Amazon.com
On the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, you won't want to confuse Matthew Sharpe's new novel by that name with the many commemorative histories that are coming out alongside it. In this gleefully anachronistic and deeply scatological tale, history repeats itself in a post-apocalyptic future that's as violent as the past. Sharpe connects many of the familiar historical dots (Pocahontas saves Captain John Smith and falls for John Rolfe, for example), but his settlers don't arrive from across the Atlantic in search of new land for tobacco: they flee a Manhattan where the Chrysler Building has just collapsed and the water is poison, driving an armored bus down the ruins of I-95 in search of the supplies of gas and clean food that they hope the territory of Virginia might provide. Amid the gore and smut, you'll find a surprisingly touching love story, starring a restless, de-Disneyed, and thoroughly charming Pocahontas, and thrillingly inventive language on every page that skims from Elizabethan archaism to IM slang and back, often in the same sentence. --Tom Nissley
Questions for Matthew Sharpe
Jamestown is Matthew Sharpe's fourth book (his previous novel, The Sleeping Father broke out into wide readership, thanks in part to a surprise Today show book club selection). We asked him a few questions about his latest work.
Amazon.com: What attracted you to the Jamestown story (aside, of course, from cashing in on the 400th anniversary)?
Sharpe: For a dozen years I worked as a writer in residence in New York City public schools for a nonprofit called Teachers & Writers Collaborative. In the late '90s a group of middle-school teachers in Queens asked me to help them develop some creative writing exercises for a unit they were about to teach on the Jamestown settlement of 1607 in Virginia. I read John Smith's several accounts of his sojourn there, made up some writing exercises, road-tested them, and liked the material so much I decided to do a big, novel-length writing exercise about it. I was drawn to the extremity of the story, the big personalities--Smith, Pocahontas, Powhatan--and, well, the awfulness of it. The story of Jamestown functions as one of the founding myths of our nation, and I wanted to highlight how America began in violence, bloodshed, and a level of incompetence that would be ridiculous had it not been so deadly; in other words, Jamestown was a lot like the administration of George W. Bush.
As for cashing in, I leave that to lottery winners and poker champions.
Amazon.com: You reveal how the former United States has come to this post-apocalyptic state of affairs in bits and pieces. Did you work that future history out for yourself beforehand, or did you just fill it in on the go, as needed?
Sharpe: I'm inclined to use the term post-annihilation rather than post-apocalyptic, since "apocalypse" implies revelation, i.e., the receiving of some crucial, maybe even divine knowledge. I don't see the people in my novel being the beneficiaries of that kind of knowledge, though some of them are struggling mightily to attain it. And I had a really good model for the post-annihilation future I depict, namely, the pre-annihilation present, presided over by the world's superpower-of-the-moment, us. As for working out my imaginary future beforehand or making it up as I went along: the latter, always the latter. The novel is an improvisation--a structured one, I hope, but the excitement (and terror) of writing fiction for me derives from the way I am always simultaneously playing the game and making up the game.
Amazon.com: How did you choose which elements from the original Jamestown story to include, and which to discard?
Sharpe: Mostly by intuition. I knew I wanted a cross-cultural love story and a cross-cultural horror story to co-exist: this would be the central tension of the novel, each would offset the other, or so I hoped. The primarily economic purpose of the original settlers also seemed important to include. The rest I used or invented as guided by presentiment. And, for better or worse, the things I say in interviews about the novel are mostly retroactive insights--hypotheses more than explanations. The person who wrote the book knows more about it than the person answering these questions does.
Amazon.com: Ben Marcus has written, "My feeling is that the impossible must be made viable, and only through language, that language is not subject to the laws of physics and therefore must not be restricted to conservative notions of 'sense' and 'nonsense,' but must pursue what appears impossible in order to discover the basic things." What's your take on that?
Sharpe: I like what Ben Marcus does with language in his own fiction and in his essays about other peoples'. I'd say one of the ways I tried to use language to depict the impossible in Jamestown was to represent the past, the present, and the future happening simultaneously. This happens at the level of content--people in a future America living one of America's originary historical events as if it had never happened before--and, I hope, it also happens at the level of style--people talking in English that is Shakespearean one moment, Keatsean the next, Otis Reddingesque the next, or all in the same sentence, or word.
Amazon.com: Jamestown is dedicated to Lore Segal, who is known in my house as the author of the fabulous kids' book, Tell Me a Mitzi, but who has had a long and varied career beyond that. What led you to honor her so?
Sharpe: Lore Segal is an excellent human being and was perhaps the most important writing teacher I had. I took a course with her at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan several years after graduating from college. It was all so dicey, "being a writer," it required an audacity I was attempting to muster. Lore's encouragement, her generosity, her good humor, her ability to help me figure out which parts of what I was doing were worth pursuing--these qualities of this wonderful woman helped me muster that audacity. She has a new book out called Shakespeare's Kitchen. Dear readers, if you have not already, please read the short story in there called "The Reverse Bug," and then, when you climb up off the floor, read the rest of the book.
Book Description
Jamestown chronicles a group of “settlers” (more like survivors) from the ravaged island of Manhattan, departing just as the Chrysler Building has mysteriously plummeted to the earth. This ragged band is heading down what’s left of I-95 in a half-school bus, half-Millennium Falcon. Their goal is to establish an outpost in southern Virginia, find oil, and exploit the Indians controlling the area. Based on actual accounts of the Jamestown settlement from 1607 to 1617, Jamestown features historical characters including John Smith, Pocahontas, and others enacting an imaginative re-version of life in the pioneer colony. In this retelling, Pocahontas’s father Powhatan is half-Falstaff, half-Henry V, while his consigliere is a psychiatrist named Sidney Feingold. John Martin gradually loses body parts in a series of violent encounters, and John Smith is a ruthless and pragmatic redhead continually undermining the aristocratic leadership. Communication is by text-messaging, IMing, and, ultimately, telepathy. Punctuated by jokes, rhymes, “rim shot” dialogue, and bloody black-comic tableaux, Jamestown is a trenchant commentary on America's past and present that confirms Matthew Sharpe’s status as a major talent in contemporary fiction.
