Mayflower

A Story of Courage, Community, and War

By: Nathaniel Philbrick

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

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 best-selling 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 55-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.

The Mayflower'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 groups, the Wampanoags, under the charismatic and calculating chief Massasoit, and the Pilgrims, whose pugnacious military officer Miles Standish was barely five feet tall, maintained a fragile working relationship. But within decades, New England would erupt into King Philip'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 history, a history dominated right from the start by issues of race, violence, and religion.

©2006 Nathaniel Philbrick (P)2006 Penguin Audio, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and Recorded Books, LLC. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Impeccably researched and expertly rendered, Philbrick's account brings the Plymouth Colony and its leaders...vividly to life. More importantly, he brings into focus a gruesome period in early American history." (Publishers Weekly)

"Startling [and] fascinating." (The New York Times)

Important history

Very interesting history that I had not been exposed to before other than the classic tale of the Pilgrims. Hard to keep track of everyone and every place when just listening. There are a lot of moving parts to this amazing history.

Exciting heartbreak

i was enthralled by this book. As a lifelong New Englander (I'm a Rhode Islander with Bridgewater roots), I've of course known of the Pilgrims and Wampanoags, Narragansetts and Abenaki. I learned about Bradford, Standish and Roger Williams and a little of Massasoit. I have always wanted to learn more about King Phillip's War.
This history of Southern New England from the Mayflower's arrival through the turn of 17th century was a harrowing account of the period. From alliance to war. From foothold to expansion. I was hooked on this story. I loved learning about the people who shaped the area that has been my home. Benjamin Church, Phillip and Canochet. It's a heartbreaking history of the Native population. I recommend anyone with any interest in this period give this book your attention.

great story

well researched, written and told. enjoyed it as much as his book on bunker hill.

Great Book of Documented History

I found this to be a very interesting and informative story regarding the first seventy five years of American history. The author made numerous references to historical documents that were left by the very people who lived through those formative years. He also "translated" the original place names into the current place names so we can find them on a modern map and visualize, or even visit, these sites.

The author does not ignore the brutality of the Indian wars, but mercifully does not go into the gory details. He just stated the facts such as, "these 10 men were captured and tortured to death", or "the dwellings were burned down with the inhabitants still inside". It must have been a horrific time to be alive.

This is a great book for anyone interested in this portion of our American history. The narrator was well choosen and did an outstanding job of presenting the story.

It is a thoroughly research and well written.

I've read it twice so far. A wonderful reader in George Guidall. He's one of my favorites. I highly recommend it.

Informative and surprisingly different

Great perspective and thorough lay out of the events of the early settlements. The story gave you a glimpse through the prism of the times.

More than a journey across the sea

An interesting and detailed story of the Mayflower - but really much more about the first 40 years on this soil. Intersting descriptions of the first landing in Provincetown and then how the ship moved along the Cape shore untimately ending in Plymouth. But that is really only the first 1/3 of the book. Long descriptions of the relationship with native americans and frankly not always a very positive view of how the puritans treated the "indians" or of the numerous wars. The King Phillip War descriptions are lenghty - possibly too long. Worth the read.

Fascinating and Disturbing

The Pilgrims' story is mythologized but I don't believe the facts are widely known. I found the story of the Mayflower and subsequent settlement of the area to be fascinating. The back half of the book covers the next few decades and includes King Phillip's was and other conflicts with the native people. As someone with Mayflower ancestors, the narrative was deeply disturbing and on occasions I resorted to turning the sound off. If you know little about this period in US history, don't miss this one.

Amazing forgotten history

The Mayflower was just the start of this book. It goes on to explain the following decades and the ultimate conversion of the settlement into current Massachusetts. It goes in depth into parts of America's history which are not really discussed in history classes. The settler and Indian relationships were much more complex than I ever thought.

Better title - King Phillip's War

A good account of the early days of the New England colonies with a focus on the descendants of the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower and their subsequent interactions with the indigenous Indian tribes. Title is misleading. Should have been titled King Phillip's War, one of the bloodiest wars in American history, since that is its focus. Book is balanced and paints an equally honest, and often unflattering, portrait of some of the Pilgrim and Indian leaders of the time.