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Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

10 Ratings: 3.6

2007 non-fiction book by Nathanial Philbrook

Starred Review.In this remarkable effort, National Book Award–winner Philbrick (In the Heart of the Sea) examines the history of Plymouth Colony. In the early 17th century, a small group of devout English Christians fled their villages to escape … see full wiki

Tags: Books, Colonial America, Colonial Period, Massachusetts History, William Bradford, Pilgrims

Author: Nathaniel Philbrick

Genre: History, Biography, Colonial Period

Publisher: Viking Adult

5 reviews about Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community,...

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review by drifter51. October 20, 2009

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A critical period in our history that Americans know precious little about.

A few years back I received "Mayflower" as a birthday gift from my mother-in-law. Although I read lots of books about history and politics this is probably not a book I would have bought myself. Shame on me. In "Mayflower: A Study of Courage, Community and War" author Nathaniel Philbrick has done a splendid job of clarifying just what happening in New England in the years 1620 to 1676. For sure it is a much more interesting and complicated story than … more

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review by frankiethek. December 14, 2006

Exploding the myths

Once again we have an excellent history book that digs beneath the legends and the myths about some cherished part of early American history. This time its the folks who colonized Plymouth, and who may or may not have landed on Plymouth Rock (I've seen this rock, and for some reason the date 1620 is carved into it!). We get the background of these hardy pioneers in Europe, their awful crossing of the Atlantic, and their "starving time" that first year. Then we see that they were really sustained … more

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review by Jerry_Saperstein. September 13, 2006

Excellent history of early America

Nathaniel Philbrick's exhaustive history of the first 57 years of the Plymouth colony and its relationship with the Indians. (Happily, throughout the book, Philbrick makes life easier for the the reader by disdaining politically correct terms like "Native Americans.") In its turn, Philbrick's history can also be exhausting. It is so filled with detail, much of it just slightly - and thus irritatingly - extraneous, that at times reading it is something of a battle. But the journey is worth it. … more

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review by bobkellemen. July 04, 2006

Beyond the Voyage

In the genre of David McCullough's popular narrative history, award-winning author Nathaniel Philbrick tells with vivid prose the untold tale behind the "Pilgrims and the Indians." Meticulously researched, read "Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War" only if you hold your American mythology lightly. Much of what we've learned from poetry, idealistic imagery, and elementary school texts is not so much wrong, as simple and shallow. Philbrick tells the more complicated, … more

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review by Lynn_Harnett. May 10, 2006

A dramatic, de-mythologized tale of strong personalities and human frailty

Once again Nathaniel Philbrick offers a well-organized and highly readable account of a pivotal period in American history - the founding of Plymouth Plantation and the 50 years of uneasy peace with the natives that culminated in the disastrous King Philip's War. From Philbrick's descriptions of the tiny, fetid Mayflower's storm-tossed, tension-filled voyage to the war's bloody scalpings, beheadings and slaughters, the writing is vivid, visual and often gut-wrenching. F … more

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