Customer Reviews:
old weird America.......2007-09-28
Matthew Sharpe's America here is the America of Blood Meridian, a childlike, exuberant, and reflexively violent America. The writing is simultaneously coarse and refined, broad in its obsessions, but cutting and precise in its arch vocabulary. It also keeps its sense of humor all the way through. As absurdist and outlandish as this post-Apocalyptic mashup is, it remains true to the metaphors of the Jamestown settlement. The characters are well-delineated, and it's easy to relate to both the "native" populations and the interlopers as they struggle with cross-cultural communication, one's responsibilities to one's society, and what it's like to fall for a stranger who can scarcely conceive of your roots. John Rolfe's stoned reading of a Rorschach inkblot is a tour de force, moving deftly from the scatological to the heartbreaking, all the while hewing to the novel's own self-made mythos. Sharpe is conscientious about paying off his enigmas, like the red skin of the tribesman, their ability to speak English, and the nature of the war between Manhattan and Brooklyn. He's also good about slipping in historical and cultural nuggets, both ancient and modern. My only issue was with the obvious difficulty of sustaining such an over-the-top narrative. The relentlessness did get to be a little wearing on the backside of the arc.
A Weird and Funny Book.......2007-07-05
Matthew Sharpe's Jamestown takes a story that Americans are at least tangentially familiar with--the disastrous founding of Jamestown in Virginia in 1607--and transforms it into a post-apocalyptic satire. All the familiar names are here Smith, Rolfe, Powhatan and Pocahontas, but now these adventurers and Indians, the survivors of some terrible past doom, find themselves in a blasted brave new world full of violence and uncertainty. This might not sound like the stuff of fall-on-the-floor-laughing comedy, but in Sharpe's hands, it is. Divided into several first-person chapters, Sharpe allows his characters to reveal this re-hashed history in every terrible detail, from the execrable conditions at the colonists' camp to the fatally hilarious encounters between the two groups. It isn't easy to juggle so many characters, but Sharpe does so ably with a mixture of wit, cynicism, and linguistic brio, not seen in letters since Nabokov. The first-person narratives by turns are terrifying, funny, and sad (and usually all of those at once), and it is to Sharpe's credit that even the most repugnant characters are not above our sympathies. Sharpe saves the real lit fireworks, however, for his Pocahontas, who here, is a fast-talking, intelligent, vulnerable, monologist. Trust me when I tell you won't find any "Color of the Wind" fluff, here. (The character's e-mail and instant message exchanges with her sort-of beloved, Johnny Rolfe, are hilarious send ups of e-culture.) She is the funny, cynical, tragic center of this novel and one of many, many reasons why you should pick it up.
Jamestown.......2007-07-01
Gave this one star only because you din't have "0" listed. Don't bother to read. It is disjointed and difficult to follow. I read the author interview and gained some insight...he has a political axe to grind, unfortunatly he must have cut himself on the axe, the book is awful.
Tour de Tour de Force.......2007-06-27
The "Today" show and Anne Tyler's praise first brought my attention to Matthew Sharpe. I bought "The Sleeping Father," his last novel, and was completely floored--a satirical and wry comment on American life that at it heart still has heart, such a rare artistic achievement. So I'll admit, I was predisposed to enjoy whatever came next. Jamestown is more than I could have hoped for. The first thing I love about it--something I love about all great works of literature--is that you have a difficult time describing it. I want to say it's a road book, a little like Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," in that respect. But it's so much more. On the surface, it takes us into the future, at a point when Manhattan and Brooklyn are at war, in the post-apocalyptic ruins of America. A company of men is dispatched to Jamestown, Virginia, where they come in contact with the local tribe of Native Americans, about whom I can say no more without giving too much away. Suffice it to say that in an acid rain world of polluted waters, poisonous air, and species evolution gone wild, the "Indians" seems to have learned how to survive. Jamestown has love stories, war stories, and an underlying analysis of humans in struggles for power. As far as women go, the teenage Pocahontas, diary writing to the world on wireless, is a character that, if I have it right, will go down in literary history: she is a joy to be with, a page-turning treat. The book has so many levels that I don't even know how to communicate them--Sharpe writes sentences that almost comment on themselves but never end up being anything less than lyrical and just beautiful. Jamestown is about America, war, and ultimately about love. It's beautifully crafted and, despite its intellectual and analytical heft that hits you when its all over, it reads like a thriller, each small chapter racing you ahead on the road into that runs simultaneously into the past and the future of America. I'm probably not being clear, so let me say this about it before I wrap up: amazing! I just have one question about the book, and that is: why isn't everyone reading Jamestown? Right now?
It was okay. maybe..........2007-06-02
I realize my title is rather blasé, but I can't garner much enthusiasm for this novel. While I did really like small sections of the book, characters may be more accurate, overall I did not enjoy it. I thought of giving up like a previous reviewer but stuck with it only to be very confused and disappointed. I really like the two main characters and Powhatan, but that's about it.
Book Description
The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History incorporates the sacred oral history of the Mattaponi that has been passed down to Lin "Little Bear" since his childhood, by his father, the late Mattaponi Chief Webster "Little Eagle" Custalow; his uncle, the late Mattaponi Chief O. T. Custalow; and grandfather, the late Mattaponi Chief George F. Custalow; and those that came before. The Mattaponi Indian tribe, along with the Pamunkey tribe, was one of the original core tribes of the Powhatan Chiefdom, which the English colonists encountered in the 17th century while establishing Jamestown. For nearly 400 years people have heard the Euro-American rendition and interpretation of events that transpired between the English colonists and the Powhatan Indians. The True Story of Pocahontas is the first public publication of the Powhatan perspective that has been maintained and passed down from generation to generation within the Mattaponi Tribe, and the first written history of Pocahontas by her own people. The True Story of Pocahontas will be published in 2007, in connection with the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Colony.
Customer Reviews:
A book everyone should read.......2007-07-18
The authors of this book felt that this was the time to finally tell the true story of Pocahontas, and I completely agree. It's time people, especially Americans, face the truth that has been shrouded in romantic myth for far too long. It may be difficult for some to think of such historical figures as John Smith, John Rolfe and others to be anything but heroes, but it's far more important to the history of this country that the truth be told. The Mattaponi, Pocahontas's tribe, has kept their secret knowledge of the truth to themselves for 400 years. It is with bravery and no doubt a sense of relief that they finally decided to share it with the world. The time for Disney movies and romaticized stories is over: it is now time for the truth.
