Jamestown The Buried Truth
581322
Jamestown The Buried Truth is an excellent book by William M. Kelso lead archaeologist on one of the latest digs. Full of facts, charts, photos, drawings, maps, artifacts and history this book is a must-have for students, tourists, and scholars to visit and revisit Jamestown. Research is still going on and the mystery continues as the dig turns into an archaeological detective story. Well-written the author draws the reader in and then uses 150 color and black and white illustrations and maps to show what has been discoveredso far.
2285097
I've been doing a lot of geneological work on my 8th Great Grandfather when he came to America. This book not only contains him (and multitudes of others), but all the different land transactions. The introduction is a great lesson on early colonial American history around Jamestown, Va. and how people came to getting the land they have. It speaks of immigration from England of the Cavaliers (Royalists), which my 8th Great Grandfather emigrated the year it began.

By the way, this is fully digitized and available for free via archives.com even in Kindle format. Sorry Amazon, but I'm only sharing factual information. I feel okay saying this because we purchase tons through you.
4797806
Kenneth C. Davis is the noted author of a number of Dont Know Much About books. In Dont Know Much About History he provides a comprehensive text on some 500 years of American history, even going back before Columbus.  Davis provides the detail that is often missing in school textbooks and tells the truth, to the extent that anyone can say what is true about the past. He reveals an America that is flawed by greed and violence from its inception. School history book authors omit such information for fear of offending school boards who then will not buy their books. Davis is under no such restraint. I rate the book at five stars for these reasons. If you want to know the truth about America read this book.

Davis begins at the beginning with Columbus who is shown to engage in inhumane acts towards the natives, Washington, Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers are shown to be rich white men who wanted an independent country mostly to further their own financial gain and kept slaves while proclaiming freedom and Justice for all.  Americas wars (with Mexico, Spain, Vietnam in particular) are shown to be based on lies and in the former two cases in quest of land and empire. The treatment of the Native Americans is also covered showing Andrew Jackson to be particularly evil in killing them. The South is shown as starting the Civil War in order to protect slavery, with states rights as the rational given.  J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI are also revealed to have engaged in wrongful doings. Watergate and other government scandals (such as Teapot Dome) also get coverage.

At the same time Davis is not anti-American or solely negative. He is objective and straight-forward in his prose and does not appear to have a particular agenda except revealing the reality about the United States in the face of the fake history that is passed off in schools.

Read this book to learn the truth and understand this country for what it truly is, not for what its leaders and apologists claim.
2098780
Graduate student Connie has committed to cleaning out her grandmother's long-empty Colonial-era home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, just one town over from Salem, home of the infamous witch trials of 1692. Her first day in the house she finds a water-damaged, mouldering bible with a small key hidden inside. This is just the first of many curious finds, including a kitchen full of glass jars containing old, dried up plants, a corn-husk doll, and a diary dating to the early 18th century. As Connie learns more about the history of her family and the region, she begins to realize that her aura-reading mother is not exactly the flighty, new-age practitioner that she always assumed, and that there are forces in the world which she cannot explain, but that flow through her also. The story also goes back in time to the story of Connie's 17th century ancestors, slowly bringing the readers to a truth even Connie will never know.
4310731
Author writes with a nod to modern sensibilities but bases the story on historical writings. A good introduction to the true story of Jamestown rather than the cartoon version many kids are familiar with.
2863428
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Fascinating and useful book for anyone interested in colonial American history. Copeland's style is factual, engaging, and sometimes very wry.

Based on an intensive survey of colonial newspapers, Copeland has disproved some old assumptions and shown that the news story content was broader than previous media historians claimed. He roughly breaks down the categories in stories about Native Americans, stories about slaves and African Americans, stories about amusements, religion, accidents, politics, women and the weather.

Some of the snippets from the colonial news will make you laugh out loud; others will make you shake your head as you realize how very little human nature has changed. I was happy, also, to find some solid information on proclamations of days of national prayer and fasting that back up my own research on the Revolutionary era.

Being a footnote and end-note junkie, I was pleased to discover an informative statistical analysis at the back of the book explaining how the research was done.

Good book. Worth republishing.

