountain Guy

Very Interesting Book

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

It was fascinating to see how an archaeologist approached this project. It was a glimpse into the science and art of today’s archaeology. The story of Nathan Harrison is very interesting on its own. To see that story put into the context of the time he lived in was remarkable.

The only negative to the book is the author’s choice of words. Sometimes he used words I was unfamiliar with. Luckily I purchased the Kindle version and could get the meaning easily.

I highly recommend this book. I learned a lot and was entertained in the process. Just wish I could have spoken with Mr. Harrison myself.

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

Fun read, an incredible story, and great author!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Deer slay

well done...san diego history

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2022

Verified Purchase

great archeological treasures,on palomar, and history of those times ,as it relates to nate harrison,very detailed,his involvement w local tribes,and settlers, his cattle,sheep ranch work,and was even a beekeeper ,property owner,voter....i grew up in the area ,so the book has alot of filled in blanks of peoples western migration,good n bad,palomar mtn so special.