I know that this is ...[a] review of a work that has been out there (in translation) for many years... this is quite the best investigation of an intellectual/historical subject that I've ever seen.
... Took a chance, struck gold. Now look, I have degrees in History, have read 100's of books on that subject alone. Nothing like it has passed my old and weak eyes like this 'thing' of Gerbi's. Man's a genius. Delved into a subject long just not even imagined, drug it up, made it understandable, holy cow! Who knew! Surely not the multi Ph.D. friend who reacted much the same, "Buffon!, he said, I didn't know that". The Dispute of (or Argument about), the MEANING of New World is something (like Beard) that those interested in history simply cannot avoid, except at their peril.

This masterful work is a hallmark of scholarly effort and provides the undercurrent of American-European relations since discovery. Ever wonder why Jefferson digresses into a 15 page argument about the size of NA Elk in Notes on Virginia or who actually said "lazy, shiftless and incapable of civilization" and to whom they were referring or why Lewis' Dodsworth has an extended in-character argument about natural American abilities? This and much, much more await discovery here! Accept no more the presumed superiority of European culture -- not after you understand the history of the debate.