Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation [Paperback]

A New York Times Notable Book and aSan Jose Mercury News Top 20 Nonfiction Book of 2003In 1606, approximately 105 British colonists sailed to America, seeking gold and a trade route to the Pacific. Instead, they found disease, hunger, and hostile natives. Ill prepared for such hardship, the men responded with incompetence and infighting; only the leadership of Captain John Smith averted doom for the first permanent English settlement in the New World.The Jamestown colony is one of the great survival stories of American history, and this book brings it fully to life for the first time. Drawing on extensive original documents, David A. Price paints intimate portraits of the major figures from the formidable monarch Chief Powhatan, to the resourceful but unpopular leader John Smith, to the spirited Pocahontas, who twice saved Smith’s life. He also gives a rare balanced view of relations between the settlers and the natives and debunks popular myths about the colony. This is a superb work of history, reminding us of the horrors and heroism that marked the dawning of our nation.“Splendidly realized. . . . Price has given the Jamestown story a contemporary freshness.”–The Boston Globe

“Solid and engaging. . . . Price focuses on the human story of Jamestown, nearly mythic in its resonances.” --The New York Times

“Price clears away the misconceptions and sugar-coated half truths to reveal the true story of the Virginia Colony. . . . Full of drama, tragedy, and heartbreak.” --Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Price’s well-researched book skillfully weaves together period letters and historical documents into a narrative and is an engaging and detailed account of the many lives that clashed during the founding of VilÃr