Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War | Nathaniel Philbrick

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War | Nathaniel Philbrick | A great, mythbusting yarn

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Mayflower: A Story...

	Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War Nathaniel Philbrick Penguin (Non-Classics), 2007 - 480 pages average customer review:based on 276 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Nathaniel Philbrick became an internationally renowned author with his National Book Award? winning In the Heart of the Sea, hailed as ?spellbinding? by Time magazine. In Mayflower, Philbrick casts his spell once again, giving us a fresh and extraordinarily vivid account of our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony. From the Mayflower?s arduous Atlantic crossing to the eruption of King Philip?s War between colonists and natives decades later, Philbrick reveals in this electrifying history of the Pilgrims a fifty-five-year epic, at once tragic and heroic, that still resonates with us today.

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Detailed and well written

Philbrick has done a wonderful job here of telling the story of Plymouth colony in such great detail, truly bringing to life these men (and some women) from nearly 400 years ago.

The book covers the planning stages of the Mayflower voyage and goes through King Philip's War. Most of the book focuses on the first year and the war, and the details and storytelling are amazing. And Philbrick does a great job of describing the erosion of the relationship between the colonists and the Indians, even as he goes through the years between 1622 and 1675 rather quickly.

The book is entitled "Mayflower," but the latter part of the book significantly broadens the scope, as it delves into details from throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Most of that information is relevant to the story, but at times it seemed that, late in the book, Plymouth was just a part of the story instead of the focus.

That's just nitpicking what was certainly a fabulous book. I was truly amazed at how in-depth that story could be told and I believe it is a book that would appeal to more than just the history buff. Being from southeastern Massachusetts, I found it especially interesting to read about areas and towns I became familiar with while growing up.

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A great, mythbusting yarn

Many of the reviews (the 1-, 2- and 3-star reviews in particular) criticize the author for (a) poor choice of book title, (b) shoddy history, (c) boring prose. The mixed reviews on this prevented me from purchasing Mayflower for quite some time, until curiosity got the better of me.

While little can be said about whether a book is boring or not (to each his own), I'd advise those lamenting the book's title to start reading labels - it was very clear on the back cover (you didn't even need to crack the book) what this story was about. Similarly, to those self-proclaimed historians - get out of the pop-history aisle and start buying textbooks. Nowhere does Philbrick claim to be a professional historian; he is a writer and journalist, and having recently finished Mayflower I feel that his 2007 Pulitzer nomination was well-deserved... Mayflower is a crackin' good read.

In the prologue Philbrick makes it clear that he uses not only standard sources for his story, but also oral history & traditions from the Native Americans of the region in an attempt to tell a balanced story of the first settlers in Plymouth, their struggles, their successes and failures, and the ultimate unravelling of what had been delicately created through the bias and shortsightedness of subsequent generations culminating in "King Phillip's War". This bias and shortsightedness can be claimed by both sides, although Philbrick levels a larger portion at the English/Pilgrims/Puritans - choose your label - and, for my money, he backs it up nicely. What makes Puritan culpability more believable is that we see the same mistakes being made today by arguably better educated and more world-wise governments.

Mayflower isn't all roses. I would like to have seen Philbrick spend a little more time on some of the better known aspects of the Pilgrim national myth - the time in England and Holland, the first Thanksgiving, etc. - but the story doesn't suffer for it. In fact, I would have welcomed another 50 pages, or so, in such a well-written book.

All said, I found Mayflower to be a great read - exposing time-honored myths in a believable way that does not diminish the accomplishments of the passengers of that ship one iota. Removing the romantic patina that's built up over the years allows us to appreciate the story more - warts and all.

Maybe we can even learn something from this...

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Riveting Historical Novel of America's Early History

Mayflower, a historical novel by Nathaniel Philbrick, documents a time of American history that is often hidden behind myth, legend and political correctness.

Mayflower first tells the story of the earliest Pilgrims to come to the New World and then lays out the history of the English-Indian wars fought by the Pilgrims' descendants. Philbrick's description of the early Americans is as compelling as it is accurate - fairly portraying the early settlers and their quest for survival and then for settlement.