A Must-Read for 2007.......2007-04-12
This is a very important story that should be read by as many people as possible. It is essential that we recognize the value of oral history--and the other side of history that is presented here. We generally know so little about the native people who interacted with the English settlers of Jamestown--their beliefs, their way of life, and their perspective. We are very fortunate that Dr. Custalow was willing to share the story that he knows with the rest of us, particularly as we turn our attention to Jamestown during this "celebration" year. It is beautifully and evocatively written and well worth your time and thought. I know that reading it has affected me, and increased my understanding of this pivotal time in our nation's history. Thank you for your contribution, Dr. Custalow.
Review of The True Story of Pocahontas.......2007-04-11
After reading this version of Pocahontas, a lot of things became clearer to me. I could never understand how, when the Natives from the rest of the United States were treated so horribly by the Anglos, that the Natives of Virginia escaped, virtually unscathed, during the time of Powhatan. It was very informative, beautifully written and I am grateful that the truth has been told. My congratulations go out to both Linwood Custalow and Angie Daniels for writing this book. I know that Chief Webster 'Little Eagle' Custalow, from his present vantage point, is very proud of this contribution to history. I only wish that he were here, in person, to tell you this.
Thank you for sharing,
Barbara 'Little Doe' Adkins
Gloucester, Virginia
The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History.......2007-03-14
The book tells a "new" story to me from the standpoint of the Powhatan Indians of Virginia. I enjoyed learning of Pocahontas from the viewpoint of her ancestors. This oral history of her life was enlightening. It made me rethink how my English ancestors behaved and how they may not have been as truthful and honest to a trusting Powhatan Indian Chief, Pocahontas's father, to gain successful knowledge about planting and growing crops in the "New World." I also never knew that Pocahontas might have been kidnapped by the settlers. To learn in this book that Pocahontas may have been poisoned in England, where she died, it was very sad.
Great read!
Thanks to Dr. Custalow.
Average customer rating:
- Nicely paced read...I learned a lot and enjoyed it
- Timely read! Made me want to visit Jamestown again!
- What a great read, please tell us more of Smith's earlier story
- Good, readable popular history, but with a doozy of a mistake
- Engaging
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Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation
David A. Price
Manufacturer: Vintage
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1400031729
Release Date: 2005-01-04 |
Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book and a
San Jose Mercury News Top 20 Nonfiction Book of 2003
In 1606, approximately 105 British colonists sailed to America, seeking gold and a trade route to the Pacific. Instead, they found disease, hunger, and hostile natives. Ill prepared for such hardship, the men responded with incompetence and infighting; only the leadership of Captain John Smith averted doom for the first permanent English settlement in the New World.
The Jamestown colony is one of the great survival stories of American history, and this book brings it fully to life for the first time. Drawing on extensive original documents, David A. Price paints intimate portraits of the major figures from the formidable monarch Chief Powhatan, to the resourceful but unpopular leader John Smith, to the spirited Pocahontas, who twice saved Smith’s life. He also gives a rare balanced view of relations between the settlers and the natives and debunks popular myths about the colony. This is a superb work of history, reminding us of the horrors and heroism that marked the dawning of our nation.
Customer Reviews:
Nicely paced read...I learned a lot and enjoyed it.......2007-07-10
I really enjoyed this work and enjoyed its pacing and the way the author weaved the historical narrative with the characters and the sense of timeline. A great overview of the period and I would recommend this one. A well balanced book to help the reader understand the period and how things were viewed. In fact I was anxious to see if I could get other books by this author!
Timely read! Made me want to visit Jamestown again!.......2007-05-07
Easy read. Couldn't imagine how I missed some of these details in US History, but nonetheless so glad I picked it up - could not put it down.
What a great read, please tell us more of Smith's earlier story.......2007-04-12
Love and Hate in Jamestown is a very enjoyable and very readable antidote to the usual Pocahontas nonsense cooked up by disney and more recently presented in the new world. Chock full of well researched facts and anecdotes about this remarkable chapter in America's history. Price's accounts about John Smith's life before he came to Virginia sounds at least as fascinating as what he achieved once he was in Virginia. He stands as one of the archetypes of the early Americans, combining all of those qualities good and bad, which have ultimately defined us as a people.
Good, readable popular history, but with a doozy of a mistake.......2007-04-05
Smoothly written and, for the most part, well edited, this is probably a fine introduction to the history of the Virginia colony in the early 17th century.
There are two flaws, one minor and one major. First, the author (or, more likely, the editors) sometimes dumbs down too much (e.g., he takes a paragraph to explain what "trade winds" are, and defines "longitude"--readers would either know about these already or have a dictionary at hand). Second, the book's one map of eastern Virginia has an inexcusable error: Jamestown is shown to be in the area of modern-day Fort Eustis, about 10 miles east of where it really was! This is equivalent to publishing an account of the New Netherlands with a map showing New Amsterdam in the Bronx, or one of the New England Puritans that has them siting Boston where Newton is. I hope this was noticed and fixed for the paperback and other editions.
Engaging.......2007-01-20
I really enjoyed reading this book. I found myself anxious to get home to read it every night. Price was very informative and his writing flowed nicely. My wife and I look forward to our trip to Jamestown for the 400th anniversary.
Book Description
From the author and photographer who brought us "a new genre of art book" in Albemarle: A Story of Landscape and American Identity comes a new collaborative effort detailing the story of our nation's birth: Jamestown and the Making of America. This beautiful work of photography and prose traces the ways in which American culture grew out of the conflict that characterized the first contact between Native Americans and Europeans. Expanding in their unique treatment of Albemarle County, the artists use photographs from our time to suggest both the ancient and recent pasts, creating a virtual experience from the Colonial era into modern times. Telling this great story in modern terms by dusting off the history to reveal the main players as fresh and alive today as they were then, Jamestown and the Making of America beautifully depicts a landscape synonymous with American history, from its tumultuous beginning through today.
