The Real Story of Thanksgiving: Early Encounters Europeans and Indians

by Pippa Pralen

Beyond the Did you the first contact was an English-speaking Indian asking the Pilgrims for a glass of beer? the first landing was not on "Plymouth Rock"? early contacts were happening a century before Plymouth? 100 years before Plymouth coastal Indians shocked the explorer Verrazano with indecent gestures from the shore? Get to know Squanto as more than a man planting fish heads with corn, but rather a talented diplomat. A nuanced view of some of the major characters. A different perspective and background of the First Thanksgiving, as well as the first years of New England long before Plymouth plantation. Book is filled with interesting graphics and images

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Thanksgiving, Historical

150 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2017

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this just seemed like a perfectly appropriate Thanksgiving read. At so it was. Informative quick read with plenty of imagery to go along with the text, concentrating as the title promises on the first contacts between Europeans and Natives. Some of it is familiar information, but some factoids are lesser known and therefore this historical primer is well worth a read and 60 or so minutes it takes to do so. Maybe it’ll do something to elevate Thanksgiving to a proper celebration and not just something that’s become misused and over commercialized into a familial guilt trip, followed by unfeasible commute, followed by unfeasible overabundance of food, followed by stupor, followed by shopping…but who knows. Probably not. Knowledge has never had a chance at a fair fight with the overfed ignorance. But books try. And this one certainly did a pretty good job for such a small volume. Gobble gobble it up.

[Madelon · Rating 4 out of 5]

History presented out of context is like telling a half-truth; the bottom line is that both are lies. From as early as kindergarten, we are taught that the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620 as though no other European had ever set foot in the new world. What about Columbus in 1482? What about the Vikings before that? See what I mean by context?

I quite nearly stopped reading this short history when I read the following just 9% into the text:

"The Plymouth Pilgrims and Puritans are often conflated and viewed at synonymous.  The “Puritans” actually arrived later in 1830 with their leader John Winthrop, founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Both groups were religious separatists, but there are differences.  They viewed the world differently"

How could the Massachusetts Bay Colony have been founded more than 40 years after the American Revolution?

I did continue to read and found some very interesting passages. This one rather stands out:

"The French and English more often kidnapped or "borrowed" a few native people as proof of having actually come to America, or to submit the Indians as curiosities for the courts. As late as 1632, for example, a friend in London wrote to Governor John Winthrop, Jr., in Massachusetts Colony asking him "to send over some of your Indian Creatures alive when you may best, as one brought over a Squirrel . . . and one a Rattlesnake Skin with the rattle”. (Winthrop 1889: 58)
 
These captives were also taken to serve as explorer’s guides and interpreters.  After being schooled in the explorer’s language, on later voyages such Indians might be returned to their native homeland to serve as interpreters and go-betweens. Squanto (Tisquantum), the Wampanoag Indian captured by Captain Thomas Hunt in 1619, and returned to New England by Captain Thomas Dermer, was one such native interpreter. With respect to enslavement, it is noted that Indians, unlike Africans, did not make good slaves…"

The phrase after "did not make good slaves" was incomplete and confusing.

Overall, THE REAL STORY OF THANKSGIVING is more a compilation from a variety of historical accounts rather than the treatise of the author. It does put the first Thanksgiving into both context and perspective as not the perfect day shared by settlers and natives.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

So... this is not your history book's version of history. The myth of the friendly indians and the grateful pilgrims is pretty much trashed in this book, as it should be. The true stories are much more interesting and much less flattering to all involved, mostly to the white settlers, who survived at least partially, by stealing the indians winter stores of corn. If you have delusions of the pilgrims and puritans being nice godly folks who just wanted to be left alone to worship as they please, this is a book you should read. This was their promised land and they weren't going to let a little thing like people who already lived here stop them. It's more than a little appalling. I gave only two stars because the editing sucked. Paragraphs were repeated. Just a bad job of proofing.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells about many different peoples coming to hunt, and fish off the eastern coast of what is now The United States of America and Canada. They came much earlier than the Pilgrims. There were groups that tried to build communities, but they failed. White settlers kidnapped Indians, and sold them into slavery in Europe. They created bad relationships with the native populations. There was a three day harvest feast held with the Indians, after a harvest. It wasn't called Thanksgiving, and there were no turkey's for the meal.

