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Between Two Worlds: How the English Became Americans Audiobook
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Over 350,000 intrepid English men, women, and children migrated to America in the seventeenth century, leaving behind their homeland for an uncertain future on distant shores. Whether they settled in Jamestown, Salem, or Barbados, these early English migrants—entrepreneurs, soldiers, and pilgrims alike—sought to re-create their old country in the new land.
Yet as Malcolm Gaskill reveals in Between Two Worlds, colonists' efforts to remake England and retain their Englishness proved impossible. As they strove to leave their mark on the New World, they too were altered: by harsh wilderness, by illness and infighting, and by bloody battles with Indians. Gradually acclimating to their new environment, later generations realized that they were perhaps not even English at all. These were the first Americans, and their newfound independence would propel them along the path toward rebellion.
A major work of transatlantic history, Between Two Worlds brilliantly illuminates the long, complicated, and often traumatic process by which English colonists became American.
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"This study is, obviously, not for the lay person as Malcolm Gaskill writes for the historian, but the story is intriguing enough that the lay person will find it interesting. Gaskill proposes that the English colonists arrived in the New World assuming they would retain their English social, political, and economic mores. This, however, could not be further from the truth. The harsh environment they encountered wreaked havoc on their "Englishness". His description of their evolution into Americans is fascinating. "
— BRob (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Lively…an entertaining romp through kaleidoscopic images of colonists coping with the shock of the new while clinging to the older verities of their origins….Readers can delight in Mr. Gaskill’s winning narration of the old certainties in a new style.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“This book is not meant to be a history of seventeenth century America, though it succeeds rather well in that regard. Gaskill instead seeks to chart the development of a distinctive American identity in the new world. He succeeds quite brilliantly.”
— Times (London) -
“The conversion of English adventurers into American pioneers emerges, beautifully and brutally.”
— New Yorker -
“Gaskill is good at demonstrating how little effort the Crown invested in nurturing and managing the colonies…Fascinating.”
— Virginian-Pilot -
“Gaskill, a professor of early modern history at the University of East Anglia, offers an in-depth look at the experiences of the first three generations of English settlers on the American continent that examines their slow transformation into a new culture…Meticulously researched and drawing on a plenitude of original source material, Gaskill’s study provides an underrepresented view of early American history.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Gaskill studies the effects of seventeenth-century colonization on three generations of English in both England and America…A comprehensive history of America’s colonists, who struggled to separate while remaining English, and the English, who just wanted a cash cow.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
”Gildart Jackson’s narration conveys a lot of information with just enough emotion and drama to hold the listener’s attention throughout this comprehensive look at the 1600s and the lessons learned by early British colonists. His voice blends passages from the period with a modern awareness. That skill hits home when Gaskell writes about harsh British attitudes toward Native Americans. Jackson also sharpens the contrast between utopian writings meant to encourage migration and the realities of colonial life.”
— AudioFile
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About Malcolm Gaskill
Malcolm Gaskill is professor emeritus of early modern history at the University of East Anglia. He is one of Britain’s leading experts in the history of witchcraft, and his works include the highly acclaimed Witchfinders: A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy and Between Two Worlds: How the English Became Americans.
About Gildart Jackson
Gildart Jackson’s acting credits span the stage and screen. He is most often recognized for his roles as Gideon on Charmed and Simon Prentiss on General Hospital. He has also starred in numerous television shows, including CSI and Vegas, and he played the lead in the highly acclaimed independent feature film You, directed by his wife, Melora Hardin.