The American Dream of Captain John Smith. (book reviews)

In this study of John Smith's ideals and character, J. A. Leo Lemay defends the early Virginia leader against his critics, past and present. Detractors have long charged that Smith published exaggerated accounts of his triumphs against insuperable odds in eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and America. More recently, historians have argued that Smith exemplified a fundamentally brutal and exploitative colonization process in his dealings with American Indians. However, Lemay concludes that Smith reported events accurately and that he intended American colonization to free all ...