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Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America Audiobook
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(3.07) - 169 listener ratings
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Published to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first American colony, Savage Kingdom presents a bold, even reckless, political adventure driven by a sense of imperial destiny and dogged by official hostility.
Four centuries ago, and fourteen years before the Mayflower, a group of men—led by a one-armed ex-pirate, an epileptic aristocrat, a reprobate cleric, and a government spy—left London aboard a fleet of three ships to start a new life in America. They arrived in Virginia in the spring of 1607 and set about trying to create a settlement on a tiny island in the James River. Despite their shortcomings, and against the odds, they built Jamestown, a ramshackle outpost that laid the foundations of the British Empire and the United States of America.
Drawing on new discoveries, neglected sources, and manuscript collections scattered across the world, Savage Kingdom challenges the textbook image of Jamestown as a mere money-making venture. It reveals a reckless, daring enterprise led by outcasts of the Old World who found themselves interlopers in a new one. It charts their journey into a beautiful landscape and a sophisticated culture that they found both ravishing and alien, which they yearned to possess but threatened to destroy. They called their new home a "savage kingdom," but it was the savagery they had experienced in Europe that had driven them across the ocean and which they hoped to escape by building in America "one of the most glorious nations under the sun."
An intimate story in an epic setting, Woolley shows how the land of Pocahontas came to be drawn into a new global order, reaching from London to the Orinoco Delta, from the warring kingdoms of Angola to the slave markets of Mexico, from the gates of the Ottoman Empire to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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""Savage" is the word that best expresses the story of Jamestown and this early settlement -- and this book does not reflect the sanitized version taught in High School history class. "
— William (4 out of 5 stars)
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Brilliantly framed narrative…fascinating…. A well-told story.
— Kirkus Starred Review -
“Brilliantly framed narrative…Fascinating…A well-told story.”
— Kirkus (starred review) -
“Woolley blends nuanced analysis with fast-paced narrative.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Evokes a stirring epic in American history in all its greed, gore, and glory.”
— Booklist
Savage Kingdom Listener Reviews
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" Close view of the ugly early colonization of Virginia by the english. Makes you wonder how they ever managed anything successfully. "
— Jack, 1/10/2014 -
" Very dry rendition of a very interesting historical period. "
— Linda, 12/24/2013 -
" A very well written look at the colony at Jamestown and the politics behind it's creation and periods of failure and success. "
— Susan, 10/21/2013 -
" This dragged for me in some places, but I still learned a lot. I may look into reading some of his other medicine-related books at some point in the future. "
— Erin, 8/1/2013 -
" Audiobook. Interesting and informative. "
— Diana, 6/1/2013 -
" I learned much I did not know about early English settlement in Virginia. It is very well done too. "
— Jeff, 4/3/2013 -
" I had a hard time staying engrossed (I listened on audio book). Normally I do pretty well with non-fiction in this format, so I don't know if it was the subject matter or just this particular book. "
— Julia, 2/27/2013 -
" This book probably gets 3.5 stars.... "
— Jenny, 1/27/2013 -
" Elegant writing and a fun read. Some publishing errors like mislabeled and misplaced maps. "
— Marion, 1/19/2013 -
" Very engaging and well-researched. "
— Claire, 9/10/2012 -
" "Savage" is the word that best expresses the story of Jamestown and this early settlement -- and this book does not reflect the sanitized version taught in High School history class. "
— William, 5/11/2012 -
" Lots of good information, though I wish it were more analytical and less a digestion/recap of primary sources. Dragged a bit toward the end (except when there was a massacre. Sorry, but true.) "
— Caroline, 5/18/2011 -
" The real version of Jamestown is very different than disney Pocahontas! "
— Matt, 5/5/2011 -
" I read this while my children read "Blood on the River," our tribute to the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Not a Disney song in sight ... "
— Melissa, 7/20/2010 -
" Not a bad book, but not exactly what I was looking for. There was more emphasis on the politics and economics of the Virginia Company leaders back in England than in the actual settlement in America. I liked the beginning of the book, but by the middle it got too tedious. "
— Laura, 7/7/2010 -
" Very helpful. <br/>Significant information on renegades and relations with native americans. "
— Kristen, 2/21/2010 -
" Very dry rendition of a very interesting historical period. "
— Linda, 1/22/2010 -
" Elegant writing and a fun read. Some publishing errors like mislabeled and misplaced maps. "
— Marion, 7/15/2009 -
" I learned much I did not know about early English settlement in Virginia. It is very well done too. "
— Jeff, 7/10/2009 -
" This dragged for me in some places, but I still learned a lot. I may look into reading some of his other medicine-related books at some point in the future. "
— Erin, 1/5/2009 -
" I read this while my children read "Blood on the River," our tribute to the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Not a Disney song in sight ... "
— Melissa, 3/28/2008 -
" Close view of the ugly early colonization of Virginia by the english. Makes you wonder how they ever managed anything successfully. "
— Jack, 12/8/2007
About Benjamin Woolley
Benjamin Woolley, a writer and broadcaster, covers both the arts and the sciences. His previous books include Virtual Worlds, an exploration of virtual reality, and The Bride of Science, a biography of Byron’s brilliant daughter. He lives in London.
About David Drummond
David Drummond has made his living as an actor for over twenty-five years, appearing on stages large and small throughout the country and in Seattle, Washington, his hometown. He has narrated over thirty audiobooks, in genres ranging from current political commentary to historical nonfiction, fantasy, military, thrillers, and humor. He received an AudioFile Earphones Award for his first audiobook, Love ’Em or Lose ’Em: Getting Good People to Stay. When not narrating, he keeps busy writing plays and stories for children.