In 2009, New York observed the 400-year anniversary of Henry Hudson's September 1609 discovery of Manhattan Island. This book chronicles the event from the perspective of the people who met Hudson’s boat—which they at first thought was surely a great waterfowl—floating. Using all available sources, including oral history passed down to today's Algonquins, Evan Pritchard tells the story from various perspectives: that of Hudson's body guard, scribe, and personal Judas, Robert Juet; that of Hudson himself; and that of the Eastern Algonquins who greeted Hudson as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies.

Evan T. Pritchard is a descendant of the Micmac people (part of the Algonquin nations) is the founder of the Center for Algonquin Culture. He is currently professor of Native American history at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he also teaches ethics and philosophy. He is the author of Native New Yorker: The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York and No Word for Time: The Way of the Algonquin People, among others.