Early Settlement
A fascinating look at cities and civilizations that existed in North and Central America 1000 years before the Pyramids with populations larger than any up to the Revolution.
Wilderness at Dawn, by Ted Morgan (1994 – 544pp)
In 1587, 117 men and women landed on Roanoke Island, NC and vanished without a trace. This well written book tells their fascinating story. James P. Horn (2010 – 304pp)
Super narrative of the life of John Smith, his heroic efforts to save Jamestown, Pocahontas's efforts to save him and her remarkable trip to London
A New World: An Epic of Colonial America, from Jamestown to Quebec, by Arthur Quinn (1995 - 532 pp)
The early history of North America through the original points of view of John Smith, Samuel Champlain, William Bradford, John Winthrop, Peter Stuyvesant, and William Penn
Settled in 1607, Jamestown was the first English colony to succeed. Town leader, John Smith’s own written accounts make for great reading.
Captivating novel vividly portraying the clash of European and native American cultures at Jamestown and the conflicted relationship of John Smith, Pocahontas
Engaging, highly readable account of the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower and trials of the first settlers in an oft frightening, life threatening new world.
One Small Candle: The Pilgrims First Year in America, by Thomas Flemming (2014 - 221 pp)
Moving depiction of the Pilgrim's first year in North America, harrowing voyage across the ocean, the Mayflower Compact...all in the context of the first year's anxieties and crises.
Transcribed in an easy-to-read modern vernacular, this monumental 1640 classic of American literature vividly chronicles the harrowing lives of early Pilgrims.
The Bay Psalm Book, by Richard Mather, John Eliot, Thomas Welde (1650 – 312pp)
The first book written and printed in the new world. One of the most important and widely read ever published in America. A much needed solace to those in an alien land
Disastrous for the Pequots of whom 600 were massacred at Mystic, Ct in 1637. 350 years later, the last survivor started the Casino on Pequot land at Foxwoods.
Dramatic telling of one of the bloodiest and most horrifying confrontations between colonials and Native Americans in 1675 New England.
Roger Williams and The Creation of the American Soul, by John M. Barry
(2012 - 477pp)
Banished into the wilderness and a harsh New England Winter, Roger Williams settled in RI and was first to pursue the enduring concept of separation of church and state.
Best current book on the Dutch settlement of NY, drawn from 12,000pp of recently discovered documents. A lively, highly readable glimpse into NY’s past.