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Winthrop's Boston: Portrait of a Puritan Town, 1630-1649
history
- GenresHistory
340 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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About the author
Darrett B. Rutman
14 books1 followerDarrett Bruce Rutman was a historian of early America.
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October 11, 2021
Darrett B. Rutman presents an intricante look at the origin of the City of Boston, and it's initial period of growth from its inception to the death of founder John Winthrop two decades later. It is a very rich and precise look at Puritan society. Rutman succeeds in showing the separation of church and state and how those two were still interwoven during the crucial period from founding to the end of the second decade, in ways that others fail.
On the cover to the 1972 Norton edition, historican Edmund S. Morgan from the American Historical Review cites the work as 'A provocative, well-informed and thoughtful book." I agree with Morgan's assessment here. It is well informed, and Rutman is not afraid to delve into areas considered either taboo or controversial in his accounting of the early history of Boston. What we are left with is truly a portrait of a Puritan town.
The one problem with this book, if I could so much as consider it a problem as he sticks to his thesis very closely, is that we do not necessarily see a contrast in the growth of other cities or New England colonies at the same time. As a result, Boston is an island unto itself in this book, though that may actually be pretty close to the way it was during this twenty year period.
Also, he did not mention much regarding the relationship among the commonwealth or city leaders with Native Americans, save for an occasional passing mention.
Save for the two areas of omission that I highlighted, it was a worthy read.
On the cover to the 1972 Norton edition, historican Edmund S. Morgan from the American Historical Review cites the work as 'A provocative, well-informed and thoughtful book." I agree with Morgan's assessment here. It is well informed, and Rutman is not afraid to delve into areas considered either taboo or controversial in his accounting of the early history of Boston. What we are left with is truly a portrait of a Puritan town.
The one problem with this book, if I could so much as consider it a problem as he sticks to his thesis very closely, is that we do not necessarily see a contrast in the growth of other cities or New England colonies at the same time. As a result, Boston is an island unto itself in this book, though that may actually be pretty close to the way it was during this twenty year period.
Also, he did not mention much regarding the relationship among the commonwealth or city leaders with Native Americans, save for an occasional passing mention.
Save for the two areas of omission that I highlighted, it was a worthy read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review