Kim Burdick
Stanton, Delaware
1195008
This is a fictionalized account of smallpox in England and in Boston in the early 18th century. While many people are familiar with the story of Jenner and vaccination against smallpox using the cowpox virus, fewer people are aware of the process of variolation, which used small amount of smallpox to give the recipients a milder case which protected them from the disease. This was practiced in Africa, Turkey and the far east and was "rediscovered" and brought into practice by two brave people, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a survivor of this terrible disease.  and Zabdiel Boylston, a doctor in Boston. Each took much risk to spearhead the use of this practice, and in some ways, suffered for their beliefs. The author has done an enormous amount of research into smallpox and the history of variolation and does a nice job of building a full story about each side rather than just a recitation of the facts.
2433488
History is full of unwritten facts and bias.  This book unveils the truth about many historical people do not know about.  It gives a sense of enlightenment about historical figures and their influence to modern social philosophy.
2279882
Jack Cheevers does great work examining a poorly covered aspect of American history with the story of the USS Pueblo.  It is the only commissioned U.S. Navy ship not in the possession of the Navy.  The story he tells of the capture and imprisonment of the crew is compelling and is told well enough that it often makes me wince as I imagined the torture.  Cheever's does a great job of demonstrating the fact that the Navy was caught completely unaware and had no plan which it later tried to extricate itself of responsibility by blaming the captain.  The book does end with a wimper by not letting us know what happened to most of the crew after the release.  More information was required and more detail should have been provided.

Other than that this is a great book and well worth your time!
1742291
Good book.

See my review of The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America.

Both are excellent books and well written.
3238296
Several years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Steve and Jim Dayton. They had driven from their home in Indiana to Long Island to research their Dayton ancestors, who were among the first Anglo settlers in America via Connecticut and Long Island. Brookhaven Town historian Barbara Russell had suggested that they to visit us, the Fire Place History Club, a group of amateur historians doing local history research. Known as Fire Place until 1871, our community, Brookhaven hamlet is located on the south shore of Brookhaven Town on the Great South Bay. It was here that a direct line ancestor of the Dayton brothers  Samuel Dayton (b. 1623)  was the first verifiable Anglo settler (circa 1676).

What I thought would be a a straightforward, typical genealogy turned out to be one of the finest histories of early Long Island Ive read. For those who enjoy reading a well-written book, this book is a very good read. The story of the Daytons' ancestors is fascinating in and of itself, but what Steve and Jim did was more than that. They managed to weave a clear, understandable and coherent story out of the complex early-American experience of immigration (from Kent, England), religion, warring European nations, Indians, land acquisition and distribution, whaling, self government, and all the difficulties of 17th and 18th century survival in what was a virtual wilderness

The Dayton brothers do not pull any punches with their research. If there is any reasonable doubt about any aspect of history they say so right up front. Their research started with the churches and records in Kent. They reviewed the Town Records of New Haven, CT; Southampton, East Hampton, Brookhaven and Oyster Bay on Long Island; and Cape May, NJ. They visited institutions where historical records are preserved such as the East Hampton Library, the Suffolk County Historical Society and others. They interviewed numerous historians and read the works of many respected LI historians, some dating back almost two centuries. In short, they did their homework, and its evident in the result: a well-written, engrossing chronicle of Long Islands early history.

Martin Van Lith
Bookhaven hamlet, NY
3338136
'Shakespeare Suppressed', in a graceful, sustained style, analyzes both the original and centuries-long hoaxes clouding who wrote the Shakespeare canon.

The historiographic vacuum at the center of our English literary pantheon has changed considerably in recent years. The Stratford "Shakespeare" story has always been more legend than history. But the quality of the new scholarship by mainly amateur literary historians remains uneven. Except for 'The Shakespeare Guide to Italy' by Richard Paul Roe and 'Shakespeare by Another Name' by Mark Anderson, commercial publishers have not taken a chance on non-academic authorship books. This volume is the most reliable and thorough monograph on  the literary identity Ralph Waldo Emerson said was "the first of all literary questions".

Katherine Chiljan uncovers the truth, beyond reasonable doubt, that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote, concealed, and then was blackmailed to relinquish his right as author of the familiar, striking, and eloquent creations known to us as "Shakespeare". It is the work of a lifetime.

