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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
Grand history of the Pilgrims
A grand overview of the history of those sojourners who ended up on Plymouth Rock, starting in England and ending in the vicious environment of king Philip's War
A grand overview of the history of those sojourners who ended up on Plymouth Rock, starting in England and ending in the vicious environment of king Philip's War
This is a lackluster rating from me; I'd rather give it 2.5 stars. It started out strong and then felt flat and repetitive once the war started. Maybe I just don't enjoy reading about the details of war. The battles all sound the same to me, and I don't care about each small group's movements, who fired a musket, who escaped for the umpteenth time, ad nauseum. However, the first half of the book was very interesting and showed how realistic the Pilgrims' story was compared to our whitewashed myth. I also really enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook; he was the perfect diction and tone for this historical nonfiction without being stuffy.
At a time of year when the "true history" of the first Thanksgiving is a popular topic, I found this book a great read. The author points out that while many of the depictions of this event in 1621 get details wrong, the broad strokes are correct. The Pilgrims received assistance from the nearest native tribe - the Pokanokets. When they held a harvest feast, many Pokanokets joined them.
The author's repeated point - that the Pilgrims and their descendants maintained peace with their native neighbors for 50 years, is an example of the complexities of history that get overlooked for political and narrative convenience. The book implies an argument that the Pilgrims and their descendants could have chosen a path different than the war and genocide that they did follow.
When the Pilgrims' minister, who stayed in Leiden, heard about their preemptive attacks on natives that threatened them, he wrote a letter. He said that it would have been better to seek to convert them rather than kill them. Who knows if war could have been perpetually avoided, but the book makes an argument that individual action set the tone for the relationship between natives and colonists. Had individuals made different choices, perhaps we would have more native tribes among us today, better integrated into the broader society.
One thing I didn't like, and the reason I didn't give it five stars, is the way the author jumped around. He would occasionally jump forward in history by decades. I found that confusing and couldn't follow why these jumps happened. The jumps broke the generally clear narrative.
I finished the book sad for the pain caused by selfishness, short-sightedness, disease, and pride. I also felt hope, because I can do better than they did. I am in the process of learning more about the people who preceded my ancestors in the places I have lived and I will teach my children about them. I will also continue to teach my children to have respect for others, no matter their differences. Hopefully we can create a world in which such terrible things stop happening.
The author's repeated point - that the Pilgrims and their descendants maintained peace with their native neighbors for 50 years, is an example of the complexities of history that get overlooked for political and narrative convenience. The book implies an argument that the Pilgrims and their descendants could have chosen a path different than the war and genocide that they did follow.
When the Pilgrims' minister, who stayed in Leiden, heard about their preemptive attacks on natives that threatened them, he wrote a letter. He said that it would have been better to seek to convert them rather than kill them. Who knows if war could have been perpetually avoided, but the book makes an argument that individual action set the tone for the relationship between natives and colonists. Had individuals made different choices, perhaps we would have more native tribes among us today, better integrated into the broader society.
One thing I didn't like, and the reason I didn't give it five stars, is the way the author jumped around. He would occasionally jump forward in history by decades. I found that confusing and couldn't follow why these jumps happened. The jumps broke the generally clear narrative.
I finished the book sad for the pain caused by selfishness, short-sightedness, disease, and pride. I also felt hope, because I can do better than they did. I am in the process of learning more about the people who preceded my ancestors in the places I have lived and I will teach my children about them. I will also continue to teach my children to have respect for others, no matter their differences. Hopefully we can create a world in which such terrible things stop happening.
As a genealogist with direct ancestors who arrived in Maine in 1626 this book was fascinating. The actual voyage of the Mayflower was interesting, but the account of their arrival and the next 50 years had me reading into the wee hours of the morning. Philbrick describes the first years of misery and death, sickness, hunger and discovery; and of the support of the Pokenokets, the sachem Massasoit, and Squanto. The second half of the book focuses on King Philip's war of 1675 which just about decimated the Native American population of New England and in which several of my direct ancestors perished or were captured by the Indians. The machinations and horrific attitude on both sides created a war in which there were no winners.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Clearly I'm the minority here but I found this book raises almost as many questions as it answers, which boggles my mind since there is a 28-page bibliography (in, like, 9 pt font) and it is clearly deeply researched. The Notes are of minimal help with direct answers but does a detailed job directing the reader to sources.