[Trick Wiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

You read and head about Thanksgiving and the Indians and Pilgrims,but do you really know the truth? I enjoyed this book read some things I didn't know about some I did. It's a really good read,I enjoyed it just think of what they had to endure coming from a different place to unknown territory! This was the beginning of discovering America and settling this vast land. So glad that they had the courage to do so because we would not be where we are in 2019! Can you just think what they would think if they just saw 2019?

[Michael Laflamme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! A powerful, solemn, history.

As small as this book is, it contains volumes of information. We learn about the true age of European and Native American contact. The hoary old myths about the holiday are politely debunked and replaced with facts as we know them now. Yet, we see in this history that there is still plenty of room for thoughtful reflection and deep thanksgiving for the European refugees who fled here to pursue freedom of conscience. We are still, from the start, a nation of refugees.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for anyone wanting to learn about the true history regarding Thanksgiving. I knew most of the information the author wrote about, including the Native American's viewpoint of what actually happened. The book starts with the early forays into the Americas by cod fishermen. Then explains about those same men taking Native Americans captive back to Europe as slaves and translators for those willing to trade. It also includes the reasoning behind King Philip's War, years after the "First Thanksgiving".

[Rachelle Villeneuve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but slightly difficult to follow

The book had interesting information, and was a quick read, but the author had a hard time staying on topic and constantly was jumping back and forth in the timeline. For example: we read about the pilgrims landing, then we're talking about Indian slaves in England, then it jumps to 30 years before the Pilgrims landed, and then talks about other cultural agriculture rites done in various societies, including the Romans.

[Margie Dorn · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some interesting tidbits here, but what I could not get over was the sloppy construction of the writing. It was as though someone learning to write a research paper had made a bunch of notecards, put them in piles under headings, and just published them as is. Thus there were odd repetitions, and really disjointed stream of thought. With a short conclusion chapter tacked on. It was a really odd reading experience.

[T. Okerberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fascinating book. There were things in it I had heard some chatter about possibly being bogus (turkey with the natives, etc), but the author shed quite a bit of light on how things went down at that first holiday that I had no idea! Well written and definitely will be recommending this to my history buff friends. This is the kind of stuff they SHOULD be sharing with kids in school! Anxious to get my hands on this author’s other works!

[Geri F · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book provided information relating to the previous contacts between the Native Americans and the Europeans including the fishing for cod off of the northeastern coast. It a quick read written for (I'm guessing) late primary students (74 pages), but I did learn a few facts that I want to find out more about.

[James M. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short history of thanksgiving

This was a good short history of Thanksgiving. Gives you the basic history without getting to all the political correct stuff. Plus it was free on kindle unlimited

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative Read on the Real Story of Thanksgiving

I learned a lot from this book. It dispelled a number of myths and misconceptions and answered a few personal questions I had. A good informative read.

[Thomas Kermes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Begins to put it all together.

A great primer with all the follow up resources in one place. The description of all the exploring going on before 1602 is very helpful. Being greeted with, could I have a beer, is a real pip.

[Rick Farlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick history of the northeast?

I was hoping for some new revelation about the thanksgiving season, but found the book to be somewhat disappointing... a lot of information, but it read like a travel brochure.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read a bit like a high school term paper & lacked the continuity you’d expect. However I did find it enjoyable & I did learn a few things. History does interest me when I’m not in a school setting & expected to recall names, dates & places. I like learning about the stories behind the facts.

[Ann Doerffel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the great American holiday. We have the Pilgrims and the first Native Americans they encountered to thank.

This was an easy quick read.

[Athena Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good history good reads

If this book doesn't keep your mind a going then you must not read
This book was awesome but they needed to put more information about the idians

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short account of the real history surrounding this holiday. Might be kind of a dry account if you're not that into history, but I liked it, & learned from it too.....always a plus!

[Brenda Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book for me was just meh.....

[James Frederick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but...

I very much agree with the other reviewers. This was an interesting book, but the editing was atrocious and just plain strange.

[Dave Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little book

This is a interesting take on history of the early thanksgiving and a brief looking in to it.
I found out fascinating

[Jan Chiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty informative read, a few things that I didn't know.

[Sarah Dinkelman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative but read like a high school research paper.

[Donna Peake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative book for this special time of year

[Lorellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all, this book was very insightful to someone who only had the bare bones of public education to go on. I appreciated the lack of bias in the author and the citation of original sources. I do think it could have been better organized, still a great place to begin to learn more.