The usual dismissive canards--that Oxfordian research is unconventional, the sourcing unreliable, the premises not factually based--cannot succeed against this sometimes astoundingly erudite body of scholarship. The arguments are measured. The index is excellent. The illustrations and overall published quality exceed that of the major houses.

There is a final section entitled 'Conjectures and Dares' that considers the less extensive but still relevant evidence. The author's sense of caution and objectivity differentiates 'Shakespeare Suppressed' from more speculatively inclined works in the field. Among the latter category, we must include virtually all of Stradfordian biographical studies as the most embarrassing examples. They proceed from a fierce inclination to endorse the legend and therefore stake their credence on the power of customary, rather than verifiable, truth.

There are several appendices. The most consequential presents ninety-three instances of contemporaneous  proof that the plays' distinctive language had currency in the Elizabethan culture far too soon for the later-dated Stratford Shakspere play chronology--an average of twelve to fourteen years sooner. This evidence invalidates Shakspere as author on grounds of his being a child when the first plays, later to be known as Shakespearean, appeared at the royal court.

The book's cover painting is of Oxford (1581) a few years after he had returned from Italy, with the inspiration that, give him his motley [clown suit] and he would cleanse the foul body of the diseased world. He would educate his people toward justice and harmony, the earthly glories of God, using his pen as a spear and the stage as the field of contest. Chiljan saw the painting in an auction catalogue, bought it, and thus took custody of an early life portrait of the writer some call the greatest in recorded history.

I recommend 'Shakespeare Suppressed' very highly, but not to read hastily. It is too good a story, one that gives us, at long last, the Shakespearean canon in its  actual historical, political, and personally tragic frame.
1484829
I was skeptical upon receiving this book. I thought--oh boy--this will be another one of those books that reveal nothing but someones mere opinions.  However, I was surprised by the amount of historical facts and history revealed in this short but intriguing book. Kah goes on in depth about the history of secret organizations (e.g., Masons, Illuminati, Club of Rome, Bilderberg, etc.). Im a college senior and one of my majors is history. Some of the historical information presented by Kah is taught at the state university I attend. Thus, when critics call this book rubbish they are not only lying but are ignorant of real historical events (e.g., Masons were accused of murdering Captain William Morgan [he was a former Mason], which helped start the Anti-Masonic Movement in America in the 1800s). This is well-documented historical information and so it isn't rubbish.

Yes, the information contained in this book may seem out-of-the-box, but remember truth is stranger than fiction. People who are historically literate and well-read will find it easier to process this information. Kah does a phenomenal job of digging into the history of these secret organizations. The reader will discover why certain events happen (Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC won't give you the news behind the news). Therefore, I urge all people to read this book with an open mind and research the information for themselves to verify it. You may not agree with the authors conclusion, but the information he presents is factual and easily verifiable in this information age.
1658265
Informative and personal account.  Focus was on Pocahontas  and her tribe during the first settlers at Jamestown including of course Smith.  The best historical novel about this time of Jamestown I have read.  Plus you get involved with the kind of people the Naturals were as well as the first men at Jamestown.  It was a real clash of cultures that although you know the outcome...is presented in a compelling personal way.  Wonderful read and insight into the realities of the time.
947199
Facts are skewed and distorted, not surprised though.

The attempt here is to parallel White indentured servitude to Black slavery in America. 1.) During this time both Whites and Blacks were indentured servants 2.) Contractual agreements were given to these people and their families and in many cases were let go at the time specified and given land and other types of payment for their work. This was common because this was their *passage way* to the so called new world. 3.) Other Whites in power saw that the release of  White indentured servants and Black indentured servants was causing them to lose money as the colonies grew. 4.) In comes slavery and all Whites (including these Irish folks) could now in perpetuity own slaves. Indentured Servitude is not Slavery.

UPDATED: Don't leave comments when you don't know the real deal and you're just looking for some sort of false equivalence.

"Indentured", was a contractual exchange of unpaid labor to repay a debt. Typically, the "seven year" contract covered the cost of passage to the colonies.

But England also imposed servitude as judicial punishment. Thousands of criminals, debtors and mere vagrants were sentenced to "transportation" to the Americas and Australia. These were not necessarily life sentences, but the convicted ones had to pay their own way back to England. Few ever did.

