Love and Hate in Jamestown

John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation

By: David A. Price

Narrated by: Josh Innerst

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

A gripping narrative of one of the great survival stories of American history: the opening of the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

Drawing on period letters and chronicles, and on the papers of the Virginia Company - which financed the settlement of Jamestown - David Price tells a tale of cowardice and courage, stupidity and brilliance, tragedy and costly triumph. He takes us into the day-to-day existence of the English men and women whose charge was to find gold and a route to the Orient, and who found, instead, hardship and wretched misery. Death, in fact, became the settlers' most faithful companion, and their infighting was ceaseless.

Price offers a rare balanced view of the relationship between the settlers and the natives. He unravels the crucial role of Pocahontas, a young woman whose reality has been obscured by centuries of legend and misinformation (and, more recently, animation). He paints indelible portraits of Chief Powhatan, the aged monarch who came close to ending the colony's existence, and Captain John Smith, the former mercenary and slave, whose disdain for class distinctions infuriated many around him - even as his resourcefulness made him essential to the colony's success.

Love and Hate in Jamestown is a superb work of popular history, reminding us of the horrors and heroism that marked the dawning of our nation.

©2007 David A. Price (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A fine book...one that personifies the virtues I esteem...clarity, intelligence, grace, novelty, and brevity." (David L. Beck, San Jose Mercury News)

"Solid and engaging.... Price focuses on the human story of Jamestown, nearly mythic in its resonances." (Caleb Crain, New York Times Book Review)

"Splendidly realized...firmly grounded in original sources...and in later scholarship, it has the immediacy of contemporary journalism...by teasing out the themes of love and hate, Price has given the Jamestown story a contemporary freshness." (Michael Kenney, Boston Globe)

Easy listening! Great book!

I definitely enjoyed this read! I'm not all knowing about that part of history in America. I definitely learned a lot from listening to this book! The narrator did a great job! I liked the style of the author. I didn't get confused on who people were and it was easy to follow! Some of these types of books ramble on and on. I felt like it told a great story of some of the beginnings in America. Overall this was a great book for me! I would recommend it! Credit well spent!!

Excellent

Really enjoyed the authors account of early Virginia colonization. I thought the book was balanced, keeping the listener entertained but still providing facts/details to represent the history. Good job weaving in general coverage of Virginia with the personal accounts and stories of John Smith

An insightful American origin story

Looking past the obvious Pocahontas-John Smith story, this is a much more expansive look at the Jamestown colony and what made it thrive, fail, and ultimately survive it's early years. Giving perspectives from the political and business interests of London to the coastal and inland tribes of Virginia, this is a balanced telling of the heros, rogues, victims, and winners of our first enduring English settlement in North America.
The recording is good and the narrator serves the story well.

Five Star History!

And so rare today, given the PC inclinations (fears?) of today’s historians. Well written, scholarly and more or less immune from the toadying of most current “scholars” who can not write a line without frenetically denigrating colonists, explorers and…let’s just say it…white people. Great to get an even-handed lesson free from the stridency of virtue signaling revisionism.

I am a descendant of Thomas Savage (mentioned several times in the book).

I have read several accounts of the Jamestown early history and found this one to be the most complete and interesting. The narrator is great - using a British accent when quoting the characters and speaking in a humorous if slightly sarcastic manner when quoting the men who considered themselves “gentlemen” and thereby refusing to work, as they were used to having servants do the dirty jobs necessary to keep everyone alive. I was particularly interested in the author’s depiction of John Smith, of Pocahontas and of King James the First (or Sixth).
Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.

Favorite history book

This is easily one of my favorite history books I’ve ever read, it’s just one wild ride jammed with everything you want in a good story, but of course, it’s true.

Thorough and Evenhanded

Most of what I’ve read about John Smith makes him come off as thoroughly despicable. This seems much more evenhanded. The author has not convinced me to admire Smith but I feel I have a better understanding of Smith’s motives and actions now. Pocahontas is also described better here than in other sources, although lacking any written memoirs directly from her, there’s not much to know.

The history of Jamestown is almost all tragedy, based sometimes on misunderstanding and other times on deliberate malice. Colonizing land already inhabited seems to be more for the benefit of a few rich and powerful than anyone else, but it’s important to learn what we can of our history because it contributes so much to how we see our collective roles now, hundred of years later.

Very nice refresher on Jamestown

Very enjoyable retelling of the Jamestown story. Appreciated the linkages to Plymouth settlement several years later.

As usual, I wish I’d had access to visuals like maps to follow the events better.

Feels watered down

Feels watered down, I wish the story was told more descriptive and less bias should capture the time more and the mentality that drove such acts, not just the heroic mindset doesn’t feel in tune