Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Unabridged
Author: Nathaniel Philbrick
Narrator: George Guidall
Genres: History, United States
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks
Date: May 2006
Length: 12 hours, 30 minutes
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD

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Overview

The startling story of the Plymouth Colony, from the flight to religious freedom to the war that ravaged New England, is told by the bestselling author of "In the Heart of the Sea."

Selected Reviews

Mayflower

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Mayflower

by Kathy
  • Book Rating: 3/5

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Reviews (9)

Mayflower

Written by Anonymous on June 23rd, 2009

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Really good! This is a period of history that I thought I knew something about - but apparently not! I found myself seeking more information on certain historical characters after listening to this selection. If you have not met Winslow, Church, Standish, and King Philip, you will want to make their acquaintance soon!

Mayflower

Written by Kathy on November 19th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 3/5

This book was really quite interesting, especially as I live in New England and so it's "local" history for me. But the narrator has the most annoying speech impediment or accent. When a word ends in "ph" he pronounces it as an "f." So the phrase "death and despair" comes out as "deaf and despair." Can't understand why such a narrator would be used. This book would have gotten a 5 from me if it weren't for the narrator.

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Written by Anonymous on July 6th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I found the book very interesting and very well written. I learned a lot about the Pilgrims and the King Phillips War in New England. Living in Rhode Island and having visited and driven past many of these places, it gives my drive a whole new meaning. A must read for anyone living or visiting New England.

Mayflower

Written by BLW on April 5th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the journeys up and down the east coast, especially along Cape Cod. If you're familiar with the area, it's fascinating to hear the descriptions of what they must have seen and how they lived. There was a lot of detail and I admit I had to back-track many times (especially while driving). But I learned a lot (and unlearned some legends) even if I didn't absorb every last detail. The author's extensive research is quite impressive and the book is well written.

Mayflower

Written by JPM on October 22nd, 2006

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Mayflower really helped my perspective on this time in American history and my understanding of the Puritans. It is also an excellent history of the Native Americans in the New England area - an how they interacted with the newcomers - both positively and negatively. It does seem to come off as more of a diary than a story so sometimes a little tedious to listen to. But overall a very good historical listen.

Mayflower

Written by dcsites on October 10th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 1/5

Dull, long, boring, WOW. If you have to listen get the abridged version.

Good book on tape

Written by Adam Shepherd on October 7th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

This book increased my understanding of the time period. It was very well written and I appreciated the detail in which the author went into to provide insight into the period

mayflower

Written by David Naughton on September 1st, 2006

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This was a great listen. I reccommend it. A very good historical book!

Mayflower

Written by Jeffrey Kohan on August 8th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I found this to be a fascinating book. The author humanized the Pilgrims and Native Americans. These were actual people and not cartoon characters. The chapters on Phillip's War was particularly interesting.

Selected Reviews

Mayflower

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Mayflower

by Kathy
  • Book Rating: 3/5

More...

Read All 9

Author Details

Author Details

Philbrick, Nathaniel

Nathaniel Philbrick (born 1956) is an American author and a winner of the National Book Award for his work of maritime history In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. His latest work, Mayflower, has received excellent reviews.

Philbrick graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School[1] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earned his bachelor's degree at Brown University, and his master's degree in American literature at Duke University. He moved to Nantucket in 1986.

He is a leading authority on the history of whaling and is the director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies and is a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association. He lives on Nantucket and is a former intercollegiate All-American sailor and North American Sunfish champion.

Philbrick has also written articles on sailing and American maritime history for Vanity Fair, the New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe.

In 2002, he was named the Nathaniel Bowditch Maritime Scholar of the Year by the American Merchant Marine Museum.

Philbrick has written extensively about sailing. His works include The Passionate Sailor and Second Wind: A Sailfish Sailor's Odyssey. He is also the editor of Yaahting, A Parody.

In May 2006, Philbrick published a new history of the founding of the Plymouth colony in the United States, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, winner of the Massachusetts Book Award. On November 6, 2007, Philbrick shared research from this book at a campus forum at Brigham Young University.[2]

Nathaniel is the most prominent member of the Philbrick literary family.