Then there was servitude imposed on captives taken in war, colonial conquest, rebellion or ethnic cleansing campaigns. These people were considered "spoils of war", a practice dates back to ancient times.

Additionally:
1. There were lots of white indentured servants brought to Barbados in the middle decades of the 1600s.

2. Most of these were initially English, Welsh and Scottish political prisoners during the English Civil War, then became Irish a few years after Cromwell took power. Descendants of these white slaves still live in St. John's Parish.

3. Whites were treated in the fashion they were, for simple economic reasons -- you only owned them for a few years. What point was there in keeping a someone alive if he was only going to be yours a few months longer? Why even waste food when you'd already gotten 98% of the value out of him that you could?

4. By contrast, you not only had Africans for life, but also their children and their children's children's lives! As Andrea Stuart points out in her great history of race in Barbados, Sugar in the Blood, the English changed the whole tradition of their laws by making slavery matrilineal. (Every other English law regarding heredity had always been patrilineal.) This not only made slavery race-based and hereditary, but also provided a huge economic incentive to rape female slaves.

According to Stuart (whose book I cannot recommend enough), there was a slave rebellion in Barbados in the late 1640s during which many white indentured servants sided with enslaved Africans. The laws were then changed over the years, giving white indentured servants certain legal rights (such as to take a white man to court) which were denied to blacks.  And by the late 1600s (in less than six decades after the initial settling by the English), with all the forests cleared and sugarcane crops everywhere, slavery in Barbados was overwhelmingly African.

Furthermore, Poor White immigrants coming to America benefitted from the systematic oppression of Blacks in America, not only this, they were given govt monies (social security act and G.I. Bill) to boost them into middle-class.

Trying to equate WHITE IRISH to BLACK AFRICANS is ridiculous, they were very different. I see the Irish don't have any issues today! In fact, they are just as racist as any other White ethnic group.
1634746
Journalist Matthew Algeo seems to have an undeniable talent for revisiting obscure moments in American history and fleshing them out in exacting detail. I state this because I really enjoyed his book Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure. This book is probably more informative and in a sense more compelling as it revisits a far more serious episode in our country's history.
This book centers on a secret operation performed on President Grover Cleveland to remove a cancerous tumor from his jaw in 1886. Several years ago I had read an article about this incident, but it was more of a passing footnote than a fully developed article. Very little had been written on the subject before or since. As it turns out, Algeo digs back in time and reports that a fellow reporter uncovered the ruse and reported it with devastating results that left him vilified and his professional reputation in dispute. In time, the chief surgeon on the team that performed Cleveland's surgery on a boat at the time came forward to expose the truth.
The cover-up story alone is worth the purchase price, but  the book is loaded with information about post civil war America and the political, economic, and social climate that surrounded Cleveland's presidencies. The most ironic fact is that Cleveland advocated telling the truth to the extent that he assumed responsibility for an out-of-wedlock pregnancy that he might have been responsible for.
This book is interesting and well-researched and I got a lot out of it.
2302289
A great resource based on diligent archival research from Dr. Bangs.
In his own words, "A view of the colony as a whole is found in the book, Indian Deeds, Land Transactions in Plymouth Colony, 1620-1691 (2002).49 The topic, however, is limited to the transfer of land from Indians to the Colonial Court, and the courts subsequent initial distribution to private ownership by individual colonists and groups forming towns. The texts of all deeds in this process are published, preceded by an introduction (225 pp.) that describes the sequence of events in what became the nearly total dispossession of the Indians from their land. These transactions form an essential aspect of the expansion of colonial land use and the contraction of open forest and agricultural land retained for use by Indians. The documents support the claim that, before King Philips War, Plymouth Colony attempted to obtain land not by fraud and deception but by what was considered by both sellers and buyers to be fair exchange. (That is not to say that either side clearly understood the negative effects on Native society of the piecemeal loss of land as it proceeded, until the aggregate result was unavoidably confronted.) The book gives insight into Indian society not found in previous histories of Plymouth Colony  for example, demonstrating that Indians in this region did not have communal land but that instead individual Indians possessed specific, bounded parcels of land by personal inheritance (extending historically to pre-contact times)."