Customer Reviews:
Empires in the Forest.......2007-01-13
This is an extraordinary book. A sensitive collaboration between photographer and author, it suggests a broad emotional landscape in which to view the founding of Jamestown. Intellectual bearings are difficult, given Chenoweth's fictional handling of the material. But the brilliant photography of Robert Llewellyn grounds the work in what clearly was the book's intent--an artful evocation of the ephemeral nature of American history.
Personal connection.......2007-01-09
We are fortunate to know one of the indian men prominently featured in this book. That made it very special to us. We are delighted that it is published at this time of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. It will be a valuable learning tool for generations. We delighted in reading it and then presented it to one of our children and our grandchildren. The excitement of knowing our indian friend added to the enjoymnent of the book and the anticipation of visiting Jamestown.
Timeless and memorable re-telling of the Jamestown story!.......2006-10-30
This book is a special experience. The format combines a sort of historical fiction approach with beautiful photographs portraying the English, the Native Americans, and the timeless beauty of the natural world in coastal Virginia. The text explores the complex relationships of Captain John Smith, chief Powhatan, Opechancanough, Pocahontas, and John Rolfe, and how it resulted in the destruction of the native Americans and the creation of a new nation, America, based on the profit motive.
This is a tale told so many times before. But somehow this is one of the best versions ever-it really is more accesible than a scholarly treatise. A great deal of heartbreak, a great deal of depth and understanding, and a pretty clear differentiation between what we are sure of and what is still unclear. You have to experience this book.
Book Description
1607: A New Look at Jamestown is the last word on America's first colony. With expert appraisal of new archaeological evidence, this National Geographic title stands alone for timely authority and visual appeal.
Karen Lange's gripping narrative incorporates analysis of the latest discoveries from the Jamestown site. The text has been researched with the help of National Geographic grantee Dr. William Kelso. The pages come alive with Ira Block's stunning photography, detailing newly discovered artifacts, and highlighting authentic Jamestown reenactments. Compelling new theories, a National Geographic period map, and stunning reenactment photography take us back to Jamestown in 1607, where the course of our country's history changed forever.
Customer Reviews:
Review - 1607: A New Look at Jamestown.......2007-06-26
When I was growing up in western New York, studying colonial America was about the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock. It was not about Jamestown, even though the landing at Jamestown occurred 13 years earlier. I learned a lot about Jamestown upon moving to Virginia, and with the 400th anniversary this year, I've learned even more.
In recent years, finding text resources about Jamestown that present a true picture of colonization, warts and all, has been hard to find. This situation has changed with the publication of Karen Lange's book, 1607: A New Look at Jamestown. Lange, a journalist and writer with National Geographic Magazine, presents a brief history of the settling of Jamestown using new archaeological evidence to tell the story.
The Foreword begins in this fashion:
Many people feel that to discover the past, all you have to do is find a book, open the pages, and read a single story. That couldn't be farther from the truth. History is not static: It is not a single story. Simple discovery may only yield you one layer. To really begin to understand the multi-faceted stories that make up our past, you must dig beyond what we think we know. You must discover and then re-discover.
This volume takes these words to heart as it reveals the recent discoveries at the Jamestown archaeological site. Supported by an extensive bibliography of primary sources, Lange presents the grim reality that was the founding of this American colony. The narrative describes the settlers' struggles through the artifacts left behind. Color photographs of the dig site, found treasures, and historical reenactment scenes give readers a glimpse of what life was like for those who lived inside the Jamestown fort.
Lange does an especially good job of describing how native peoples were living when the settlers arrived, and how their arrival forever changed their way of life. Lange even highlights the response of the Paspahegh (Powhatan) descendants to the planned celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, noting:
"For the Indians, Jamestown is nothing to celebrate. To them, it meant the end of their ancestors' way of life."
I was completely enthralled by this book and found myself engaged by the remarkable, yet difficult history presented. Believe me, this is not the standard fare served up in history textbooks. Don't miss this amazing book on a bit of American history you only think you know. I highly recommend it.
an excellent resource.......2007-03-21
In a little under 50 pages, Ms Lange has captured the essence of what life was like in the New World in first decades of the 17th c. She provides an even-handed treatment of Native Americans, the strengths and follies of the English and the terrible ordeals that beset both groups. Her coverage of the most recent findings of archeologists show the misconceptions and biases that have crept into the history books over the ensuing centuries--until now. My 16 year old son used 1607: A New Look at Jamestown as one of his sources for a report in AP US history class, and it was a real eye-opener to him and to me. With wonderful photographs of found relics and recreated scenes, this book brings to life a period and a people who have always taken a back seat to the Pilgrim story. I would highly recommend this book to any parent of a child, pre-teen or teen that shows a curiosity for history. Rather than dumbing-down, Ms Lange dazzles.
Book Description
Pocahontas may be the most famous Native American who ever lived, but during the settlement of Jamestown, and for two centuries afterward, the great chiefs Powhatan and Opechancanough were the subjects of considerably more interest and historical documentation than the young woman. It was Opechancanough who captured the foreign captain "Chawnzmit" -- John Smith. Smith gave Opechancanough a compass, described to him a spherical earth that revolved around the sun, and wondered if his captor was a cannibal. Opechancanough, who was no cannibal and knew the world was flat, presented Smith to his elder brother, the paramount chief Powhatan. The chief, who took the name of his tribe as his throne name (his personal name was Wahunsenacawh), negotiated with Smith over a lavish feast and opened the town to him, leading Smith to meet, among others, Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas. Thinking he had made an ally, the chief finally released Smith. Within a few decades, and against their will, his people would be subjects of the British Crown.
Despite their roles as senior politicians in these watershed events, no biography of either Powhatan or Opechancanough exists. And while there are other "biographies" of Pocahontas, they have for the most part elaborated on her legend more than they have addressed the known facts of her remarkable life. As the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's founding approaches, nationally renowned scholar of Native Americans, Helen Rountree, provides in a single book the definitive biographies of these three important figures. In their lives we see the whole arc of Indian experience with the English settlers -- from the wary initial encounters presided over by Powhatan, to the uneasy diplomacy characterized by the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe, to the warfare and eventual loss of native sovereignty that came during Opechancanough's reign.
