Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Book Description

From the bestselling author of In the Heart of the SeaÂ—winner of the National Book AwardÂ—the startling story of the Plymouth Colony

From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a fifty-five-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.

The MayflowerÂ's religious refugees arrived in Plymouth Harbor during a period of crisis for Native Americans as disease spread by European fishermen devastated their populations. Initially the two groupsÂ—the Wampanoags, under the charismatic and calculating chief Massasoit, and the Pilgrims, whose pugnacious military officer Miles Standish was barely five feet tallÂ—maintained a fragile working relationship. But within decades, New England would erupt into King PhilipÂ's War, a savagely bloody conflict that nearly wiped out English colonists and natives alike and forever altered the face of the fledgling colonies and the country that would grow from them.

With towering figures like William Bradford and the distinctly American hero Benjamin Church at the center of his narrative, Philbrick has fashioned a fresh and compelling portrait of the dawn of American historyÂ—a history dominated right from the start by issues of race, violence, and religion.

Customer Reviews:

Mayflower.......2007-10-18

The history presented by Nathaniel Philbrick is very interesting and gives a person a more personable view of the Mayflower families and times (as well as of the Indians in New England). I found his information to be quite complete and filled in a lot of history that has not been published before that I know of.

Unraveling a Myth.......2007-10-18

" Wherever they first set foot on the American continent, it wasn't Plymouth, and it certainly wasn't Plymouth Rock. The first Thanksgiving (in 1621) was indeed attended by Indians as well as Pilgrims, but they didn't sit at the tidy table depicted in Victorian popular art; they "stood, squatted, or sat on the ground as they clustered around outdoor fires, where the deer and birds turned on wooden spits and where pottages -- stews into which varieties of meats and vegetables were thrown -- simmered invitingly."

- Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

How many of us grew up with myths about the Pilgrims and about the first Thanksgiving? We all believed that the Pilgrims and the Indians sat at a beautiful table laden with turkey, cranberries and all of the fixings. Not only was that not the case, they certainly didn't set foot on Plymouth Rock.

Philbrick puts these myths to rest. And he tells us about the beginning of our new country and what was the basis for its foundation. Our myths contained stories about Massasoit and Squanto, Bradford and Winslow and, of course, Miles Standish.

One of the major accounts in the book was that of the King Philip's War. We learned that it really did not have to be. Both sides could have developed solutions which respected the goodness in each other as well as the differences.

We learned about how the Indians were shipped off to foreign places during this war and were separated from all of their families and tribes....never to be heard from again (having been made slaves). Only a few ever made it back like Squanto, for example.

Philbrick discusses why the war occurred after so many years of peace and why the descendants of Massasoit and of Bradford and Winslow came to see things differently than their fathers; losing sight of the faith and the respect for the individual that their forefathers had long revered. They also blocked out the memory of how they all needed one another to survive.

The Mayflower Compact, we learn, is one document that laid the foundations for the country that America was to become. Yet, our forefathers had to live through a nightmare of a war (of their own making) where both sides suffered tremendously. It took many years after the war ended to ever recoup even a portion of what was lost.

Philbrick's book is a story of courage, community and war on both sides as well as a story of how our forefathers lost sight of what the Indians had done for their ancestors and their fathers and what was owed to these people. In doing so, they also lost sight of the need for diplomacy and how to work together to come up with solutions that would be good for both the settlers as well as the Indians.

MAYFLOWER has won many awards and the book deserves all of them. What I have come away with deals first with the myth. This was unraveled for me so that I could understand and gain knowledge of the facts of these early settlements. I learned what worked, what didn't work and why the peaceful compact fell apart. I also learned that we can gain a lot from understanding our past and that we do not have to make the same mistakes over again.

Nathaniel Philbrick has given us hope that our future does not always have to resemble our past. He wrote, "When violence and fear grip a society, there is an almost overpowering temptation to demonize the enemy. But some on both sides refused to succumb. They were the ones whose rambunctious and intrinsically rebellious faith in humanity finally brought the war to an end, and they are the heroes of this story."

During the times that we face now, our heroes can continue to be those leaders and citizens who strive to focus on the faith in humanity and celebrate our differences as well as our similarities finding solutions rather than reasons to turn away from each other.

