In doing so, they laid the foundations for Massachusetts, New England and a new nation. Using a wealth of new evidence - from landscape, archaeology and hundreds of overlooked or neglected documents - Nick Bunker gives a vivid and strikingly original account of the Mayflower project and the first decade of the Plymouth Colony.
WINNER OF THE 2015 GEORGE WASHINGTON PRIZEFINALIST FOR THE 2015 PULTIZER PRIZE IN HISTORYIn this powerful narrative, Nick Bunker tells the story of the last three years of mutual embitterment that preceded the outbreak of America's war for independence in 1775.
Focusing on the tumultuous years leading to the American Revolution, this account explores the intricate interplay of politics, personalities, and economics that fueled conflict between Britain and its colonies. Utilizing primary sources, the narrative highlights key figures like Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock, revealing how both sides miscalculated the trajectory toward war. The British government's misguided financial strategies and the American response culminated in a tragic misjudgment, making the descent into war inevitable by the summer of 1774.
The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History
Set against the backdrop of a comet that sparked fear and hope in 1618, the narrative explores the Pilgrims' journey from England to America aboard the Mayflower. Amid economic turmoil and societal unrest, these individuals, driven by both entrepreneurial spirit and religious conviction, established the Plymouth Colony. The account draws on extensive new evidence, detailing their struggles and triumphs in building a settlement based on trade and agriculture, ultimately shaping the foundations of New England and the future United States.
In this new account of Franklin's early life, Pulitzer finalist Nick Bunker portrays him as a complex, driven young man who elbows his way to success. From his early career as a printer and journalist to his scientific work and his role as a founder of a new republic, Benjamin Franklin has always seemed the inevitable embodiment of American ingenuity. But in his youth he had to make his way through a harsh colonial world, where he fought many battles with his rivals, but also with his wayward emotions. Taking Franklin to the age of forty-one, when he made his first electrical discoveries, Bunker goes behind the legend to reveal the sources of his passion for knowledge. Always trying to balance virtue against ambition, Franklin emerges as a brilliant but flawed human being, made from the conflicts of an age of slavery as well as reason. With archival material from both sides of the Atlantic, we see Franklin in Boston, London, and Philadelphia as he develops his formula for greatness. A tale of science, politics, war, and religion, this is also a story about Franklin's forebears: the talented family of English craftsmen who produced America's favorite genius.
16 SEPTEMBER 1620: 400 YEARS SINCE THE MAYFLOWER SET SAILOn a blustery day in September 1620 a small ship, the Mayflower, set sail from the English port of Plymouth.