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Summary: Outstanding! Finally a book that tells the story!
Review: A fantastic book for anyone who is even remotely interested in Early Amareican History. This book captures the chronological history of the powerful story of King Philip. The detail and superb writing makes this a must for anyone's library. Eric and Michael make learning history actually enjoyable.
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Summary: one view of this war
Review: An important colonial book explaining the implications of the king Phillips war on American Indian policy. A must read for anyone interested in Indian policy and colonial America. The traumatic king Phillips war, in which one third or more of European settlements in America were overrun helped cement the American colonials view of their Indian neighbors, which eventually led to outright extermination.Seth J. Frantzman
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating account
Review: An important colonial book explaining the implications of the king Phillips war on American Indian policy. A must read for anyone interested in Indian policy and colonial America. The traumatic king Phillips war, in which one third or more of European settlements in America were overrun helped cement the American colonials view of their Indian neighbors, which eventually led to outright extermination. Seth J. Frantzman
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Summary: I would welcome hearing about new sites associated with KPW.
Review: Dear Readers, Since the book was published, a number of readers have contacted me with new sites related to the war, or new theories on old sites. I enjoy receiving this information, which may end up in a new edition someday but will surely end up in my tupperware tub files for future reference and sharing. Thank you for reading the book, and for sharing your thoughts with me.
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Summary: An Excellent Resource
Review: I found this book to be an excellent resource because it goes beyond providing battle details to providing the historical context of the war. Few people have even heard of this war, and yet the causes of our Revolutionary War can be traced directly back to the outcome of King Philip's war, making this war very important to American history. This war played a pivotal role in American history, though few people know about it. When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, they immediately developed a friendly relationship with the Wampanoag Indians, who traded skins and furs for European manufactured goods. Problems arose in the 1660s. There was a generational change, signaled by the death of the chief of the Wampanoag, who was replaced by his son, nicknamed King Philip by the colonists. And there was a financial crisis, caused by changes in style among European women, who no longer wanted to purchase skins and furs. One thing led to another, and an extremely violent and brutal war broke out in 1675. The outcome of this war was that the colonists, who formerly were completely independent of the English Crown, now had to pay taxes to the Crown in return for the Crown's protection against future Indian attacks. The colonists accepted this arrangement because they thought they had to to survive, but by the 1760s they were no longer interested, leading to the Revolutionary War. This book provides many of the context details that help the reader understand the importance of this war to the entire panorama of American history.
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Summary: Back when Native Americans had a chance
Review: I found this to be a truly engaging read- I really enjoyed reading about an America where colonists and "Indians" were more or less equal and there was still a chance the natives could fight their way out of anhililation. Interesting also how both sides were equally armed- the Algonquins being proficient in the use of firearms and hit-and-run battle tactics. The roots of the 2nd Ammendment to our Constitution can be seen in the Puritan militias where almost every able-bodied male was armed with his own firearm and expected to join in his own and other towns' protection. Both sides seem to have been well armed and brutal. (2 young Thurstons were killed and one wounded in the attack on Medfield) I have only two complaints: 1st- In the beginning of the book there is a table of figures which tries to make it seem this was the most devastating war on American history- I don't buy that. I think that kind of manipulation is really a reflection of historian macho- my war was much worse than yours. 2nd- The maps in this book are downright bad- unclear, not well drawn and irritatingly devoid of important places and areas described in the text. (eg. where is Taunton, Mass.?) All in all, however, this book is very good.
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Summary: Detailed Portrayal of Early America
Review: I had high hopes for this book, and some were fulfilled. It has some very interesting historical background of King Philip's War and good first hand accounts. The detailed descriptions of the locales, however, were very long, sometimes overly so. And as someone who is not from New England, these passages grew tedious at times, and even nit-picky about some war-related minutiae. However, the subject matter in general was interesting to me, and the writing was done well. The book is really more designed for the professional archaeologist/historian than the casual history reader. But it does have a wealth of information on obscure 17th century New England. If you think you can slog through the denser parts, then I would recommend this book for those interested in American colonial history.
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Summary: A must read!
Review: I have read most everything written on King Philip's War in the last few years and this is by far the best. There's a brief but complete history of the war right up front, including some interesting details on pre-war New England and on the aftermath of the war. (Check out the section about the veterans!) Schultz and Tougias go out of their way to be even-handed in the description of battles; there's even a segment praising the Nipmuck's Muttawmp, perhaps the strongest military leader on either side. (He barely rates a mention in most texts.) The authors also question Canonchet's handling of the Great Swamp Fight and poke some holes in traditional descriptions of the engagement. Since I am from New England, though, I liked best the travelogue in section two. I have already visited the sites in Sudbury and Turner's Falls, and the book really brings them to life. There are several dozen illustrations and ten or more maps, and these really add to the text as well. This spring I intend to see a number of other sites, including Bloody Brook and Beer's Ambush. By contrast, Jill Lepore's book is excellent but very frustrating because it lacks a chronological history of the war. It's also written like a thesis, so the reader has to already have a good grasp of how the war unfolded in order to follow her argument. Leach's book is a classic but stops before the war ends in Maine, and gives no clue as to how to find any of the sites mentioned. (By the way, Leach praises Schultz and Tougias on the dustjacket!) Schultz and Tougias have written more the story of the war, and how to find the story. If you know nothing about King Philip's War, or want to get reacquainted with it, this should be the first text on your bookshelf. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Great History, Great Travelogue
Review: I read the book. Then I read Mr. O'Keefe from Denver's review. The only thing I can think is that Mr. O'Keefe's edition was missing the first 80 pages. Those pages contain the best, most concise and "logical" history of the war available. After that the book becomes a travelogue (Mr. O'Keefe: a "collage") structured geographically that the Boston Globe raved about. All of the "detail" Mr. O'Keefe complained about allowed me to visit a half dozen of the sites that I would never have been able to find otherwise. If you want an unstructured collage beyond most amateur historians, read Lepore's book. If you want to understand King Philip's War, I would recommend this book (Schultz/Tougias) highly.
Rating:
Summary: Very informative,rich in detail,and very well written.
Review: I was absolutely amazed to read about the scope of this war, the high ratio of deaths to population, and the incredible impact it had on subsequent events here in New England and ultimately in the way we caucasians treated native americans all over North America. Though I do not read a lot of straight history, this story is so well written that it was a delight to read. It is rich in detail but is not heavy and tends to draw the reader (or me, at least) along. I strongly recommend this book for all ages teen-age and older.
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