Friday, October 11, 2013

Mayflower


Title: Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Author: Nathaniel Philbrick
Genre: History
Pages: 480
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Mayflower covers the history of the original Pilgrims from the time they leave England to the end of King Philip's War in 1678.  The book really isn't about the Mayflower voyage very much, but instead focuses on the relationship between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans during the first 50 years after the colonists arrived in the New World.  The two groups were able to maintain peace for a remarkably long time, but war was nearly inevitable by the end.
Thoughts: This is a period of history that rarely gets covered, and it's always seemed strange to me that we learn in school that the Pilgrim's landed in Plymouth in 1620 and then the Revolution happened in 1776.  There's 150 years there that we just never learn much about!  So, I enjoyed reading this book to help fill in the gap.  I thought it was well-written, but not grippingly so, and hence I'm only giving it 3 stars.  Still, it's fascinating material and I'm glad I read it and know at least a little bit more about this time period.
Disclaimer:  None.

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