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Much of this story, the broader outlines, I was more than familiar with, having studied a reasonable amount of colonial history back in the day, but this work certainly fleshed out the story for me in many respects, even if at times it got a bit drawn out and repetitive. Philbrick is a very good nonfiction storyteller, especially his maritime pieces, and this is a good addition to his vita. The story itself reminds me of travesties meted out against Native Americans, cruelties delivered in order
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Wonderful book, well researched and well written. I must admit that as an American and a lover of history, prior to reading, I new painfully little of the history of the pilgrims, puritans, relations between the indigineous peoples and the settlers, etc... and pretty much bought into the myth of Thanksgiving, turkeys, broad hat, and all of that. The author does a nice job of balancing credit for peace and blame for war on the shoulders of who were responsible. He does take some right in assignin
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Wow this book was really good. I read quickly and I learned a lot about the pilgrims and the settlement and the years that followed. I would highly encourage every student of history to read about this chapter that is often overlooked in our nation's history.
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This is a really good look at the Pilgrims from a contemporary perspective, as opposed to the view we have of them today. The story is so different from the pictures we all grew up with of “the first Thanksgiving” but it also turns out to be very different from the more modern idea of the English as horrible colonizers. The truth, as is usually the case, is a lot more complicated and cooperative than either one of those scenarios, and it’s worth while to read this to solidify that truth. (The ho
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Thought is was history I had never known, the writing was a bit tiring and slow. It was less about the Mayflower than it was about Plymouth plantation and, indeed, the 1600s colonization of New England and how we, once again, destroyed a native culture.
This is based upon the audio download from [www.audible.com].
Narrated by: George Guidall
I thought I knew the story of the Mayflower until I read (listened) to this. I enjoyed learning of the actual voyage but never truly realized the hardships they faced when they landed. Then there was the 2-year King Philip's War that I had never heard of that decimated the native population. It was not the happy story of Thanksgiving that you think of when you think Mayflower. ...more
Narrated by: George Guidall
I thought I knew the story of the Mayflower until I read (listened) to this. I enjoyed learning of the actual voyage but never truly realized the hardships they faced when they landed. Then there was the 2-year King Philip's War that I had never heard of that decimated the native population. It was not the happy story of Thanksgiving that you think of when you think Mayflower. ...more
The first half of this book was fascinating--the descriptions of the settling of Plymouth colony were fantastic--he drew from a number of sources to add detailed accounts of the suffering of the men. Of course, the settlers relationships with the indians were a primary exploration in this book--however it eventually strayed into an entire history of King Philip's war (interesting enough, but I was primarily interested in the beginnings of the colony alone).
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Philbrick is always good - well researched and very readable. This was a really intersting history. Between Philbrick and Russell Shorto who did something similar with the sory of the New York colony, I'm glad to see that we have some good popular histories out on our colonial period, which is a time that very few Americans ever think about.
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I really didn't expect to become so engrossed by this book, but it's a fascinating mixture of adventure, religious zealotry, business, politics, and sadly genocide.
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I enjoyed the first few chapters, but my eyes glazed over while reading about all of the various battles. I guess it just wasn't what I was expecting.
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Mar 18, 2008
Tracyene
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Jun 19, 2009
Colleen Ryor
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Dec 14, 2009
Gaijinmama
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Dec 21, 2009
LaSchelle
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Feb 19, 2011
Kate MacKinnon
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Nov 12, 2016
Laura
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Jul 08, 2017
Shannon
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Sep 26, 2024
Lauren
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