Four Stars: B+ (Recommend Highly)

Bentley/2007
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Not what I was hoping for.......2007-10-13

I couldn't get into this book because it was very different from what I thought it would be. I expected "Mayflower" to be a detailed account of why the pilgrims decided to journey to America, and also a vivid description of what life aboard the Mayflower was actually like. The book did cover those things, but only for a few short pages. Most of the book is devoted to the history of Plymouth Colony and King Philip's War. Author Nataniel Philbrick does an excellent job of shooting down the myths many people believe about what the pilgrim settlement was actually like, but I was much more interested in reading about the actual Mayflower journey and was disappointed that so little information about that event was included in this 400+ page book. "Mayflower" should be called "King Philip's War" so readers know what they're getting into.

Educational book.......2007-09-26

This is a very informative, accurate writing of our history. More people should read and know the real history of our country.

Not what I expected, but.......2007-09-16

the book was still a captivating piece of literature. I read this directly after reading In the Heart of the Sea by Philbrick, and was expecting the same type of story. That was not the case however. The title is a bit misleading in that one thinks they are going to be reading (or at least I did) a story of the journey. The subtitle should have cued me in. The book is about the struggle between the settlers and the natives more so than it is about the voyage to the new world. All that being said, I still loved the book. I gave the book four stars because I wish there was more about the actual voyage, and I think the title is a little misleading. All in all though, it is a superb piece of literature.

Pilgrimage in Latin America: (Contributions to the Study of Anthropology)

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Pilgrimage in Latin America: (Contributions to the Study of Anthropology)

Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0313261105

Book Description

In every region of Latin America, there are sacred shrines that draw tens of thousands of pilgrims. At present, most of these pilgrimages are overtly Catholic, but the roots of the contemporary practice are numerous: European Christian, indigenous pre-Columbian, African slave, and other religious traditions have all contributed to Latin American pilgrimage. This book explores the historical development, range of diversity, and the structure and impacts of this widespread religious practice. This volume, among the first to focus on pilgrimage in Latin America in general, creates a general framework for understanding Latin American pilgrimage. Although the contributors' focus is predominantly anthropological, analytical perspectives are drawn from numerous disciplines, including archaeology, geography, and religious and literary history. This diversity reflects the fact that pilgrimage is a multifaceted institution that incorporates geographical, social, cultural, religious, historical, literary, architectural, artistic, and other dimensions. It is this complexity that is responsible for the previous general neglect of the study of pilgrimage by scholars. The interdisciplinary collaboration that characterizes this volume is one of the most sensible ways to investigate pilgrimages. All of the essays in this book treat pilgrims, the pilgrimage center, the ritual performances, and the audience as major components, and examine the interrelationships among these dimensions. This volume will interest anthropologists, sociologists of religion, and others interested in aspects of religious practices.

How Capitalism Saved America: The Untold History of Our Country, from the Pilgrims to the Present

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Debunking myths about capitalism.
WHAT CAPITALISM IS, AND ISN'T
A Story that Needs to be Told
Worth reading
Finally, a little something positive from T.J.D.

How Capitalism Saved America: The Untold History of Our Country, from the Pilgrims to the Present
Thomas Dilorenzo
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War
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ASIN: 1400083311
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Book Description

Here’s the real history of our country. How Capitalism Saved America explodes the myths spun by Michael Moore, the liberal media, Hollywood, academia, and the rest of the anticapitalist establishment.

Whether it’s Michael Moore or the New York Times, Hollywood or academia, a growing segment in America is waging a war on capitalism. We hear that greedy plutocrats exploit the American public; that capitalism harms consumers, the working class, and the environment; that the government needs to rein in capitalism; and on and on. Anticapitalist critiques have only grown more fevered in the wake of corporate scandals like Enron and WorldCom. Indeed, the 2004 presidential campaign has brought frequent calls to re-regulate the American economy.

But the anticapitalist arguments are pure bunk, as Thomas J. DiLorenzo reveals in How Capitalism Saved America. DiLorenzo, a professor of economics, shows how capitalism has made America the most prosperous nation on earth—and how the sort of government regulation that politicians and pundits endorse has hindered economic growth, caused higher unemployment, raised prices, and created many other problems. He propels the reader along with a fresh and compelling look at critical events in American history—covering everything from the Pilgrims to Bill Gates.

And just as he did in his last book, The Real Lincoln, DiLorenzo explodes numerous myths that have become conventional wisdom. How Capitalism Saved America reveals:

• How the introduction of a capitalist system saved the Pilgrims from starvation
• How the American Revolution was in large part a revolt against Britain’s stifling economic controls
• How the so-called robber barons actually improved the lives of millions of Americans by providing newer and better products at lower prices
• How the New Deal made the Great Depression worse
• How deregulation got this country out of the energy crisis of the 1970s—and was not the cause of recent blackouts in California and the Northeast
• And much more

How Capitalism Saved America is popular history at its explosive best.

