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The Paradox of Jamestown  By  cover art

The Paradox of Jamestown

By: Christopher Collier,James Lincoln Collier
Narrated by: Jim Manchester
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Publisher's summary

History is dramatic - and the renowned, award-winning authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier demonstrate this in a compelling series aimed at young listeners. Covering American history from the founding of Jamestown through present day, these volumes explore far beyond the dates and events of a historical chronicle to present a moving illumination of the ideas, opinions, attitudes, and tribulations that led to the birth of this great nation.

The Paradox of Jamestown discusses the circumstances surrounding English colonization of Virginia and the evolution of slavery in that colony. Beginning with an examination of 16th- and 17th-century life in England, the authors explain many of the reasons - social, political, religious, and economic - people chose to leave the Old World for a new life in the Americas. They describe the early interactions between the settlers and the Indians, the difficulties those groups had in establishing cooperative relationships, and the many difficulties the settlers had in adjusting to life in the New World. Hear about the effects of the growing market for tobacco back in England, the gradual changes in how the new colony was governed, and the growing dependence on the slave trade.

©1997 Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier (P)2013 AudioGO

What listeners say about The Paradox of Jamestown

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poorly Accurate

To the auther...they are to be called "enslaved people", not "slaves".
the author seems symphathetic to the institution of chattel slavery. The story of pocahontas used in this book has been proven false.

book seems to be written from an ignorant white perspective. I can't trust anymore books by this author.

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It Read Like A Wikipedia Post

I love Jamestown books. But this one read like a Wikipedia post. It was dry. It was like the authors didn't care about the end product. Also some of the parts were cringe worthy when discussing natives and indentured servants and all out slavery.

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1 person found this helpful

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Well Done and Informative

Mostly the headline covers it. It's not long, but I learned what I wanted to learn. I'll be continuing with the series.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Short story & too 'Woke' for my taste

This story is geared toward school aged children and maybe this is how they've rewritten our history but this story was a bit too 'woke' for my taste.
Yes, slavery was absolutely horrid but America only accepted 3% of the African slaves. I wish that stat was included to help explain perspectives. Similar with the explanation of Native Americans. Author is very confused, flops the narrative on whether the Indians were a very peaceful or fierce warriors, when they probably were a little of both. so just say that. there were 147 tribes and generalizing all tribes is wrong, too.

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Well done

I love history and this seemed to be a fair rendering of the Jamestown story.

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    3 out of 5 stars

it knows that the term Indian is incorrect....

the nose of the term Indian is incorrect, talks about it for a little bit, and then goes on to use the word Indian for the entire story. well the events here describe are mostly accurate many pieces are missing, and the fact that they use the word Indian Even though they knew it was inaccurate, is all you need to know.

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Outstanding Summary of Jamestown History

The authors provided an unbiased, objective examination of key themes in the history of Jamestown. The books places the events of early Jamestown within its historical context. Given the over abundance of so-called “historians” who use their writings to push their personal political agendas, the Paradox of Jamestown was refreshing. Well done!

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mispronounced

The history was accurate, but narrator kept mispronouncing Native names. It would be helpful for the listener to review Powhatan pronunciation. The Virginia Indians maintain websites with information about their people.

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Great Historical Series

Easy to follow making learning history read like a novel. I look forward to all the books in the series

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Bad history

A Post Modernist view of history. Failing to understand the corrupt nature of man. In a false belief that Democracy produces liberty.

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