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.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chinese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Japanese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Doctors & Medicine | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Lawyers & Criminals | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

French | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Victorian | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Epic | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

German | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Russian | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Chinese | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

War on Drugs | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Science | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Online Research | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books

Native American | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Magic & Wizards | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Sailor Moon | Popular Characters | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Pilates | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

History | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Romance Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

A New World: England's First View of America

Average customer rating:

Interesting first look at America

A New World: England's First View of America
Kim Sloan
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Arts & Photography | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0807831255

Book Description

This beautifully illustrated book reproduces in full the famous and rarely seen British Museum collection of drawings and watercolors made by John White, who in 1585 accompanied a group of English settlers sent by Sir Walter Raleigh to found a colony on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Sloan's introduction is followed by three specially commissioned essays covering John White himself, the indigenous inhabitants he depicted, and the historical context of his visit. The book explores John White's role as a colonist, surveyor, and artist who not only recorded plants and animals but also provided a window on a now-lost Native American culture and way of life. Oversize, with 185 color illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting first look at America .......2007-05-14

Very well done, very informative, good attention to detail.

At Blanchard's Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook

Average customer rating:

My "goto" book for entertaining
I've been to the restaurant
Different, Easy, Elegant, Beautiful
Excellent
Best cookbook I own

At Blanchard's Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook
Melinda Blanchard , and Robert Blanchard
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Caribbean & West Indian | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0609610821
Release Date: 2003-03-25

Book Description

The next best thing to actually living on an island paradise is being able to bring a bit of paradise home. Bob and Melinda Blanchard shared their own “paradise found” in their book A Trip to the Beach, the true story of the couple’s adventures as they escaped civilization to open a restaurant on the Caribbean island of Anguilla. Now in At Blanchard’s Table, the couple extends the celebrated warmth and hospitality of their acclaimed restaurant, and its delicious menu, to our homes. The happy result is a cookbook that’s as much a pleasure to read as it is enjoyable to follow.

Writing with the same humor and charm that made their first book such a success, Bob and Melinda share recipes drawn from their New England roots, their early years in the gourmet food business, and their life in the Caribbean. At Blanchard’s Table is a delectable collection of more than 160 recipes perfect for get-togethers of family and friends, illustrated with glorious photographs that reveal how lucky they are
to have homes in both Vermont and Anguilla.

Although the Blanchards’ restaurant gets rave reviews for the food, Melinda was never trained formally as a chef, so her recipes are for true homemade meals that are appealing and easy. Caribbean-influenced dishes like Calypso Chicken with Lime, Grilled Lobster Anguilla Style, and Jamaican Jerk Shrimp are complemented by New England–inspired fare such as Vermont Cheddar Soup, Balsamic-Glazed Veal Chops, and Vermont Picnic Ham Baked in Dark Beer.

Sections include Casual Starters, Soups, Salads and Dressings, Seafood, Meat, Pasta, Vegetables and Sides, Desserts, and Drinks. Throughout the book, there are dozens of mini-recipes that allow people in a hurry to toss together just a couple of ingredients for a quick and tasty dish. The Blanchards also offer expert cooking tips, as well as more delightful stories about some of their favorite Anguillians.

With simple, eclectic, and flavorful recipes—along with sound cooking advice, charming anecdotes, and the same warmth that made people fall in love with A Trip to the Beach—At Blanchard’s Table is truly a pleasure to cook from and nearly as enchanting as an actual trip to the beach.

Customer Reviews:

My "goto" book for entertaining.......2007-05-30

I met the Blanchards at a book singing where they were demonstrating some of the recipes; that was a few years back and I have not tired of awesome ideas found in this book. I have given this book to several family and friends and they rave about it as well!

I've been to the restaurant.......2007-03-09

The restaurant is beautiful and the cookbook is awesome. I've made several of the recipes and all were fabulous!

Different, Easy, Elegant, Beautiful.......2006-10-01

I also own a lot of cookbooks. I love to read them. I checked this book out from the library, and it is the only one I have ever checked out for free that I wanted to pay for, not matter how much it cost. Wonderful tips on products, unpretentious - almost apologetic in tone because she didn't graduate from culinary school (neither did I! Perfect!), beautiful photography, many, many recipes I want to try. Sandwiches fillings that become dips that become sauces, terrific adaptation and suggestions. I am so glad to have this cookbook/story. It is an irresistable love story of food and hospitality. Makes me want to go to their restaurant in Anguilla - wherever that is..... At least I can eat and serve the food! Try it at your library and see. Delightful.