Customer Reviews:

Debunking myths about capitalism........2007-08-23

DiLorenzo tells the great story of how capitalism has always been a benefit to everyone and about how some have always wanted more. Politicians and their Big Business-buddies always were there to take power and money from society to grant themeselves great privileges and thereby to destroy the prosperiy, harmony and peace that capistalism brings. DiLorenzo takes on a lot of myths, and even provides a nice list of books for those who want to read more about why building (rail)roads is better left to the market, why unions destroy jobs of non-union members and cause a lower living-standard for all, why anti-trust laws destroy the competitive proces on the market or why every intervention in the marketplace is destructive.
After reading this book you will think differently about the way government runs things and finds excuses for ruling others.

WHAT CAPITALISM IS, AND ISN'T.......2007-06-15

This book provides a great look into how REAL capitalism took root before and during the American Revolution, how it was instrumental in making America an economic model of prosperity, and how it eventually was distorted, twisted and almost destroyed by Hamilton, Clay, Lincoln and their corporate welfare cohorts. (The Republican party still today is the WORST defender of free-market capitalism - they haven't a clue as to what it really is and even less how to practice it. The damage they've done to capitalism alone is staggering - and the shame of it all is that most people believe the GOP IS Capitalism, R-Ron Paul being an exception).

Dilorenzo also explains what capitalism isn't, using the railroad industry of the late 19th century as one example with all of it's government granted protectionism.

"How Capitalism Saved America" is a great book for clearing the air on the historical context of capitalism in America. I would highly recommend it for high-school and college students who have been fed myth after myth of lies and distortions about free-markets and deregulation. This book sets the record straight, clearly and efficiently.

A Story that Needs to be Told.......2007-05-13

A contrarian point of view is very much needed because the media has reached a conclusion about the role of government or entrepreneurial activity and the economy. I am always concerned about what I read in the media. Few if any journalists understand the topics of business, finance, or economics, let alone what the free market is. Yet the media commonly presents as facts things of which they have little understanding or practical knowledge. The media in America would have the average American convinced that Rockefeller or Gates are robber barons, the Great Depression was caused by too free of a market, too much competition is somehow bad, and the energy crisis of the 1970s was real.

When compared to our popular notions of the free market and the role of capitalism, DiLorenzo's arguments cut cleanly across the grain of conventional economic wisdom. He deftly explains that what most Americans understand as the free market is hardly that at all. Having worked on Capital Hill, his explanation of how our `trusted' politicians in Washington (or elsewhere) distort, even while claiming to deregulate, the market place for their own gain is spot on. The American economy has becoming increasing mercantilist as a consequence.

Even if you are of a liberal political strip, I recommend this book if just to get a different perspective. Emotion free, the book is not written with technical jargon. It is a very accessible read.

Worth reading.......2007-01-09

Interesting read. I enjoyed this.

Dilorenzo introduces some interesting ideas. This should be required reading for any business or marketing major.

If you enjoyed 'The World is Flat' you would enjoy this.

Finally, a little something positive from T.J.D........2006-12-21

Economist Thomas J. DiLorenzo's two books on Abraham Lincoln are based on slipshod research and written in popular style to put forth his Libertarian political and economic philosophy. History they are not. Here, however, he is on the topic of economics, and that is in his area of expertise. Oh, he still takes up a chapter with tired arguments why the Devil should assign Abe Lincoln a special place in hell, and the title is misleading - it should be called How Anti-capitalists are Trying to Destroy America. At least on economic matters there is some reason to believe him. "Some," I said. He again oversimplifies, and heaven forbid that he should ever present both sides of an argument. It's the Dilorenzionian way or the socialist highway. But he ends the book hammering on excessive litigation and Michael Moore's untutored displays of ignorance and bad taste, so you know he can't be all bad. He is just not great.

Mayflower Pilgrim Family Genealogies through Five Generations (Volume Six, Second Edition - Stephen Hopkins)

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Mayflower Pilgrim Family Genealogies through Five Generations (Volume Six, Second Edition - Stephen Hopkins)
John D. Austin
Manufacturer: Mayflower Families
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0930270053

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 (Dear America Series)

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Wonderful Book!
Five Stars
Blast from the past with a pilgrim girl
Pretty Good Look at Pilgrim Life
A View of the Unexplored Fronteir

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 (Dear America Series)
Kathryn Lasky
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series)
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ASIN: 059050214X

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Book!.......2007-09-23

I've read almost all of the Dear America series! These are excellent books to read to nursing home patients!

