The most important and influential source of information about the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, this landmark accountwas written between 1630 and 1647. Itvividly documents the Pilgrims' adventures: their first stop in Holland, the harrowing transatlantic crossing aboard the "Mayflower, " the first harsh winter in the new colony, and the help fromfriendly Native Americans that saved their lives.
No one was better equipped to report on the affairs of the Plymouth community than William Bradford. Revered for his patience, wisdom, and courage, Bradford was elected to the office of governor in 1621, and he continued to serve in that position formore than threedecades. His memoirs of the colony remained virtually unknown until the nineteenth century. Lost during the American Revolution, they were discovered years later in London and published after a protracted legal battle. The current edition rendered into modern English and with an introduction by Harold Paget, remains among the most readable books from seventeenth-century America."