Mayflower (Book 8)

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War (Nathaniel Philbrick, 2006) has a somewhat misleading title. It's not so much the story of the Mayflower and its passengers as a history of the first 50-60 years of the New England colonies, beginning with the Mayflower and ending with King Philip's War. And my only real problem with the book was that it covers too much ground in too few pages, never allowing the reader to get to know any one historical figure all that well. It's fascinating, but rather than leaving me satisfied, it's left me wanting to know more, especially about the women among the early colonists--Philbrick gives tantalizing glimpses, but that's it.

Still, it's a worthwhile read about a little-known corner of American history. (Trust me, if all you know about 17th century New England is what you learned in school, you know NOTHING about the Pilgrims and Puritans. The grade school version is pure mythology.)