Damnable Heresy: William Pynchon, the Indians, and the First Book Banned (and Burned) in Boston

by David M. Powers, David D. Hall (Foreword)

Misunderstandings between races, hostilities between cultures. Anxiety from living in a time of war in one's own land. Being accused of profiteering when food was scarce. Unruly residents in a remote frontier community. Charged with speaking the unspeakable and publishing the unprintable. All of this can be found in the life of one man--William Pynchon, the Puritan entrepreneur and founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1636. Two things in particular stand out in Pynchon's pioneering he enjoyed extraordinary and uniquely positive relationships with Native peoples, and he wrote the first book banned--and burned--in Boston. Now for the first time, this book provides a comprehensive account of Pynchon's story, beginning in England, through his New England adventures, to his return home. Discover the fabric of his times and the roles Pynchon played in the Puritan venture in Old England and New England. "As the key founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, William Pynchon has been used by historians to show the economic origins of New England. But as David Powers shows, Pynchon was every bit as much an intercultural pioneer and religious figure with unorthodox ideas. This first book-length biography of Pynchon brings to bear new knowledge and approaches to the settlement period of New England, to give us a portrait of a person who was as complex as the Puritan movement from which he came." --Kenneth P. Minkema, Director, Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT "If David Powers's remarkable work were only the story of William Pynchon's life and thought it would be a model of scholarly depth, well worth reading as a solid, learned account of an unusual Puritan. This book is something much more, a broad and deeply textured view of life in early New England, blending theology, politics, and economic realities into a single compelling story." --Margaret Bendroth, Executive Director, Congregational Library, Boston, MA "David Powers's new book makes an important contribution to the long and venerable tradition of early New England studies. His subject, William Pynchon, was one of the movers and shakers of the period. His achievement however, goes beyond biography to more general life in and around western Massachusetts, the cross-cutting textures of Puritan belief and practice, the very shape of life at ground level in the 'world we have lost.' The research is thorough and deep. The book's architecture is effective, even elegant. The prose, too, is smooth, clear, with many pleasing touches. a remarkable accomplishment!" --John P. Demos, Professor of History emeritus, Yale University, New Haven, CT David M. Powers is a graduate of Carleton College and Harvard University. He is a native of Springfield, MA, and lives on Cape Cod.

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 20, 2015

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't be objective here. Read this a couple times, and informed the author about scrivener hand, which Pynchon wrote in--and which the author mastered, though I knew it well thirty years ago. Gave a few writing suggestions, as I am wont to do. The author is my close, oldest relative.
He and I differ on heresy: I admire it, as my books on G Bruno witness. David M., not so much. But this book's portrayal of Pynchon's contractual dealing with the Indians (a less fashionable name now, not to mention absolutely misconceived, by Columbus) is well worth noting.
Of Pynchon's Meritorious Price of our Redemption, the first book Banned in Boston (1651 or '52), David's best line: This is a book you CAN judge by its cover (which lists four heresies). As soon as the book was unloaded off the boat from printing in England, it was burned.

[Simon Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, really gave me a feel for what it must have been like back in the pioneer days. I didn't know much at all about this period of history but I now want to know more. Always the sign of a good history book IMO