New Voyage to Carolina [Hardcover]

John Lawson (Author), Hugh Talmage Lefler (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1968

John Lawson's amazingly detailed yet lively book is easily one of the most valuable of the early histories of the Carolinas, and it is certainly one of the best travel accounts of the early eighteenth-century colonies. An inclusive account of the manners and customs of the Indian tribes of that day, it is also a minute report of the soil, climate, trees, plants, animals, and fish in the Carolinas.

Lawson's observation is keen and thorough; his style direct and vivid. He misses nothing and recounts all—from the storms at sea to his impressions of New York in 1700, the trip down the coast to Charleston, and his travels from there into North Carolina with his Indian guides.

The first edition of this work was published in London in 1709. While various editions followed in the eighteenth century—including two in German—this edition is a true copy of the original and is the first to include a comprehensive index. It also contains "The Second Charter," "An Abstract of the Constitution of Carolina," Lawson's will, and several previously unpublished letters written by Lawson. A number of DeBry woodcuts of John White's drawings of Indian life, sketches of the beasts of Carolina which appeared in the original 1709 edition, and Lawson's map contribute additional interest to this volume.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (May 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807810428
• ISBN-13: 978-0807810422
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,850,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gov. James Hunt should name US Rt. 85, John Lawson Highway, December 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A New Voyage to Carolina (Paperback)

Young John Lawson describes his adventure canoing and hiking through the Carolina Coastal Plain and Piedmont in the winter of 1700. Lawson's descriptions are detailed, especially of the many generous Native Americans who helped him on his way. His journey started in Charleston, continued through the Charlotte area, then east to Okeneechee Village on the Eno River (now Hillsborogh) and on to the coast near New Bern. This book is an unknown classic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, November 12, 2008

By 

Karen Hall "Karen" (Orlando, Florida) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A New Voyage to Carolina (Paperback)

John Lawson is my immigrant ancestor, and a legend in my family, and yet I was 52 years old before I knew this book was still in print. I was thrilled to find out, and gave it to my siblings and cousins for Christmas. Reading the book was an amazing experience to me, because I felt I was reading it from the inside out. I understand John Lawson so well, and he gave me the gift of understanding myself better.

For people who don't have a personal stake in the story, it's still an amazing read. Lawson was an excellent writer, a keen observer and his sensibilities are such that he was able to see all that was admirable about the native Americans without losing sight of all that was horrific. He was a victim of that paradox, as he was burned alive by the people he so admired.

He is known as one of the nation's first humorists, I learned, and in my own generation I see his dry wit. It's also interesting to me that in my generation, there are two professional writers and one humor columnist, and we all recognized our own voices in his.

He was a man who left a very comfortable life in London to come and trek through North Carolina before it existed. He chose to begin his trip at the end of December -- a fact that I find astounding -- and he describes life-threatening incidents as if they were minor inconveniences. The courage and love of adventure that define his spirit shine through on every page. Regardless of my lack of objectivity, he was a remarkable man; he wrote a remarkable book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Lawson, April 17, 2011

By 

Bishop William Moore - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A New Voyage to Carolina (Paperback)

Detail , on his movements but as well his short fall of completing the languages he did but detaled all that he met .This would be the oldest recorded languages of Natve Americans .