Excellent.......2006-01-23

This is one of the best cookbooks we own (and we own a lot). Everything we have tried has turned out great and taste wonderful. Well worth owning

Best cookbook I own.......2005-06-24

We have dined at Blanchards in Anguilla several times and it is by far our favorite restaurant in the Caribbean. How thrilling to find out we could re-create our favorite dishes at home with this wonderful cookbook. It is by far my favorite!

Recipes to try: Cracked Coconut dessert, Orzo Pasta with Chili-Lime Vinegarette, Blanchard's Hummus, Skewers with Avocado Lime Dip, and Ginger Shrimp with Dipping Sauce, just to name a few. They are all wonderful and so simple to make with a short list of common ingredients. You won't be disppointed!

The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan: Literature and Leadership in Eighteenth-Century Native America

Average customer rating:

The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan: Literature and Leadership in Eighteenth-Century Native America
Samson Occom
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

Native American | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0195170830

Book Description

This volume brings together for the first time the known writings of the pioneering Native American religious and political leader, intellectual, and author, Samson Occom (Mohegan; 1723-1792). The largest surviving archive of American Indian writing before Charles Eastman (Santee Sioux; 1858-1939), Occom's writings offer unparalleled views into a Native American intellectual and cultural universe in the era of colonialization and the early United States. His letters, sermons, journals, prose, petitions, and hymns--many of them never before published--document the emergence of pantribal political consciousness among the Native peoples of New England as well as Native efforts to adapt Christianity as a tool of decolonialization. Presenting previously unpublished and newly recovered writings, this collection more than doubles available Native American writing from before 1800.

Average customer rating:

Excellent read!
If I Am A Witch They Will Soon Now It
Great book..couldn't put it down.
Very dull sequel.
Sorceress

Sorceress (Witch Child)
Celia Rees
Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Historical Fiction | History & Historical Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Visionary Fiction | Fiction | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0763621838
Release Date: 2003-03-20

Book Description

For the legions of readers spellbound by WITCH CHILD, here’s the fascinating next chapter - thanks to a Native American descendant with an uncanny link to the past.

Agnes closed her eyes in the heat and steam of the sweat lodge. She woke to air that was dry and cold around her. She was no longer Agnes, or even Karonhisake, Searching Sky. She was no longer American or Haudenosaunee. She was English, and her name was Mary, and she woke to find that she was dying, freezing to death.

It came to Agnes unbidden - a vision of Mary Newbury, alone in the snow, dying of the cold. A vision of a young woman who had lived in the 1600s, who had been driven from her Puritan settlement, accused of being a witch. It was an image of a woman whose life was about to change radically as she embarked on an existence that defied all accepted norms - embracing passionate independence, love, and loyalty to a proud, endangered community that accepted her as one of their own. Mary’s and Agnes’s lives have been separated by almost 400 years, but they are inextricably linked by more than blood. For, like Mary, Agnes has special powers - and Mary now seeks these powers to ensure that the rest of her story is told.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent read!.......2007-09-28

This sequal to Witch Child was a very wonderful read. It starts off with a Native American girl, Agnes, who is in college and had read the book Witch Child. She had the sneeking suspicion that the Mary in the book was the same Mary that she knew from stories told to her from her family.
The book goes to different points of view, first Agnes, then Alison, then both, and then Mary. It was not hard to keep up tho, and whenever it did switch point of view it was told who it was each time at the top of the page.
I found it very interesting how much Native American culture they added into this book. Agnes's visions and her time in the sweat lodge made for a very interesting read.
The continuation with Mary's story was excellent as well, finding out what happened to her at the end of the first book. Then also how she continued with her own life with her new family.
I also found the background notes very interesting, it takes you back to some of the characters that were introduced in the first book. It tells what happened to them after Mary left.
All in all it was a great read and a very nice sequal, all the loose ends were tied up by the end of it. It was a book that when I finished, it just gave me a nice feeling of completeness.
It's fantastic to read a book by an author that makes it seem so very real, right down to the last detail. Celia Rees did an excellent job when she wrote Witch Child and Sorceress.