These books take you into the past; into the lives of the people of the time period.

Patience Whipple showed profound courage and strength by overcoming heartbreaking odds to survive.

Highly recommend this book!

Five Stars.......2007-08-08

A wonderful beginning to the Dear America Series. Remember Patience Whipple better known as Mem is a twelve year old girl on the Mayflower with her parents and little sister Blessing. Set up in a diary form Mem writes about the voyage, her new friend Hummy and her experiences on the Mayflower and the first couple months at Plymouth Rock. She meets one of the Native Americans Squanto, experiences losing her new friend Hummy, her mother's illness and death, and her father's remarriage. Kathryn Lasky made Mem such a delightful and wonderful girl and paints a vivid picture of life on the Mayflower and at Plymouth Rock.

Blast from the past with a pilgrim girl.......2006-08-05

Remember Patience Whipple is a pilgrim child on the Mayflower. When Remember comes ashore, things get tough. Lots of people are dying, including a member of her family, and it's harder still when her best friend has to go back to Holland. I first saw the movie version of this book, and I just had to read it. After a slow beginning, it gets better and better. This is not quite as good as the other "Dear America" books that I have enjoyed--but like the other books, this one made me feel as though I was back in the past with the characters.

Pretty Good Look at Pilgrim Life.......2006-06-01

This is a pretty good book about a pilgrim girl coming to America in the early 17th century. I give it four stars because even though the writing is descriptive and well-paced, the main character is too headstrong and stereotypical for me. Also, I didn't feel any really strong emotions while reading this book. However, I do recommend it as a beginner for the series because it is set before any of the other books in the series.

A View of the Unexplored Fronteir.......2006-01-20

The book A Journey to the New World is the fictional yet accurate account of the pilgrims' settlement in America, the new world, to be free from the king's religious oppression. The story is told in diary form, through young Remember Patience Whipple, making it easier for younger readers to comprehend but benefit in full. The book is the beginning of a new nation, an unexplored future of pain and suffering, joy and happiness. The book is finly illustrated; another great accomplishment by Kathryn Lasky.

Pilgrims in Their Own Land: 500 Years of Religion in America

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Excellent survey of religious history in America
A useful survey
A Wonderful History
A very good popularized history of American Religion

Pilgrims in Their Own Land: 500 Years of Religion in America
Martin E. Marty
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140082689

Customer Reviews:

Excellent survey of religious history in America.......2005-05-17

For a highly readable and engaging history of religion in America, you can't get much better than Marty. "Pilgrims" is the work of an accomplished scholar who knows how to write history as it should be: an ongoing drama filled with interesting characters moved by varying motivations. All historians, however, let their personal worldviews slip onto the page, and this is the only complaint that I have about Marty. As a liberal Protestant theologian and historian he has a tendency to discredit evangelical theology. This is not so much of a problem when he deals with the great evangelicals of previous centuries (the Francis Asburys and the Jonathan Edwards, for example), but as he approaches the twentieth century he clearly favors the theology of, say, Reinhold Niebuhr or Walter Rauschenbusch over the conversion theology of Billy Graham (perhaps he thinks Jesus' statement that, "you must be born again," applies only to conservative politicians?). This is a minor quibble, however, and one that is to be expected. Marty paints the picture of American religious life as a vivid panorama of people and movements committed, in their own way, to that particularly American brand of the human search for God.

A useful survey.......2001-10-01

Last spring my pastor asked me to teach an adult level Sunday School class on the history of American Christianity. After consulting with two professors of religious history and considerable library browsing, I settled on this book for reasons on availability and cost, inclusiveness, and the reputation of the author. It has worked exceedingly well, better than I hoped. Marty did occasionally forget to provide basic definitions and overviews, but overall I think this is the best book for any similar class.

A Wonderful History.......2001-02-28

This manuscript is a wonderful history of religion in America. It is a must read for a serious Christian historian. It does however, tend to speak to empathetically about views that are dramatically unorthodox according to established and fundamental Biblical doctrine. However, that said it speaks warmly of the people involved in past and current religious developments and the circumstances which lead to their distinct movements. I recommend this book not for its clear exposition of orthodox Christianity but for its detailing of Christianity's influence in America.

