Robert E. Anderson

Robert E. Anderson was an early twentieth-century historical writer identified in contemporary editions as Robert Edward Anderson, M.A., F.A.S. The Story of Extinct Civilizations of the West surveys the Americas through topics such as pre-Columbian voyages, Aztec society, archaeology in Mexico and North America, the Spanish conquests, and the civilizations of Peru. D. Appleton issued it in New York in 1904, and the Library of Congress holds a later 1915 edition. Anderson also wrote a companion volume on civilizations of the East, placing both books within a concise popular-history project. The western volume's chapter sequence moves from European ideas about exploration to encounters with Indigenous American societies, reflecting the terminology and assumptions of its publication era alongside its historical interests. Its account calls for attention to the period in which Anderson wrote. Digitized copies preserved by the Library of Congress and Project Gutenberg make it possible to examine the original contents, illustrations, maps, and author credit directly.