In Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America, Benjamin Wooley writes, “One of the great questions of history, which it is the purpose of this book to consider, is how such a morsel of colonial ambition, popped into the mouth of the Chesapeake in 1607, could, a few centuries later, produce a nation capable of disgorging the most powerful navy ever to sail the high seas?” (pg. xvii). He continues, “Their mission had been shaped not by the prospect of a colonial adventure in North America so much as by convulsive events back home. Powerful forces unleashed by the Protestant Reformation, and the spread of the Muslim Ottoman Empire to the east, had shaken the very foundations of European civilization” (pg. xvii). To this end, “Though the Indians were called ‘savages’ by the English, and their homeland a ‘savage kingdom’, the interlopers well knew, and half acknowledged, that it was their own savagery, horribly exposed in the religious wars in Europe and carried like an infection across the ocean, that was the greater threat” (pg. xviii). Wooley concludes, “The story of England’s attempt to colonize America is much closer to that of Prospero and Caliban than the pious Pilgrims” (pg. xviii). Furthermore, “It is about being caught in a dirty struggle to survive, haunted by failure, hungering for escape, dreaming of riches and hoping for redemption” (pg. xviii). ( )

Information from a large variety of source documents, compiled into an interesting narrative (without much padding). Excellent narration by David Drummond. This audiobook is about 14 hours, unabridged, and I have to admit I multi-tasked for a few minutes here and there. I'm not a history buff, but did study Jamestown in elementary school in Virginia, and have visited it numerous times. I thought I knew a lot about the settlement, but this book increased my knowledge, understanding, and perspective. ( )

Boring book, if historically accurate ( )

Savage Kingdom is a recounting of the settlement of Jamestown, in particular, the people who led the enterprise and took on the challenge of settling a land they knew nothing about. It follows their journey in a landscape completely alien to them with inhabitants they can’t control, and in the end, threaten to destroy.

The book is very broad in its scope. It covers the goings on in England, John Smith’s explorations into Native American territories, the Jamestown settlement, the settlements in New England, the Spanish, Spanish America, and the monarchy’s involvement and interest in the Jamestown settlement. Sometimes I felt it was too inclusive. It wasn’t narrowed down and was more like a semester lecture and general overview of the world at the time instead of being sharply focused on the settlement.

I did enjoy the Native American interactions with the settlers though. John Smith’s adventures, trading, crowing of Powhatan, fighting, etc. provided interesting insights into how and where it all failed; it’s more than just a general misunderstanding brought about by a language barrier. Englishman with no ability to survive in the wilderness and with very meager survival skills were expecting the Native American tribes to feed them and became dumbfounded when it didn’t happen. They were so arrogant in assuming the land was theirs for the taking and truly believed someone would care for them.

Savage Kingdom was a frustrating book for me because you see all the faults and in many ways the problems inherent in the system. I wanted to really enjoy this book but I didn’t and I think it was due to the fact that I read another book on the subject last year and I felt I had already read some of this. It doesn’t make it bad, just not for me. It was well researched but I couldn’t get into it. ( )

I was given this book by respected historians, so I felt confident that this book would be good quality, not full of false information or unchecked/invalid sources. It has been a while since I’ve done any study of American history, so what better new start than to begin at the very beginning. This book read as easy as a novel, which is rare in a history book because they can get rather technical, dry and textbook-like. There were times when it didn’t even feel like I was reading a nonfiction book because it was just so interesting and full of adventure and intrigue. You’ll get it all in this book: political manipulations, death, disease, mutiny, war, sabotage, desperation and adventure. This book is neither oversimplified nor overly complicated. There are times, I admit, where you may feel that the book drags. I suffered during the parts about British government and technical arrangements, but they were mere pieces in a book that is largely very entertaining while remaining informative. It’s a far cry from Disney, though. By the end of it, you’ll be well aware of the brutality of America’s early founding… from both the settlers and the Natives. Additionally, this book includes an international scope. While discussing the founding of the Jamestown colony, the author writes about how other leaders in countries like France and Spain felt. If you love history, nonfiction or a good adventure book, this one is definitely for you. ( )