A very good popularized history of American Religion.......1999-05-03

There is much good and little to criticize about "Pilgrims." Marty employs a common conceit of pop history, using biographical sketches to transmit historical data. This makes for a very readable book and gives the memory a peg upon which to hang the plethora of information presented. The disadvantage is that historical movements are inavoidably ascribed to a few persons and thereby made two dimensional. This is not, however, so bad in a survey such as this one because the full story of any one movement would not fit.

One is ashamed, having read Marty's book, of having missed almost entirely the religious movements which determined the character of America today to a much greater degree than the posturings of politicians and rhetoriticians. His presentation is balanced and his prejudices only rarely peek through.

Any believer who reads "Pilgrims" will have a better understanding of the peculiar American character of certain aspects of her or his faith. Any non-believer may become stimulated to ask why so many for so long have found life's answers in religious faith - what the common denominator is among the array of ecclesial expressions.

The last chapter of the book - but none of the others - has been made obsolete by time. Current trends are, of course, often ephemeral and guessing which will last is a gamble at best. Much has changed since the 1984 publication date(e.g., the proliferation of mega churches, the snowballing movement among existing Southern Black Baptist congregations to join the Southern Baptist Convention, the massive impact of the Charismatic Renewal on many established Christian religions and the apparent success of Jewish day schools in reversing the loss of particularization among Orthodox and Conservative youth, to name a few examples.)

Customer Reviews:

Squanto the great indian!.......2006-11-08

I have been reading this wonderful book called Squanto, If you didn't
read it well don't worry I'll tell you a little bit about him.
Squanto is about your age in this book.White men came to his island.
They where leaving but Squanto wanted to go with them.
He didn't know where he was going.He heard a voise saying
"were going to London!".Squanto stayed there for 3 years.He went back
and saw...............nothing

THE COOL BOOK ABOUT SQUANTO.......2006-11-08

I thought that book was a cool book. In the begening of the book the white men wanted Squanto to go with them to London.So Squanto said yes. So Squanto went with the white men. It took 1 year to get to America to London.Squanto had a comfty new bed that he had to get use to.Next he stayed there for a few years.

A Great Nonfiction Book.......2006-11-08

In this book ,Squanto Friend of the pilgrims,there is a boy named Squanto and in the book it tells how he is a Patuxet. One day he was walking along a path and saw a ship and knew it was a white man's ship. He didn't wait one second to tell his people what he saw. So he ran as fast as he could when he raeched his village Squanot went strate to his home. Squanto told his mom and dad about the ship he saw. His mom was not very happy about this but on the ather hand Squanto' dad was theriled to hear this news and he told him to tell the chief. Also the chief was happy about this news....The next day Squanto went to find the white men and make friends with them. Squanto found the white men over a hill finally they became friends.That is my version of this story.

Awesome Squanto.......2006-11-08

Squanto went with the white men to meet oher people. Squanto wanted to go home but all the ships were full.After one year Squanto lived with his best friend Charles Robbins. Then one day he heard a ship was avalible. He got on the ship and in a few days later. They went huning and Squanto dicided to go home and he got half way there and Caption Hunt and cought him and tied his ankles and wrists with rope.a slave market in spain.Two chrishtens bought him and let him go. He wentto England.Hewent home and he found a little boy and asked him where his tribe was
and the little boy said they had a disease.everyone caughtit and died.The little boy asked him if he wanted tocome to his tibe andhe said" YES". The End!

Squanto the great indian!!.......2006-11-08

Squanto friend of the pilgims is a great book! It gives a lot of information about Squanto.He was a nice person he wanted to meet the white men. When the white men came to their land Squanto went to meet them. Squanto was in a bush hiding from the white men {pilgrims} one of the white men pulled up gun and shot a bird Squanto jumped out and ducked. He met the white men and sailed to London with the pilgrims. He stayed there for many years. When he went back home he was captured and taken back to London and was a slave but two pastors freed him. when he came home his tribe was gone there was nothing left for him.

American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr. (Library of America)

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American Sermons
American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr.
A useful and thought-provoking reference work.
A review of American religious writing.

American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr. (Library of America)
Various
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1883011655

Amazon.com

Whether it take the form of the formal prose of the Puritans, the clear, plain-spoken wisdom of the Quakers, or the improvisational style of African American folk preaching, the sermon is one of America's most unique types of literature. While this collection should never be considered easy reading, its high quality and profundity more than compensate for its challenges. In fact, this collection (spanning the 17th through the 20th centuries) is packed with literary and historical gems. Absalom Jones, an African Episcopal minister, preaches a heart-wrenching sermon that sings the praises of the end of the slave trade in 1808. Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers "The Lord's Supper Sermon," and, of course, there's Martin Luther King's most famous sermon, "I've Been to the Mountaintop."

