Tuesday, November 7, 2006
the mayflower
Fitting as a way to observe and honor the end of an election season, I think, I've just begun reading The Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick, lured by several hugely enthusiastic reviews. I was wary that it would have any one of a number of political and/or politically correct agendas. In particular I am not interested in reading more of the "we are white middle class empire builders who need to beat our chests with remorse for what we did to various and sundry indigenous people". It's not that I don't hate what was done and wish everyone had been polite and kind to each other but what happened is done and wasn't my fault and it won't change anything or help anything if I rip myself apart about it. Anyway, all that aside, this seems to be a complex and fascinating story about an extraordinarily complex and intense group of people. More, anon. (By the way, did you know that almost ninety percent of the original Jamestown Colony settlers died in the first year they were there??)
Labels: books
Post a Comment