Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War

Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War, by Nathaniel Philbrick

Mayflower received much praise after its publication and deservedly so. Listed as one of the best non-fiction books of 2006 by The New York Times Book Review, Philbrick has written a gripping and very well-researched book about the history of the Pilgrims. He begins by tracing their English roots and search for a haven from religious prosecution in England. After settling in Holland for years, the Pilgrim leaders decided to leave Europe and set off on their harrowing sail on the Mayflower to America. The early days of their settlement in America were bleak and filled with illness and death. But, their determination to survive, in spite of their terrible living conditions, carried the Pilgrims through those tough years. Most interesting for this reviewer was the detailed manner in which Philbrick writes of the relationship between the Pilgrims and the various Indian tribes with whom they were in contact. While the two groups did live with peace between them for some years, the relationship between the Indians and Pilgrims often involved bloody fighting, most notably with the outbreak of King Philip's War. Also of interest for those readers familiar with Massachusetts and Rhode Island is how so many of the modern names of cities and other locations are derived from the original Indian population of those areas. This book is highly recommended.
-Roy