Writing from an ethnohistorical perspective that looks as much to anthropology as the written records, Rountree draws a rich portrait of Powhatan life in which the land and the seasons governed life and the English were seen not as heroes but as Tassantassas (strangers), as invaders, even as squatters. The Powhatans were a nonliterate people, so we have had to rely until now on the white settlers for our conceptions of the Jamestown experiment. This important book at last reconstructs the other side of the story.
Customer Reviews:
The True Story Of Pocahontas, John Smith and Chief Powhatan.......2005-11-22
Everyone is familiar with the story of Pocahontas and British explorer/adventurer John Smith. They are romantic stories fed to us by the likes of Disney (10 yrs ago in the 1995 film) and countless romanticized versions in historical fiction novels. This "documentary" book exposes the truth about what really happened in the span of time that John Smith, Jon Rolfe and the Virginia Company founded Jamestown and dealt with the Indian tribes headed by Chief Powhatan and his brother Openchancanough. Since Thanksgiving is fast approaching, this makes a fine book to read if you are interested in the earliest British colonial period of the 1600's, when the pilgrims fist arrived in the Eastern coast of the United States. This period has been romanticized by movies and novels, evoking a thrilling time of danger, intrigue and romance, when Indians and colonists sparred and sometimes made peace, even made love. Princess Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan. She was only fifteen or so when she first met Jon Smith and a romance was highly unlikely, even if perhaps the girl felt an attraction to the supposedly attractive adventurer. John Smith had traveled across the globe to foreign lands as a British explorer and was in his day a bad boy. That he may have gotten into trouble with Chief Powhatan and his people is probably true. Pocahontas was a diplomat, a healer/medicine woman and regarded as a peacemaker. Even if she didn't do a dramatic a thing as offer herself up as sacrifice to save John Smith's life, she did for a time lessen tension between the natives and the colonists. She married Jon Rolfe, a British nobleman, was converted to Christianity, learned to read and speak English. She journeyed across the Atlantic, leaving behind her old life in the tribe and became a popular figure in London society. She became a lady. Most people forget about this phase in her life and it must have been a very interesting story within itself. Did she miss her old life ? Was she as respected in London or did she experience a form of racism because she was not a white English lady ? Powhatan's life is documented well in this book. He was a very influential man in his time and he, too, was able to negotiate with the English. Jamestown brought these people together. They hoped that Jamestown would be an independent, Utopian society where English and natives could live and prosper. Unfortunately, Jamestown succumbed to disease and death. The dream died and conflict between natives and colonists resumed. If you're a big history buff, this book is for you.
Pieces of the Real Jamestown and its Major Players.......2005-08-08
The major theme of POCAHONTAS POWHATAN OPECHANCANOUGH: THREE INDIAN LIVES CHANGED BY JAMESTOWN revolves around truth. For each story that has been told about Virginia's Jamestown settlement or Pocahontas in general, its has centered on the Captain John Smith and Pocahontas legend and myth that has been overly romanticized in novels and in movies. At this time, no scholar has made the attempt to intertwine the Indian voice within the English story of Jamestown. However, Helen Rountree attempts to provide the Native American voice, but from letters and accounts by English colonists and foreigners. It is unfortunate that the Indians did not record their accounts of the arrival of these new world settlers, or as Rountree suggests, invaders. Nonetheless, Rountree places the three major participants' semi-biographical accounts at the forefront of this study in order to incorporate their contribution to the settlement as well as the invasion of white colonists to the Indian landscape.
Rountree examines these three major actors and their way of life from anthropological perspective. Indeed, this is an historical narrative that deals with ethnohistory, but one that is " about one side only" (p. 6). Historians study their subject matters in order to get to the bottom of how an event occurred and its end result - think in terms of the past while writing in the present. Rountree takes the same approach, and studied the Powhatan side with why and how they acted the way they did. Rountree is critical and frank about past accounts of the Jamestown story as told by historian, William Strachey, HISTORIE OF TRAVELL INTO VIRGINIA BRITANIA and his plagiarized version of John Smith's narrative, GENERALL HISTORIE, which takes an English perspective that downplays the Indian presence. Rountree clarifies misconceptions that have been told within past narratives.
Chronologically, the book covers the period from 1607 to 1644. With these periods, one has a time frame to work with. Rountree provides an in depth analysis of the inception and deterioration of relations between natives and colonists of the Virginia Company's settlement in Jamestown and the wars that concurred in 1622 and 1644. The book shows how life was like before the colonists, and the significance of Powhatan daily rituals. Rountree's expertise in so-called "digging deep" to the root of origins from an anthropological point of view allows the reader to understand how life was simple and structured for the Powhatans. Rountree suggests that life only later became complicated when the Indians had to provide and teach the colonists how to survive. In the process, both Indians and colonists discovered that their lifestyles and environments were different than what they had been accustomed to.
For the sake of understanding, POCAHONTAS POWHATAN OPECHANCANOUGH will allow readers of history to see the bigger picture of the Jamestown story that took place three centuries ago. Although this history has already passed, its legacy and myths continues to engage readers. Helen Rountree should be commended for taken the task to reveal the real Pocahontas as human as possible and not as a Disney cutout, and to emphasize the predominant role of chief leader, Powhatan, and his successor or "brother", Opechancanough as essential actors in American history.
Review.......2005-08-03
Most interesting. A story of the founding of Jamestown from the Indian point of view. It is a family tradition that we are descended from Powhatan, and the story meant a great deal to me.
Book Description
Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the ship the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can't believe his good fortune. He's heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he had ever imagined.The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it's hard to know who's a friend or foe. As he learns the language of the Algonquin Indians and observes Captain Smith's wise diplomacy, Samuel begins to see that he can be whomever he wants to be in this new land.
Customer Reviews:
Blood on the River.......2007-05-17
1607 was a big year for America. It was the year that settlers came to America and in the end it was how the country started. Blood on the River ia a fictional book, based on a historical event, written by Elisa Carbone about the first ship to come to Jamestown. It is written in the prospective of an English boy coming to America. The boy's name is Samuel and he is to serve Captain John Smith in the New World. Captain Smith teaches Samuel everything that he needs to know to surive in America.
