First published in the United States of America by Viking Penguin, 2006.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [417]-445) and index.

Discovery: 1. They knew they were pilgrims -- 2. Dangerous shoals and roaring breakers -- 3. Into the void -- 4. Beaten with their own rod -- 5. The heart of the winter -- 6. In the dark and dismal swamp -- 7. Thanksgiving -- Accommodation: 8. The wall -- 9. A ruffling course -- Community: -- 10. One small candle -- 11. The ancient mother -- 12. The trial -- War: 13. Kindling the flame -- 14. The god of armies -- 15. In a strange way -- 16. The better side of the hedge -- Epilogue : Conscience.

From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as author Philbrick reveals, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a 55-year epic. The Mayflower's religious refugees arrived in Plymouth Harbor during a period of crisis for Native Americans, as disease spread by European fishermen devastated their populations. Initially the two groups maintained a fragile working relationship. But within decades, New England erupted into King Philip's War, a savage conflict that nearly wiped out colonists and natives alike, and forever altered the face of the fledgling colonies and the country that would grow from them. Philbrick has fashioned a fresh portrait of the dawn of American history--dominated right from the start by issues of race, violence, and religion.--From publisher description.