Negative Positive
Title: This book presents a theory that deserves open-minded study
Review: I read Mr. Von Sertima's book shortly after its original publication. At that time, the earliest Olmec presence in the Americas was thought to be later than 1200 BCE. Subsequent excavations have called that timeline into question, and may have extended it substantially backward. This, of course, does nothing to alter the basic premise: that black Africans were in the Americas long before the Columbian Europeans. The stone heads provide striking, and, in my view, incontrovertible evidence of that presence, the absurdist Europhile description of them as "baby face" notwithstanding. It may ultimately prove to be the case that Mr. Von Sertima has been too conservative in his dating scheme, and that older, and more powerful, African dynasts are involved. Whatever the case, this book, and its argument, merit our attention.
Is the review positive or negative? 