Blood on the River catches the reader's eye. The whole book was magnificent but the end was the one part of the book that you wouldn't want to miss. The book ended on a very highnote and there was a lot of courage and heroism involved. I like how Elisa Carbone made the characters stand out from the rest of the book. I also like how she incorporated the true facts like the Starving Time even though it was a fictional account.
I didn't like the lack of action. I know some people might disagree with me, but I am a person that likes a lot of action and I didn't see that in this book. I think that she didn't use as much detail as she could have. I think there was more room to add detail without making it too boring. I think that Blood on the River was good for the most part, though.
Above I stated that the author could have added more to the action side. One way that I think she could fix that is to talk more about the battles. I think that the battles were not described as well as they could have been and lacked a lot of detail. From what I know about Jamestown, I know that one of the worst hardships were the attacks by the Indians. I don't think that the book showed how bad attacks were back then.
I think that this would be a good book for you if you like fiction based on history. With 2007 being the 400th anniversay of Jamestown now would be a good time to read Blook on the River. I think that this is a phenomenal book for people that like history or those who are just looking for a fictional book. Blood on the River is a new release so you might want to get it fast or it might be sold out.
Great book to commemorate 400th anniversary of James Town.......2007-01-16
Blood on the River is the tale of Samuel Collier, an actual settler of the James Town colony in 1607. In Elisa Carbone's telling, the young orphaned Collier becomes the page to Captain John Smith and soon finds himself on board the ship the Susan Constant, heading towards the New World. The journey is harsh, but the reality of the New World is even harsher. During that first winter Samuel endures hunger, fear and death, but Samuel struggles on.
Samuel changes from the angry youth with no family or friends that he was at the start of the journey. Captain Smith teaches him to channel his anger, and Reverend Hunt teaches him to make decisions based on love, not fear. These lessons help Samuel to stay alive, and to save the lives of some of his fellow settlers.
Elisa Carbone's thoroughly researched novel both entertains and educates. The English settlers' clashes with the Native Americans is unbiased and accurate. The informative Afterwards and Author's Note tell what happened in James Town after the story ends, and what in the book was fact and fiction. Boys and girls will both enjoy this adventurous tale, which could be used as a tie-in to the 400th anniversary of the settlement of James Town.
A GREAT Novel.......2007-01-14
Taking a long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean just to serve under the rule of Captain John Smith didn't exactly appeal to Samuel. Samuel is an orphan and about thirteen or fourteen. His Mother and Father died a couple years ago, and since then he's been living on the street. Unfortunately (To him) he ended up in an orphanage, and was recruited to be John Smith's page and to accompany him on the voyage to "The New World." Reverend Hunt, who ran the orphanage, and a fellow orphan Richard were also to go to The New World, with their own duties to take care of. This was a fabulous Historical Fiction book that can be enjoyed by girls or boys ages twelve and up.
This book was full of fights and anger. Most of the men that were on the ship to the New World were gentlemen, and they hated to do work. John Smith was always getting into fights with them, one time it almost brought him to the gallows. Samuel was also always getting into fights. When his Mother died, he closed up his heart, and wouldn't open it to anyone. At the Orphanage, the other boys would always tease him about how he tried to steal his Mother's locket from the Pawn Shop, and he would always resolve it with a fist fight. Another incident, near the end of the book, a group of brand new settlers barged into the Indian's campground, burnt down their houses, and stole their belongings. This basically started the war between the Indians and the Settlers. First the Indians stopped trading with the settlers, and then they started killing them.
This book was very sad and full of deaths. The first death was of a boy named James. This was near the beginning when Samuel was learning to open his heart to others, and make friends. James and Richard were best friends, and Samuel was working hard to become friends with them as well. One night, the Indians attacked and James ran out of the tent and for the boats, where he was immediately shot down, while Richard and Samuel hid under the mattress. Later on in the book, Reverend Hunt caught Malaria and died. The Reverend was the first one to help Samuel figure out that fighting doesn't solve anything and its better off to have friends. The last sad part, near the end, was when John Smith had to go back to England because of a severe burn on his entire leg. Smith had taught Samuel many things, but most of all he taught him to depend and trust people. Worst of all, Richard was to accompany Smith to England......Two friends lost at once.
Finally, this book was surprising. One day, a ton of men left their houses, all with their fires still burning. Something caught fire in one house, and before they knew it, all the houses were burnt to the ground. Thankfully, the Indians gave them an entire, fresh supply of food, and warm blankets to sleep on. Chief Powhatan of the Powhatan Tribe had made the people of Jamestown part of his tribe, because they treated his fellow Tribes well, and traded fairly. King James decided to also make Chief Powhatan part of his rule. John Smith thought this was an awful idea to make an emperor a prince, but Captain Newport wouldn't listen. When Powhatan wouldn't kneel down to be crowned, Captain Newport told his men to force him down. They did eventually get the crown on, but Chief Powhatan never treated the settlers the same.
This book was exciting, sad, and surprising, anyone would like it. I consider it fabulous and recommend anyone twelve and up to join in on the adventure. Enjoy!
-A. Lindemann
Great Book for new readers.......2007-01-09
My nine year old grand-daughter called one night to tell me that I would like this book. She loved it. She knows I real lots of history and non-fiction. To be able to discuss the book, I went to Amazon. The book was excellent as are the other books by this author. Readable by adults but still good for 9 to 12 year olds. Since she was reading a library book, I ended up giving her my book for her library. I have since read another recent book on Jamestown due to the interest from reading this one!
Bloody River.......2006-12-18
I found this book intresting because it had so many historical characters. My personal favorite part was when Samuel became an Indian. I also liked the part when he saved baby Virginia. I gave it four stars because of the ending. I mean like when their all saved but then what happens. It just dosen't work out in my opinion. But I'm not a critic. Overall, I loved it. My favorite character was Captain John Smith. He was my favorite because he was a strong leader. He also was a great fighter and he just was what looked like a good leader. I also liked Samuel because he was a good fighter. He is smart too. So I guess that's why I liked this book.
Book Description
Camilla Townsend's stunning book differs from all previous biographies of Pocahontas in capturing how similar seventeenth-century Native Americans were--in the way they saw, understood, and struggled to control their world--not only to the invading English but to ourselves.
