I have more than a passing interest in history, and when I find an author who transforms the dry texts of my college days and actually brings the events, people and places to life, it’s pure delight. Such was the case with Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea, his superb account of the Nantucket whaling ship that inspired the novel Moby Dick and Philbrick’s latest effort, Mayflower, is written in the same compelling style. Growing up in Canada, I’ve only had a minimal sense of the history of the Pilgrims and their descent upon what was to become New England. In fact, I’m sure many Americans are just as ignorant as I was. Philbrick’s book does much to remedy that.

The first half deals with the idealistic courage of the Pilgrims, as they make a new home for themselves while dealing with unfamiliar terrain, starvation, brutal winters, and not least, dealing with the Natives with whom they find themselves sharing their adopted homeland. The second part focuses on King Philip’s War, a prolonged battle that scarred the landscape and its inhabitants. He does a good job of pointing out the various weaknesses and strengths of everyone involved, and avoids the trap of painting all white men as evil and the natives as peaceful innocents.

Since we lived in Rhode Island for three years, and extensively explored what was our new home state and the surrounding area (thanks in large part to Geocaching), it was particularly interesting to learn more of the various woods, beaches, towns and swamps we traipsed through, even Plymouth itself, with the fabled rock (underneath an ostentatious monument).

One particularly fascinating tidbit that Philbrick mentions near the end? It’s estimated that 35 million people living in America today are descendants of the original Mayflower Pilgrims, or roughly 10% of the US population.