Despite the rather dry writing, a bunch of names I may or may not need to remember, and a whole lotta sailing/boating terminology I just don't get, the first 2/3 of the book, while not gripping by any means, is interesting. It works its way through 50 years or so and contains some interesting anecdotes and information not often found elsewhere.
But at Part IV, it suddenly turns into the type of history book I hate: name, date, place that is not longer called that; name, date, place to the east of previously named place; name, date, somewhere in between the two but not entirely sure where.
This continues for the last 1/3 of the book which covers only 14 months. Because there seems to be so much "he said/she said" with this form of writing, my note reads "This sounds more like a bunch of 8th graders picking on each other than a war," which is a horrific way to think about a conflict that ended with a lot of heads on pikes and eliminated 60-80% of the Native Americans in southern New England and 8% of the Plymouth Colony's men.
There is a startling lack of information/insight into why the war was continuing and what the ultimate goal of either group was. The short answer is "land" and yet there is no follow-up to how that "land" was colonized, occupied, sold, etc. immediately following the war.
The last two chapters give a nice wrap-up of relevant information about the myths that later developed around the Pilgrims' beginnings and the English/Indian conflict.
Despite the rather dry writing, a bunch of names I may or may not need to remember, and a whole lotta sailing/boating terminology I just don't get, the first 2/3 of the book, while not gripping by any means, is interesting. It works its way through 50 years or so and contains some interesting anecdotes and information not often found elsewhere.
But at Part IV, it suddenly turns into the type of history book I hate: name, date, place that is not longer called that; name, date, place to the east of previously named place; name, date, somewhere in between the two but not entirely sure where.
This continues for the last 1/3 of the book which covers only 14 months. Because there seems to be so much "he said/she said" with this form of writing, my note reads "This sounds more like a bunch of 8th graders picking on each other than a war," which is a horrific way to think about a conflict that ended with a lot of heads on pikes and eliminated 60-80% of the Native Americans in southern New England and 8% of the Plymouth Colony's men.
There is a startling lack of information/insight into why the war was continuing and what the ultimate goal of either group was. The short answer is "land" and yet there is no follow-up to how that "land" was colonized, occupied, sold, etc. immediately following the war.
The last two chapters give a nice wrap-up of relevant information about the myths that later developed around the Pilgrims' beginnings and the English/Indian conflict.
I appreciated the narrative and the history lesson. I learned more about my ancestors, which traveled on the Mayflower to the “New World”. The book reminded me that there is so much more depth to history than the broad strokes that are often painted in school lessons. Further proof, for me, that we can never stop learning.
That being said, the war chapters, which was most of the second half of the book, lost my interest very quickly. I’m not sure the author could have or should have written about those historical events any differently, they just didn’t earn my attention.
That being said, the war chapters, which was most of the second half of the book, lost my interest very quickly. I’m not sure the author could have or should have written about those historical events any differently, they just didn’t earn my attention.
I really enjoy exploring history and I always have, but there is something to be said about seeking it out as an adult. We tend to gloss over moments or even ignore facts to fit the version of the story we want to entertain. The story of of the Pilgrims and the Mayflower as well as the encounter with our native brothers and sisters is one worth seeking out. This is my second Philbrick book and I have to say I am very impressed with his writing. While I will say that [b: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex|17780|In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex|Nathaniel Philbrick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1335902168s/17780.jpg|1640941] was a more entertaining and fascinating book for me, this one holds more significance to the American story. I enjoy his enthusiasm for history, especially nautical themed history and I want to read his many other books pertaining to American history. I can't recommend this enough, especially reading it around Thanksgiving.
less imperialist/colonialist than i'd expected, which was nice. a relatively well-balanced look at the vagaries of international diplomacy when one half of the equation thinks god has given them a mandate to take all the land.