Neither naïve nor innocent, Indians like Pocahontas and her father, the powerful king Powhatan, confronted the vast might of the English with sophistication, diplomacy, and violence. Indeed, Pocahontas's life is a testament to the subtle intelligence that Native Americans, always aware of their material disadvantages, brought against the military power of the colonizing English. Resistance, espionage, collaboration, deception: Pocahontas's life is shown as a road map to Native American strategies of defiance exercised in the face of overwhelming odds and in the hope for a semblance of independence worth the name.
Customer Reviews:
The Real Pocahontas and Powhatan finally revealed. Superb!.......2007-10-15
I have finally come to the end of this fine book and am delighted to share my views. Unlike the one other reviewer here at Amazon (Mohroy), I found the book to be richly rewarding on every possible level. Camilla Townsend's academic background is well known and she is highly respected in her field. Her ability to write a compelling narative is smartly coupled with a rich list of footnotes, so many of which come from original documents. In some cases highly academic books can be a bother when you are flipping back to the footnotes; not with this book. Each note was worth the attention and always added a deeper dimension. When you consider that Townsend was building a picture of these people that was not always the mainstream her reliance on her reseach more than convinced me of her perspective.
What is the overall impression of the story she paints? I'll tell you, that when I first discovered this story, through the lens of the very emotionally moving movie, "The New World", I had very little knowledge of the real story. In following up on my initial reactions to the movie I endeavored to read what modern historians have to say. I read one book which I can also highly recommend and then I found Townsend. The first was "Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the birth of the American Dream" by Thomas and Dorothy Hoobler, November 2005, published by Wiley. This was a sensational revelation and spurred me on to know more. Townsend has filled in the missing pieces and is essential in my view for anyone who wants to know the story shed of all of it's mythology.
"The New World" is a fine movie and entertainment and I will always treausre it. But, it is about 50% fiction, which is a shame, because Malick had all of this material available just about the time he wrote the script. Oh well. The real people, the real story is so very much more tragic, depressing, sad and dark. The first successful European settlers to the East Coast of the USA signalled the beginning of the destruction of much of Native America. Those that did not die of disease brought by Europeans that they had no immunity to, died as a result of wars with the Europeans. Townsend's insight into this is interesting to consider. The much longer development of farming among Indo/Europeans had better prepared them on a technological level to successfully take America away from Natives. She attributes this line of thought to the book "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond. It is worth consideration; the Powhatan natives took too long to realize that the founders of Jamestown had outgunned and out-equipped them by many factors. When Uttamatomakkin came back from his trip to London with Pocahontas and he reported that it was hopeless to fight the white man he was scorned and ignored by his fellows. This resistance to reality lasted far too long before they were finally demolished in several devastating wars.
The real Pocahontas? Much younger at her introduction to Smith than all films or other books portray. Probably had not reached puberty yet. She was so young that when in the Jamestown fort would do hand cartwheels revealing her naked torso for all to see. When she had reached puberty that would have stopped completely. Did she have a romantic relationship with Smith? Not a chance, it would seem. Even more, she had already been married off to a native from another village; nothing much is known of his demise and it is assumed that he died after only a few years of marriage. It is also not known if she had born a child by him, though Townsend thinks it less likely. Pocahontas was no fool and knew that she was being used by her father in a delicate series of political chess, some of which were with the English, some with other native communities. She learned rudimentary English and carried herself with the dignity she felt the English were expecting of her; they viewed her as the daughter of a King and she accepted the role as princess. Townend scores an important point by showing us clearly how little we really know of this woman; someone who did not leave a word of her own in any manner. We imply and infer and guess based on so little. She cautions us throughout the book about this tendency.
What of her father, Powhatan? Already experienced with other white men from Europe before John Smith lands, he already knows that they are dangerous but makes one tragic blunder: he underestimates their resolve to make a permanent place in America until it is too late. He sees the colonies start up and then watch as the ill equipped Europeans fall sick and die, time after time. He sees Smith and company as just another botched attempt at racial transplanting and is not too worried. He is wrong and his people eventually pay the price. What could he have done instead? The hot heads among his people urged him to kill all the white people in Smith's group before they turned against them. He refused. From the native perspective it was a mistake. From the European perspective it would only have bought time and would have enraged them more. In due course, white Europeans were going to come and that was that.
John Smith is both given his proper respectful acknowledgment and is also taken to task as a teller of tall tales. Smith embelleshed for his English audience and without a live Pocahontas to ask whether this or that fact was true, Smith got away with the story he painted. Were the main facts of his being saved by a nubile Pocahontas beliveable? Probably not, given the place of young girls in the presence of adults in her society. It is not impossible but much more improbable than Smith tells us.
This is a book that strips away layer after layer of myth, poor or incomplete research and hasty or prejudiced conclusions. Her work is constantly referred back to urtext sources and where she does not know something she says so right up front. If the real story of Pocahontas is so much fuller, complicated and sadder, it is a story that is entirely integral at the dawn of white society in America. It is also integral to the beginning of the end of native people across the same landscape. A tremendous scholarly achievement, not to be missed.
Not the worst biography of Pocahontas, but..........2007-09-29
A brief history of Jamestown and a very sketchy and alomst contentless discussion of Powhatan and the Powhatan Confederacy from the "perspective" (scare quotes intentional) of Pocahontas.
I learned a couple of new facts from this but on the whole I can't reccomed this book. The author tries to get in the head of the legendary Indian Princess but the authors very poitically correct assumptions of what Pocahontas would feel are far from convincing, interestingly enough I had never previously believed in the John Smith-Pocahontas love story at all until I read this, but her disavowal of it was so unconvincing I am now not nearly so sure... The same can be said of several of her other psychological insights which have a very shallow basis, that seem to reflect the author's own feelings without any appearance of critical reflection.
On the positive side it is nice to see such a sympathetic view of John Rolfe, who the author seems quite taken with, but by this point I was rather weary of the whole thing. Luckily it was very short, and even though I actually spent a fair amount of time checking endnotes and even checking a couple of sources, reading the book took only a few hours. I bought it at lunch and went out to dinner that night having finished it.
