MAYFLOWER --Nathaniel Philbrick-- As the cover says, "A Story of COURAGE, COMMUNITY and WAR. Researching a related topic, the history of Nantucket Island, the author found himself taken back to the Pilgrims and the Indians who met them, and to the relationships between them during the first 50-60 years. The myths of the Pilgrims have foundation in fact, but the force of the book is "the rest of the story". The story, the facts, traces the religiously commited Pilgrims, and their indian counterparts, from the landing at Plymouth Rock, through the next two generations; from peace through a war which "was more than twice as bloody as the American Civil War and at least seven times more lethal than the American Revolution"; the change of attitude from one of religion and the need for safety, to the need for power and expansion. The story is incredibly powerful on its own. The number of Indian tribes, and names, through two generations caused me confusion in a general reading; having said that, this work should be read to understand not only the facts of the founding, but the foundation of the subsequent history of the United States' formation.