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Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War (精装)
by Nathaniel Philbrick
| Category:
American history |
| Market price: ¥ 318.00
MSL price:
¥ 288.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
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AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 11 items |
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David Schmick (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-31 00:00>
Mayflower is simply a master work of history and Philbrick has demonstrated a definite mastery not only of the era of which he writes, but in particular the personalities who dominated the times. Philbrick pulls no punches and is not an advocate of any politically correct position. Both the English settlers and the Native Americans come into their own fair share of praise and criticism. This is not a rewrite of American history; he sets new standards as he explores much more than just the landing of the ship but follows with the establishment of Plymouth Plantation and eventually touches the point when the Native American dominance of the area vanished.
It is amazing to see how 50 years changes so much. People today tend to think how quickly events shift their lives, but at Plymouth and the emerging towns around it, things also moved rapidly. The initial warmth which was extended to the Pilgrims diminished quickly after misunderstandings and cultural differences eroded the trust between peoples. Disease, almost to the level of plagues, devastated the native population. Friends became enemies and minor skirmishes and acts of violence led to wars and major blood letting and not only between the immigrants and Indians, but also between Native American groups who fell victim to the divide and conquer strategy of the Englishmen. This was really nothing new however, as these situations existed with Indian tribes before whites touched the land. The tribal differences were just cleverly exploited not just between Englishmen and Indians, but also between Indian tribes.
Philbrick also expertly draws accurate and intelligent portraits of the major actors in this early American drama. We meet folks we imagined were one way and it turns out the most glamourous, sometimes were very imperfect people. Miles Standish definitely is a name hallowed by people even today, and it appears he was not much of a hero in many ways.
This is an era I have studied much, but yet I learned much from this book and am going back to do further exploration. If you think our current version of Thanksgiving is even remotely accurate you should read this book. Yes the early years were tough, but the Pilgrims survived. What is little told, however is that the tables were turned later on and how the Native Americans virtually vanished from New England, because of this settlement in their midst.
I would commend this book to all Americans. It is an easy read, the characters for the most part are recognizable to most who have a basic connection with our early history. But in most history courses, people abandon the Pilgrims after the first Thanksgiving and move right on to the French and Indian War. There was much between and that is this book's shining light. Philbrick paints in the middle ground. I thank him for this book and for rousing me to re-explore an era which seems closed to so many. A great account of forgotten times.
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1 2 Total 2 pages 11 items |
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