Pocahontas: The Life And The Legend (Paperback)

by Frances Mossiker (Author) "LANDFALL CAME ON APRIL 26, 1607..." (more)
Key Phrases: cool tombs, two pinnaces, royal dais, Captain Smith, John Rolfe, Virginia Company (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The amazing story and alluring personality of Pocahontas (1595–1617) have endured the enlargement of legend and the distortions of time, as if waiting for Mossiker's skill, scholarship, and sensitivity to reveal Pocahontas as she was. This biography illuminates the dual world within which she struggled to identify herself, and her enormous impact on its leading figures: the first encounters and skirmishes between Indians and Englishmen in 1607; Pocahontas's dramatic rescue of Captain John Smith and her later abduction; her marriage to the Father of Tobacco, John Rolfe; the fateful voyage to England and her early death. The book also examines the myths and commercialization that have entombed Pocahontas through the centuries. In absorbing detail this vivid biography resurrects the real Pocahontas and unveils the uses—noble and ignoble—America has made of her.

About the Author

Frances Mossiker is the author of many highly praised books, including Napoleon and Josephine and The Affair of the Poisons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 422 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306806991
• ISBN-13: 978-0306806995
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #958,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Separates the life from the legend...., December 14, 1999

By	D. S. Wade "dwade266" (West Chester, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author carefully examines all the evidence of the life of Pocahontas - through anthopological, psychological, sociological analysis as well as the historical record. Of course much of what is commonly known is taken from the extensive and self-serving journals of John Smith, which the author takes with an appropriate grain of salt.

This is an excellent antidote to the Disney version and a must-read for students of pre-colonial U.S. history.

This book provide a fantastic glimpse of what life was really like in Jamestown in the very early days, as well as what sort of political milieu was present in tidewater Virginia at the time of settlers' arrival.