Newsweek magazine called this "the most important book-publishing project in the nation's history." This may be an exaggeration; nonetheless the book is certainly a worthy project, if only for its recognition of the sermon as a legitimate and stirring genre of American literature. --Gail Hudson

Customer Reviews:

American Sermons.......2007-10-04

I'm not really sure what attracted me to this book, perhaps it was an attempt to learn from influential theologians, perhaps it was a desire to learn from past religious periods. In any event, this book is not really all that spectacular. The sermons presented are lengthy and have no real mass appeal. Who selected them and why is never disclosed. They have no cohesiveness and seem randomly compiled. In other words, this book was a disappointment to me.

American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr........2007-01-03

The book is fine and so are the sermons. My only criticism is that the book included none of Peter Marshall's sermons which, to me, far outrank Martin Luther King, Jr. I was very disappointed in that. Otherwise, okay.

A useful and thought-provoking reference work........2000-11-13

Reading this book from cover to cover would be educational journey, but probably most readers will skip from place to place, as I did. Honestly, I found the 17th Century sermons, which make up a large part of the book, quite hard to follow, though I don't doubt there is much in them that will make the effort worthwhile, if I have need to look more closely.

There is doubtless something to delight and offend everyone in this volume. The editors have been fairly conscientious in taking selections from a variety of viewpoints. Liberals may get a bit more space in the 20th Century selection, but on the other hand, J. Gresham Machen's ringing defense of the historicity of the Gospels, History and Faith, is also included. (A work that could have been written as a reply to the Jesus Seminar of eight decades later. A very devastating reply.) I also found Henry Ward Beecher's pre-Civil War jeremiad against slavery stirring and of more than historical interest. (That, too, of course. He was the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, of Uncle Tom's Cabin fame.) Joseph Smith's rambling funeral oration was useful in a different way, giving positive evidence for my prior feeling that the man was a bit, shall we say, close to the edge.

Agree or disagree, readers of every viewpoint will find something of interest in this volume. It would be a most valuable reference tool for any class on American history, and, I think, belongs in every school library.

Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

A review of American religious writing........1999-07-08

I bought this book with an interest in the literary form of the sermon and I was also interested in religion, although I may not call myself particularly religious. I was impressed with the degree of thought that the writers of these sermons gave to their subjects. If you are even slightly interested in exploring religion, this is a nice introduction in American religious thought. The Library of America does a superb job at producing a volume that will last many generations. A nice addition to any thinking man's library.

My Name Is America: The Journal Of Jasper Jonathan Pierce, A Pilgrim Boy (My Name Is America)

Average customer rating:

my name is america
A Pilgrim Boy
BORING!
Boooooooooooring!
It will keep you guessing till the very end.

My Name Is America: The Journal Of Jasper Jonathan Pierce, A Pilgrim Boy (My Name Is America)
Ann Rinaldi
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0590510789

Amazon.com

In 1620, an indentured servant named Jasper Jonathan Pierce sets sail with his master and 100 others on the Mayflower, seeking adventure, freedom from the rules of King James's church, and a new way of life in America.

While many people are familiar with the history of the Pilgrims, popular historical novelist Ann Rinaldi (The Last Silk Dress and A Break With Charity: A Story About the Salem Witch Trials) delves far deeper into the day-to-day life of these brave pioneers. Beleaguered by internal strife and sickness, the passengers and crew of the Mayflower arrived in Plymouth ill-equipped to last the winter. With the help of several Indians who befriended the settlers, many survived, although a number of them died. Viewed through the eyes of 14-year-old Jasper, who records the events of his first 15 months in America in his journal, the Pilgrims' experiences take on a fresh, current feel. Although Jasper is a fictional character, the other characters in the story were real people, and the events are soundly based on factual accounts. Encounters with Pilgrim bullies, the suicide of one woman, and blow-by-blow details of the hardships endured make this an exciting, intelligent addition to the excellent My Name Is America series. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

Customer Reviews:

my name is america.......2005-10-20

there is a boy named jasper jonathan peirce he is a young man who is traveling on a ship.he was aboard the mayflower ship on the see he was already setting off but he had left his brother but he went to tell the man who drove the boat but he laughed at him and said your brother is 80 years old and if he had a book he would be happy for the rest of his misrable life.on that very day he was very sad because he had left his brother behind. but after a while he forgot about it and he was ready for his adventure and ready to move on.:)but if u think this sounds like an intersting book go ahead read it because it is a wonderfull book for all ages...so take a brake go on an adventure and read this book:)

A Pilgrim Boy.......2004-12-15

"I am so weary yet I must write. I have been ashore! How strange it is to cast an eye on the nearby forest and not know what manner of beast was watching you".