I appreciated Mayflower for its evenhanded portrayal of the early Pilgrims and the Native Americans they befriended. In a day of increasing political correctness, most Americans tend to one of two extremes when thinking about the Pilgrims. Some mythologize and glorify the Pilgrims and their motives. Others demonize them for disrupting the "peaceful" life of the American Indians.

The truth lies somewhere between these two extremes. Philbrick does not shy away from the religiosity of the early settlers. Neither does he shy away from the deceptive craftiness of some of the later Indians. He criticizes the actions of Pilgrims and Indians alike, weaving into his narrative fascinating stories of unity, betrayal, and community.

Most American history focuses on the 1700's and the quest for American independence. Mayflower goes back even further, telling the story of the American forefathers' ancestors and the early American settlements. What is perhaps most fascinating about Philbrick's account is how the debates over religion and national identity in the U.S. today were already present on the Mayflower. From the beginning, the Pilgrims included religious and non-religious in their midst - and the debate over what kind of society should emerge was just as controversial then as now.

Pick up Mayflower. Read the story of courage, community, and war. Learn about the earliest Americans. Trust me - you won't be able to put the book down.

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I Enjoyed This Book Until . . .

I realized that a lot of what is written comprises of thick paraphrasing and prolific quoting from well-known as well as obscure primary texts. Philbrick just extracted the history from primary source material and dropped them into his own book. This book serves as a great primer, but reading the original accounts from people like Nathaniel Morton's New-England Memorial, Winthrop's Of Plimouth Plantation serves you one better with better results. Of Morton, here is a quote:

"Which he desired. And having a confection [preparation] of many comfortable conserves &c.: on the point of my knife, I gave him some; which I could scarce get through his teeth. When it was dissolved in his mouth, he swallowed the juice of it: whereat those that were about him, much rejoiced; saying, he had not swallowed anything in two days before.
Then I desired to see his mouth, which was exceedingly furred; and his tongue had swelled in such a manner, as it was not possible for him to eat such meat as they had, his passage [gullet] being stopped up. Then I washed his mouth, and scraped his tongue; and got abundance of corruption out of the same.
"After which, I gave him more of the confection; which he swallowed with more readiness. Then he desiring to drink; I dissolved some of it in water, and gave him thereof. Within half an hour, this wrought a great alteration in him, in the eyes of all that beheld him. Presently after, his sight began to come to him: which gave him and us good encouragement.
"In the mean time, I inquired, How he slept; and when he went to the stool?
"They said, he slept not in two days before; and had not had a stool in five.
"Then I gave him [of the confection in the water]; and told him of a mishap we had, by the way, in breaking a bottle of drink; which the Governor also sent him: saying, if he would send any of his men to Patuxet, I would send for more of the same; also for chickens to make him broth; and for other things which I knew were good for him: and would stay the return of the messenger, if he desired.
"This he took marvellously kindly; and appointed some, who were ready to go by two of the clock in the morning: against which time, I made ready a letter, declaring therein our good success, the state of his body &c.; desiring to send me such things as I sent for, and such physic as the Surgeon [Samuel Fuller] dursrt adminster to him.
He requested me that, the day following I would take my piece, and kill some fowl [geese, ducks &c.]; and make him some English pottage, such as he had eaten at Plymouth: which I promised.
After, his stomach [appetite] coming to him, I must needs make him some without fowl, before I went abroad. Which somewhat troubled me, being unaccustomed and unacquainted in such businesses; especially having nothing to make it comfortable [tasty]: my consort [Master JOHN HAMDEN] being as ignorant as myself. But it being, we must do somewhat; I caused a woman to bruise some corn, and take the flour from it: and we set the grut [groats], or broken corn, in a pipkin; for they have earthen pots of all sizes."]"

Since I cannot quote from Mayflower, just check out pages 144 through 150.

Kudos for Philbrick for bringing to light such great stories, but as researching goes, it is no more than scanning these well-known stories out of Google Books (which has digitized a vast majority of the sources used by Philbrick and made available to the public for free.)

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