If I Am A Witch They Will Soon Now It.......2006-12-15

Like the previous novel Witch Child, this book was definitely a page-turner as well. At the end of each page, I would get more and more interested in the way that the Natives Americans would communicate with the sprits. The Native Americans also had to prepare for their spiritual encounter with Mary. I personally love fiction novels. Just knowing that the story that you are reading is based on a true story amazes me. It is said to be read by 5th graders, but I think the 6th, 7th, 8th grade would be the right age group because of its mature vocabulary and content. I love Celia Rees' way of writing. It adds suspense to a good story, and excitement to a boring one. Let me tell you, that while reading this book my mind wandered quite a few times. I would sometimes think what it would be like to be that character for that moment. It's fun to pretend you are in the story. I recommend this book to all experienced readers, because of the high vocabulary skills and mature content.

Great book..couldn't put it down........2006-11-10

I had to purchase this sequal to Witch Child. It was a must to continue the journey of the quilt. The beliefs of past centuries and the Indian culture were so vivid in the writings of Celia Rees. You have to read both books!

Very dull sequel........2006-06-24

"Sorceress" was very, very disappointing. "Witch Child" was interesting, mystifying, and intriguing. This book held none of those qualities, and I just felt obligated to finish it. Author Celia Rees should have just made a sequel to the book, without using Agnes and Alison. Those two characters made the story stop and go, ruining any and all flow. The conclusion of Mary's life was mundane and boring - nothing at all like the rest of her life. What a letdown. I do not recommend.

Sorceress .......2006-04-21

This book was good for a sequel because it follows up the amazing characters in Witch Child. I liked it because you actually got to find out what happened to some of the characters because Witch Child sort of left you hanging. And I really wanted to see what happened. I really was sad at some of the parts but I was very pleased with how this turned out.
PS. My friend Lara is leaning on me so I must stop this review short.

After King Philip's War: Presence and Persistence in Indian New England (Re-Encounters With Colonialism)

Average customer rating:

After King Philip's War: Presence and Persistence in Indian New England (Re-Encounters With Colonialism)

Manufacturer: Dartmouth
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0874518199

Book Description

New perspectives on three centuries of Indian presence in New England.

Changes in the Land, Revised Edition: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England

Average customer rating:

Good piece of work
Want to know how ecology can help us to understand history?
A seminal work
A New Perspective
Not only for ecologist's

Changes in the Land, Revised Edition: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England
William Cronon
Manufacturer: Hill and Wang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Children's Books | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0809016346

Amazon.com

Much historical writing is far more concerned with the players than the stage: narratives of kings and cabbage-merchants, although acted out in fields and forests, typically include nature only as a convenient prop to provide the occasional splash of color. In Changes in the Land, Cronon treats the land of New England with the same sensitivity and attention to detail as the lives of the American natives and the colonists--he depicts the effects of changing land-use patterns on the texture of the New England landscape, and gives voice to the changing communities of trees, rock walls, and rivers. The chapter on the effects of changing notions of "property" on the ecology of New England are especially strong.

Changes in the Land is almost the equal of Cronon's masterpiece, Nature's Metropolis, a monumental study of the ecological effects of Chicago on the entire central portion of the United States in the 1800s. Highly Recommended to specialists and general readers alike.

Book Description

The book that launched environmental history now updated.

Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize

In this landmark work of environmental history, William Cronon offers an original and profound explanation of the effects European colonists' sense of property and their pursuit of capitalism had upon the ecosystems of New England. Reissued here with an updated afterword by the author and a new preface by the distinguished colonialist John Demos, Changes in the Land, provides a brilliant inter-disciplinary interpretation of how land and people influence one another. With its chilling closing line, "The people of plenty were a people of waste," Cronon's enduring and thought-provoking book is ethno-ecological history at its best.

Customer Reviews:

Good piece of work.......2007-09-29

This is a very good piece of work. Cronon manages to keep all possible biases aside. He attributes ecological changes or problems to both natives and colonists. However, he argues that English Colonists were responsible for the greatest amount of damage. It was not a 200 page book on Europe ruined America but a well written analysis on European, in particular England, ways of life and how they dramatically altered the face of America. Natives and Europeans has two completely different ideas of property, life, etc. Without criticizing the English he shows how the English colonists ideas of agriculture changed the face of New England. It was not a thirst for destruction but a way of life or agriculture that Europeans worked with for 2-3000 years. Cronon does a good job showing how English recognized the problem, although little was done to fix it, and attempted to find solutions. It was a well balanced piece of work and narrated from a neutral perspective.

Want to know how ecology can help us to understand history?.......2006-06-09

This is not so much a book about New England per se as on how ecology should mould our understanding of history. For too long historians have ignored the ecological/environmental dimension to history, especially colonial history; and Cronon's book is one among a number of path-breaking works that serves to redress the balance.

