The Mayflower Papers: Selected Writings of Colonial New England - Softcover

Various

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143104985 ISBN 13: 9780143104988

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2007

Synopsis

The most important personal accounts of the Plymouth Colony, the key sources of Nathaniel Philbrick's New York Times bestseller Mayflower

National Book Award winner Nathaniel Philbrick and his father, Thomas Philbrick, present the most significant and readable original works that were used in the writing of Mayflower, offering a definitive look at a crucial era of America's history. The selections include William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation" (1651), the most comprehensive of all contemporary accounts of settlement in seventeenth-century America; Benjamin Church's "Entertaining Passages Relating to Philip's War 1716," an eye-opening account from Church's field notes from battle; and much more. Providing explanatory notes for every piece, the editors have vividly re-created the world of seventeenth-century New England for anyone interested in the early history of our nation.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

About this title

About the Author

Nathaniel Philbrick is a leading authority on the history of Nantucket Island. His In the Heart of the Sea won the National Book Award. His latest book is Sea of Glory, about the epic U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842. His other books include Away off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890 (which Russell Baker called "indispensable") and Abram's Eyes: The Native American Legend of Nantucket Island ("a classic of historical truthtelling," according to Stuart Frank, director of the Kendall Whaling Museum). He has written an introduction to a new edition of Joseph Hart's Miriam Coffin, or The Whale Fisherman, a Nantucket novel (first published in 1834) that Melville relied upon for information about the island when writing Moby Dick.

Philbrick, a champion sailboat racer, has also written extensively about sailing, including The Passionate Sailor (1987) and the forthcoming Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor's Odyssey. He was editor in chief of the classic Yaahting: A Parody (1984).

In his role as director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies, Philbrick, who is also a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association, gives frequent talks about Nantucket and sailing. He has appeared on "NBC Today Weekend," A&E's "Biography" series, and National Public Radio and has served as a consultant for the movie Moby Dick, shown on the USA Network. He received a bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Master of Arts in American Literature from Duke. He lives on Natucket with his wife and two children.

Thomas Philbrick is professor emeritus of English at the University of Pittsburgh.

From Booklist

In their introduction, the Philbricks write that William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation probably is the greatest book written in colonial America. Bradford tells the story of how a group of Puritan Separatists founded the first permanent settlement in New England and how they proved to be surprisingly flexible and pragmatic diplomats in the dealings with the Indians. A large part of this book is an excerpt from that volume. Also included is a selection from Mourt's Relation, a book that Bradford coauthored with Edward Winslow, and one from Winslow's Good News from New England. There's a selection from Thomas Morton's iconoclastic New English Canaan, Mary Rowlandson's The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, and Benjamin and Thomas Church's Entertaining Passages Relating to Philip's War. This original paperback offers provocative details of that time and place. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0143104985
• ISBN 13: 9780143104988
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336
• Editor: Nathaniel Philbrick, Thomas Philbrick