Book Description
Life for indentured servents in pioneer Virginia is hard. It is doubly hard for 12-year-old Richard Ayre, a London orphan who had been scooped off the streets as a child and sent to Jamestown Colony. But a chance encounter with an Indian boy his own age gives him a friend, the first real friend he has had in years-until his master's plan to raid an Indian village for corn turns Richard's world upside down.
br>Titles in this series:
• This Generation of Americans: A Story of the Civil Rights Movement, by Fredrick L. McKissack, Jr.
• The Road to Freedom: A Story of the Reconstruction, by Jabari Asim
• All For Texas: A Story of Texas Liberation, by G. Clifton Wisler
• The Worst of Times: A Story of the Great Depression, by James Lincoln Collier
• Wind on the River: A Story of the Civil War, by Laurie Lawlor
• When I Dream of Heaven: Angelina’s Story, by Steven Kroll (1895 Italian Immigrant in NYC)
• An Eye for an Eye: A Story of the Revolutionary War, by Peter and Connie Roop
• Sweet America: An Immigrant’s Story, by Steven Kroll
• The Corn Raid: A Story of the Jamestown Settlement, by James Lincoln Collier
• Revenge of the Aztecs: A Story of 1920s Hollywood, by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• To Touch the Stars: A Story of World War II, by Karen Zeinert
Average customer rating:
- Loved it
- True story of Pocahontas
- Pocahontas a review by Jocelyn
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Pocahontas
Joseph Bruchac
Manufacturer: Harcourt Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0152054650 |
Book Description
In 1607, when John Smith and his "Coatmen" arrive in Powhatan to begin settling the colony of Virginia, their relations with the village's inhabitants are anything but warm. Pocahontas, the beloved daughter of the Powhatan chief, is just eleven, but this astute young girl plays a fateful, peaceful role in the destinies of two peoples.
Drawing from the personal journals of John Smith, American Book Award winner Joseph Bruchac reveals an important chapter of history through the eyes of two legendary figures.
Includes an afterword, a glossary, and other historical context.
Customer Reviews:
Loved it.......2007-05-15
I really enjoyed this book, particularly the way it gives you both Pocohontas' and Smith's point of view, and I thought it was really fair and insightful about both sides. The only thing about the Smith chapters I didn't like was that, in the beginning, they went off on so many tangents it was confusing. While that may have been true to character, it made it harder to read. Last, I wish the book were longer! I would have liked to read on about what happened to Pocahontas after Smith left.
True story of Pocahontas.......2004-09-17
I really enjoyed this book and it has inspired me to do more research on the early days of Virginia. I liked the alternating tales of the eleven year old Pocahontas, and the woeful John Smith, who was somewhat of an egomaniac if one is to believe the author, who took the story from Smith's own diaries.
It, of course, dispells all the romantic fantasies of Pocahontas saving Smith's life. In fact, she married John Rolfe, not Smith.
For all his complaining about being mistreated for his lack of family connections, John Smith probably was the hero he portrays himself to be. Otherwise it seems Jamestown would have failed miserably.
Some of the most interesting details involve the infighting, which at times turns deadly, the treason, selfishness, and other human faults and frailties revealed in Smith's accounts.
Readers will also enjoy the story of the eleven year old Pocahontas, and the "royal" lifestyle she enjoys as her father's favorite daughter.
Pocahontas a review by Jocelyn.......2003-12-31
Do you like early ages? Then you should read this book called Pocahontas by Flora Warren Seymour because it will encourage you to read books about Native Americans and early ages. The protagonist, Pocahontas, is a little girl whose nick name is "Playful Girl" and she's always curious about things beyond her village.
A favorite part of mine was when John and Pocahontas first become friends. When they let two bald eagles go free in the soaring wind full of colorful breezes, I almost felt as if I was there. I also liked the scene when they fall in love while they were running through the woods with a pack of fawns.
Finally, my last favorite scene was when Pocahontas saves John, the pale face warrior, from being killed by her father, Po-Hawton. She saved him by running up to her father a saying "I'm a Princess and Princesses get what they want, and I want him!" He was about to get killed because John's whole crew and his bigger boss invaded the Indians.
I really encourage you to read the book Pocahontas because it will help you learn about how the Native Americans.
Dissapointment.......2003-08-09
I had high expectations for this book as the legend of Pocahontas if one of my favorites of all the stories America has to offer. However, as soon as I bought this book my hopes feel. The story part of the book is at only a meager 150 pages. And the story is cut in half. One chapter is written from Pocahontas' point of view. The next chapter is from John Smith's point of view. Then back to Pocahontas, then John Smith, etc. To be honest I could care less what John Smith had to say, and I almost had the mind to read just the chapters from Pocahontas' point of view. I did end up reading John Smith chapters, which proved to be boring compared to Pocahontas' chapters. The book was not a complete catastrophe. The Pocahontas chapters were very interesting and kept me captivated. And the short Powhatan legends told at the beginnings of the Pocahontas chapters were enjoyable, as was the glossary of Powhatan terms, numbers, phrases, and names. But I think John Smith's view was a waste. The book would have been much better written from Pocahontas' view only. I would not recommend this book, and if you do wish to buy it, I would get it from the library or wait until it comes out in paperback. I have the mind to return this book. And also, I found John Smith's chapters confusing. John uses many words that are all 17th century words, whcih forces you to flip to the glossary of English words constantly. And not only that but John constantly goes from talking in the first person to the third person! And I found it almost laughable that the author bashes the stereotypes of Native Americans and Pocahontas in the back saying for example that Pocahontas is often patheticly depicted as a Plains Indian in paintings, pictures, and in the statue that stands in Jamestown today when what graces the cover of the book but a picture of Pocahontas dressed as a Plains Indian! A dissapointing story. I would recommend that you buy another Native American book coming out within a few days or weeks, the newest Royal Diary called Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets. Not only is it longer, but also not as expensive as Pocahontas. And I have heard that it is very good. Perhaps I will exchange this book for Weetamoo...
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- Lautner, 1911-1994: Disappearing Space
- Institutional: Photographs of Jails, Schools, and other Chicago Buildings
- Alpine Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains
Then We Came to the End: A Novel
The Pesthouse
Stealing Lincoln's Body
The Raw Shark Texts
Heyday: A Novel