As Cronon convincingly argues, the strength of ecological analysis in writing history lies in its ability to uncover processes and long-term changes which might otherwise remain invisible. Indeed, ecological change is used throughout the book as a window through which to uncover the complex long-term changes wrought by the arrival of the puritans to New England since the seventeenth century. The full impact of European colonisation cannot be understood apart from the new relationship they established with the New England ecosystem though their commoditisation of resources and their involvement in the international capitalist economy, both of which greatly impacted the land and its previous inhabitants, the Indians. These changes were cultural as much as they were simply environmental or economic: the arrival of the pig, for one, was bound in a cultural relationship to, among other things, the fence, the dandelion, and a very special definition of property.

Of course, the book also offers up fascinating insights into the changing New England landscape from 1600 to 1800. It corrects misconceptions about an unchanging primeval forest before the arrival of the Europeans, or of Indians as passive agents in subsequent changes wrought. It also establishes the origins of the environmental problems in the region such as deforestation, soil erosion, and resultant climate changes - the legacy of which we still live with today.

If this book interests you, so should other landmark studies on ecological or environmental history, such as Alfred Crosby's `Ecological Imperialism' or Donald Worster's `Dust Bowl'.

A seminal work.......2006-04-29

William Cronon's book was a seminal effort in 1983 that established a new way of thinking about history. It has stood the test of time. The book describes the modes and manner of the ecological impacts that English settlers had on the New England landscape in the colonial era. Some impacts were intentional, others not so much. For example, by the time first permanent settlements were established beginning at Plymouth in 1620, many Indian villages had already been devastated by European diseases (Europeans, especially fishermen had been frequenting the New England fisheries for decades).

The English settlers brought the English methods of farming, new concepts of property, and a market economy that overwhelmed the tribes and transformed the landscape. Forests were cleared, beaver were over-hunted, fences erected, new and domesticated animals and plants were introduced.

An added bonus in this 20th anniversary edition is a delightful afterword by the author reflecting on the book and how it came to be only through repeated serendipity. An added bonus for Wisconsin readers are his reflections on growing up in Madison as the son of a UW history professor and how those experiences shaped his professional life.

Cronon sagely instructs us to asks 'how so Alien a Then could have become so familiar a Now'. Changes in the Land also wrought changes in the way we think.

A New Perspective.......2006-03-09

This text was assigned as part of a college history course. As part of my initial reading I found the text to be wordy, indirect and a little overly complicated. However, after reviewing the test for an essay it became far more easily to take meaningful information from. Cronon does an excellent job explaining the transition of Indian culture and society. He also does a very good job of explaining the complex interaction between Indians and European settlers and the American wilderness. In my opinion Cronon focuses on capitalism and the transitions towards capitialism and Indian society. Overall a good history read, very applicable to American history.

Not only for ecologist's.......2004-11-22

I read this book for an economic anthropology course in college and with no ecological background I thouroughly enjoyed it. For anyone interested in a general history of the early colonization of New England it is very interesting. You will learn things about New England before the colonists came that will change your views about the Indians relationship with their land forever.

The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest (Norton Library)

Average customer rating:

Fantastic Work
Very thought provoking
Puritans as imperialists
Impassioned Revisionism
Jennings lays it out- you have to make yourself think.

The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest (Norton Library)
Francis Jennings
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393008304

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Work.......2004-10-01

The beauty of this book...the author, though angry, uses the angry energy in a focused, forthright and definitive way. The result is an informative and detailed look at history that most may be surprised to read. Jennings analysis of the events is told in a story-like form, so that the reader is enlightened, then slowly taken in by the intrigue and intriging mischief of the day. Another title for this research could have been {the art of puritan warfare}. The author tells of the barbaric, imperialistic, and destructive engagements with the Irish as a prelude to the western invasion. This invasive group of people had plenty of practice. Word of advice, read slowly, don't miss anything...Fantastic Work...

