The definitive history of the Jamestown colony, the crucible of American history
Although it was the first permanent English settlement in North America, Jamestown is too often overlooked in the writing of American history. Founded thirteen years before theMayflowersailed, Jamestown's courageous settlers have been overshadowed ever since by the pilgrims of Plymouth. But as historian James Horn demonstrates in this vivid and meticulously researched account, Jamestown-not Plymouth-was the true crucible of American history. Jamestown introduced slavery into English-speaking North America; it became the first of England's colonies to adopt a representative government; and it was the site of the first white-Indian clashes over territorial expansion.A Land As God Made Itoffers the definitive account of the colony that give rise to America.
James Hornis the president of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation. He is author and editor of five books on colonial American history, including
A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanokeand
1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy.He lives in Richmond, Virginia. A thorough andpainstaking history of the Jamestown settlement.... Horn writes with clarityand precision, and in John Smith, he has a larger-than-life central figure...[Horn] has done a careful job of synthesizing his material. He's alsostrong on the details: his version of the 1609 famine...ignites the horror inthe reader's mind.
Russell Shorto,
New York Times Book Review A superb history...an exemplaryaccount.... All in all, an absolutely terrific book.
Jonathan Yardley,
Washington Post [Horn] is eminently wellqualified and writes with assurance about the actual events and the many mythsthat surround the first years of the Colonial experience....
ALand as God Made Itshouldl“!
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