What you just read was a quote from The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pearce. Jasper Jonathan Peirce was a young pilgrim boy on the Mayflower. The book gives us a look at pilgrim lifestyle. It tells what happened from the first time someone stepped on Plymouth to the Thanksgiving feast. I would recommend this book for eight year olds and over. The book is very unique because instead of chapters it has entries, just like real journal would give this book an eight out of ten. I liked this book because it really happened. If you are interest in history you should buy this book.

BORING!.......2004-04-05

This book was about a boy named Jasper Jonathan Pierce, an orphaned indentured servant who is in search for a better life. (...). This was the worst book I have ever read in my entire life (I have read a lot of books)! This was one of the first historical fiction books I have read and it will be the last! Nobody on the face of the Earth should read this book! It was not exciting at all and I did not like one thing about it!

Disgusted Reader

Boooooooooooring!.......2004-04-02

This is a great book . . . if you're looking for a historical fiction reference guide on Plymouth. This book is about a boy named Jasper who lives a hard childhood but then he goes on the Mayflower as a servant from England to America. On the way almost half the people die but the people who are left on the ship go on to settle and start the colony of Plymouth. I think that no one in the world is low enough to read this book! It is horrible! It is boring! I don't recall even one exciting part in the entire book! This was one of the first historical fiction books I have ever read and it will certainly be the last! Even if there is no other book in the world to read except for this one because all the other books were all lost with the island of Atlantis, (you get the picture) don't read it! I have never read a book so horrible in my entire life! Ever!

(P.S. I have read a lot of books. Good books and bad books. And by the way, I wanted to give this book no stars but one star was the lowest thing!)

It will keep you guessing till the very end........2003-10-03

This book is great. It has so many real history facts and moments. It talks of a boy of 14 who sails on the Mayflower, to get to a new land called,America. Jasper goes through many hard times. He sees people die,and goes on a wild adventure into the woods where he meets the evil one. They say once you see him you will be killed or will you. To find out this and more just read this book.

Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks

Average customer rating:

The Meaning of the "Beagle"
Beautifully written
Amazing....
Pleasant & enlightening
Another inspiring book from Haupt!

Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks
Lyanda Lynn Haupt
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316836648

Book Description

Charles Darwin was a bumbling neophyte naturalist when he boarded the Beagle in 1831. Through the five years that followed, as the ship hugged the coastline of South America, Darwin found himself wading through waist-deep mud, climbing towerlike trees in the rain forest, and scaling craggy Patagonian cliffs as he closely observed the relationship between the wild creatures he stalked and the astonishing, utterly unfamiliar landscapes where he found them. At the end of these adventures, Darwin emerged a philosophical naturalist who could draw scientific truths from the simple stories contained in the creatures he encountered. What happened to Darwin? Thats the question Lyanda Lynn Haupt engagingly explores in a narrative that puts us inside the young Darwins shoesand brings us nose to nose with dung beetles, ostriches, and all forms of native wildlife. By focusing mostly on the birds Darwin observed, and by brilliantly mining his lesser-known writingsdiaries, correspondence, ornithological journals, unruly little pocket notebooksHaupt illuminates the process of discovery that shaped Darwins vision. Her book not only chronicles Darwins transformation from uncertain amateur to genius but reminds us how and why, in our own world as well as Darwins, attention to small things can make a big difference.

Customer Reviews:

The Meaning of the "Beagle".......2006-09-25

This is a tale of Darwin's becoming a true naturalist. Haupt believes that this happened sometime during the five years he spent with the survey ship Beagle, mostly ashore. Darwin was intent on absorbing and recording everything as the ship ranged up and down both sides of South America. He wanted to learn the geology, the fossils, the animals and the plants wherever he went. Occasionally, Darwin even looked up from his studies and described the human inhabitants.