Very thought provoking.......2003-04-08

Francis Jennings' first book, The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism and the Cant of Conquest was path breaking when released in 1975, a book of "angry, forceful prose [that] still touches readers a quarter century after its publication," according to his 2001 obituary in the newsletter of the American Organization of Historians. In fact, Jennings himself was known for his "irrepressible" devotion to debunking the myths of Native American history of the colonial period, particularly the works of Francis Parkman. As his eulogizer Frederick Hoxie notes, Jennings early on insisted that "America began not with "discovery" but invasion," a belief which set "himself apart from those who viewed the fate of the continent's indigenous people as somehow inevitable or natural." The polemical The Invasion of America was the first in what Jennings called his "Covenant Chain Trilogy," with The Ambiguous Iroquois Empire (1984) and Empire of Fortune (1988) finishing the set. As Hoxie states, The Invasion of America (and most of Jennings' other writings) was a "frontal attack on the generations of scholars who, he argued, had internalized the racist language of the seventeenth century and overlooked the violence and brutality of European settlement." As another reviewer writes, "this is a strong, angry book," the prose of which is characterized by "the author's controlled outrage at what happened and at the misconceptions, distortions, and even lies he sees in the treatment of the period by other historians."

Puritans as imperialists.......2001-11-29

Francis Jennings' Invasion of America is still usefull reading, but... In the half of 70s' it was almost revolutionary work, and many (not only) historians looked at this as at nearly sacred text. But I think, that Jennings adversary's" - i. e. Vaughan's - New England Frontier is more balanced view of Puritan - Indian relations in the 17th century.
Jennings book is divided into two different parts. First is thematical (and I think better), and second chronological. Author tries to apply the research done in the first part to the 17th century New England (second part). Jennings offers many interesting ideas, often highly provocative. He shows, for example, how the contention between single New England colonies (especially between Massachusetts and Connecticutt) influenced their Indian policy.
Book has two weak points, of which the second is essential. 1) Jennings' approach, especially in the second part, is not ethnohistorical, although he (in the first chapter) praises this historical subdiscipline. He focuses almost exclusivelly on Puritan policy toward Indians, and largely omits Indian actions. 2) He looks at Puritans from the perspective of 70s' of the 20th century through the eyes of a radical (left-wing ?) intelectual. So he finds nearly all Puritan actions toward Indians as bad. Their only goal was to conquer Indians and their land. They were real imperialists. He absolutely excludes the possibility, that Puritan actions could have been motivated by sincere conviction, for example, that they are just trying to help Indians (missions) or to protect themself (Pequot war; actions toward Narragansett and Eastern Niantic tribes in the 40s'and 50s'). I think, that this too much revisionst and sceptical approach is wrong. Historian should look at actions of his heroes" through the perspective of time they were living.
In spite of above said, I think this is still an important book (not only) on New England history in the 17th century.

Impassioned Revisionism.......2000-05-20

A brilliantly-written, well-researched and incredibly impassioned telling of the European conquest of North Eastern America. My only complaint would be that after around 300 pages, the author's anti-european/pro-indian sentiments become a little wearing.

It seems to be a standard orthodoxy these days that 'colonialism' was a bad thing, and that, possibly, European settlers didn't acquire the continent without a spot of realpolitic, but in the mid-70's, when this book was written, it probably opened a few eyebrows. The accounts of just how quickly the pilgrim fathers took to aggressive expansionism against local tribes certainly made *my* stiff upper lip twitch a little.

Jennings lays it out- you have to make yourself think........1997-09-04

Book offers analyses based on thorough interpretation of primary sources.
It is a seed book portraying the event of European conquest on the North American continent. The magnitude of the underlying falsehoods that American history is based upon are what the reader walks away with after digesting this work.
The list of sources contained in the work are worth the price of the book

New England Captives Carried to Canada Between 1677 and 1760 During the French and Indian Wars

Average customer rating:

New England Captives Carried to Canada Between 1677 and 1760 During the French and Indian Wars

Manufacturer: Heritage Books, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1556132573

Product Description

2 volumes. In 1897, C. Alice Baker published True Stories of New England Captives Carried to Canada During the Old French and Indian Wars, which Heritage Books reprinted several years ago, but which is now out of print. Following the initial publication of that work, Ms. Baker and Emma Lewis Coleman continued to research this topic, scouring the libraries and archives of New England and Canada for information. Following the death of Ms. Baker, Ms. Coleman prepared the present volumes using all the data they had accumulated over several decades. These volumes name all the captives they discovered and provide biographical data on each, but the sketches on those people who had been covered in the earlier volume are abbreviated in comparison to those who had not been covered in the first compilation. This work provides an extensive picture of the Indian attacks on New England communities over about an eighty-year period, and in terms of identifying their captives, it is probably the most definitive work ever published. Sources are cited in footnotes and an appendix identifies various people and places mentioned in the text. There is a complete name index.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books