EMPIRES IN THE FOREST: JAMESTOWN AND THE BEGINNING OF AMERICA

read of the month EMPIRES IN THE FOREST: JAMESTOWN AND THE BEGINNING OF AMERICA BY AVERY CHENOWETH AND ROBERT LLEWELLYN (UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PRESS, $49.95)

America's birth comes to life in this vivid and cinematic depiction of Jamestown. A gem for any history buff, the book illuminates the stories of Pocahontas, John Smith, and the first permanent English settlement of Jamestown through poetic words and amber-lit images.

Avery Chenoweth gives readers an eloquent and entertaining text without skimping on fact or history. From the three English ships docking on the natives' land to Pocahontas's arrival in alien England with husband John Rolfe, Chenoweth captures this fragile chapter of our country's birth.

Enlisting descendants of the Powhatan to portray native people and shooting scenes at the historic Jamestown settlement, photographer Robert Llewellyn illustrates the book with a haunting authenticity that makes it hard to look away. The rich words and texture of the images make readers feel as if they, too, are part of the fabric of this history.

-JENNIFER DIENST

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation May 2007
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