By "true naturalist" Haupt means something more than a mere busybody, recording observations and collecting samples. She has used Darwin's notebooks of the Voyage (rather than his polished published account) to follow the changes in his attitudes from dutiful outside observer to a state that sometimes seemed to be a mind-meld with his subjects -- or really, by now, his fellow participants in life. Nothing was too small or ordinary to catch and hold Darwin's fascinated gaze. Perhaps, even as a young man still steeped in the traditional Chain of Being and the Christian doctrine of special creation, he tacitly believed that everything was important, everything held a clue to...what? Later, when he came to reflect philosophically on the Species Question, this great mass of detail, lightly and lovingly held, indeed served him well.

Haupt is an excellent writer and, herself a bird expert, uses Darwin's awakening to the birds of South America to locate his transformation to Naturalist. This is a book of natural history, biography, and philosophical observation that makes no pretense to be definitive. Our author is really using Darwin as an exemplar of a certain type that she admires: someone who loves Nature in all her messy particularity. As a result we get to read more about that endlessly charming man and about nature, and we get Haupt's interesting and often pointed reflections on it all. I was afraid, at the start, that my rather low level of natural history ability would hamper my understanding. Not so: anyone who cares about nature or is just curious about Darwin can enjoy this book.

Beautifully written.......2006-06-26

Both casual readers and high school to college level students of natural history and science will relish the beautifully written PILGRIM ON THE GREAT BIRD CONTINENT: THE IMPORTANCE OF EVERYTHING AND OTHER LESSONS FROM DARWIN'S LOST NOTEBOOKS. It's a different portrait which covers not just his works but the image of a naturalist who trusted his observations more than the political influences of his times or the research before him. Darwin was a bumbling amateur naturalist when he boarded the Beagle in 1831 to journey through the Galapagos. The young Darwin and his observations come to life in a survey rich with first-person reflections by the author, on her own wildlife observations.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Amazing...........2006-05-22

This is an amazing book. I am a biologist and a follower of Darwin, so I ordered this book right away when I saw it reviewed in the paper. Whether your interest is in Darwin or in science and nature more generally, this book is a stand-out. The author has a solid background in philosophy of science, but she's a creative nonfiction writer. Her prose and use of language are definitely a cut above the norm for these subjects. Haupt's focus on birds and her knowledge of ornithology will please any bird-lover. In addition to offering a unique, and endearing portrait of Darwin, this book is really about a way of seeing and understanding the human relationship to the natural world. It is a reminder, as Haupt says, that "we too are animals,connected to life, past and present...that nothing in the natural world is beneath our notice." A beautiful book that will give you fresh eyes.

Pleasant & enlightening.......2006-05-02

A short review of this book in the 4-8-06 issue of `Science News' prompted me to order it. I'm interested in the genesis of radical new ways of viewing our world to see how it might apply to my book's proto-theism concept.

Haupt, by studying Darwin's lesser known writings, surmises his growth as a rich-kid college drop-out from both medicine and the clergy in favor of dabbling with bugs. For an adventure, he signed on to the `Beagle' as the expedition's amateur naturalist for a two-year voyage which lasted nearly five-years. Haupt pictures him gradually finding his own style of observing, collecting and pondering as he gains confidence and learns to respect and love his subjects and nature. She focuses mostly on his birds perhaps more than necessary but that's her field. She debunks the legend that, toward the end of the voyage while in the Galapagos, Darwin's seminal insight flashed on him. Instead, it slowly dawned of him back in London with the help of a skilled taxonomist and in spite of his sloppy labeling of the Galapagos' specimens.

She also depicts the two decades after the voyage as he cautiously built his arguments for the "Origin of Species", then she goes on to describe his later years ensconced at Down House. Perhaps she does a little too much of her own philosophizing but I wasn't put-off by it. I'd give her book five stars except for the omission of an index (altho' Amazon's `Search inside the book' is an alternative). All in all, it's a pleasant and enlightening, well-made little book.

Another inspiring book from Haupt!.......2006-04-24

I greatly enjoyed Haupt's first book "Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds" and ordered this one not knowing much about it. It was wonderful too! Haupt's warm, lyrical prose is well matched to her topic, which is to mine Darwin's little-known pocket notebooks for new insights. She paints a compelling story of him circumnavigating South America as a humble and patient observer, though as she puts it, "This book is not in any way meant to pose as a biography; it is a gleaning of those instances in Darwin's life and work that inspire a renewed vision of the relationship between the human and natural worlds." So... what meaning does Darwin's vision hold for us today? Haupt reminds us that there are lessons in Darwin's story, and especially in his approach, to inspire all of us - even those of us who had never read anything about him before!

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