Everyday Life in Early America Review

Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
Author(s): David F. Hawke

ISBN: 0060912510 EAN: 9780060912512
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 224
Reading Level: Young Adult

Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

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"In this clearly written volume, Hawke provides enlightening and colorful descriptions of early Colonial Americans and debunks many widely held assumptions about 17th century settlers."--Publishers Weekly

User Submitted Everyday Life in Early America Reviews

February 21, 2007
Everyday Life for Everyone
Not only is Hawke's book informative and concise, this book is "a good read." Many books examining an early time in a place often turn out to read like lists (if they're short) or textbooks (if they're long). Great for the first-time student, a comfort read for the layman, and a great reference with many nuggets of information that could be new (or examined differently)for the scholar of Early Colonial America. A rare book that really does have something for everybody.

September 20, 2002
Very good though not quite spectacular social history
The only genuine problem with this excellent book is that it does not compare favorably with some of the other books in this series. For instance, if one turns to this after reading Schlereth's amazing VICTORIAN AMERICA, one is scaled down the book seems in comparison. This is not the fault of author David Hawke. The problem is the paucity of details in everyday life in 17th century America compared to the late 19th. Unfortunately for Hawke, the life of Americans in the 17th century was rudimentary and, of necessity, simple. What makes VICTORIAN AMERICA such a delight is the almost overwhelmingly amount of delicious detail.

Nonetheless, life in 17th century colonial America is apt to be less familiar to most readers than that of late 19th century America, and this book performs an enormous service in providing a concise, well-written overview of what that life was like. Hawke is especially good at exploding various myths that have evolved over the years concerning colonial life. Unlike the later volumes in the series, Hawke deals, by dint of necessity, of the larger historical situation.

Some of the topics that Hawke takes up include the structure of towns and villages, the nature of farms and the crops grown, houses and the types of objects found within them, the health of the settlers and treatment of illness, social stratification, indentured servitude and slavery, relations with Native Americans, and various superstitions. If the book was somewhat less exhilarating than some of the later books in the series, it nonetheless is quite informative. I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about the nuts and bolts of colonial life.

July 21, 2002
Broad View in Small Compass
This book is a must for anyone who wants to achieve a greater understanding of day-to-day life in 17th century America with a few hours of enjoyable reading. Hawke largely avoids the in-depth treatment of weightier political, social, and religious issues that bog down most such histories, and instead focuses on giving the reader a palpable impression of what it was like simply to be alive. It's not all farm implements and spinning wheels, either. The author skillfully uses anecdotes to covey the impact of bigger issues like industry and economics, transportation, warfare, morals and manners, etc. Excellent!

February 3, 2001
Very solid social history
This is a great book for the ordinary reader who would enjoy a chance to learn a bit more about the history of our country. With 176 pages of written text, it can't provide an extremely in- depth description of colonial life, but it does give an excellent overview of the 17th century in America with a surprising amount of detail. The writing style is engaging and not at all difficult, so the book is easy to finish off in a few days. I would recommend it!

July 1, 2000
Most entertaining history book I've ever read
I read this book during my sophomore year of college, and it has forever stayed in my memory as the most entertaining history book I've ever read. What's so wonderful is that its concern is the texture of everyday life (duh! :=), rather than dates and names. Truly interesting.

May 14, 2000
Great source for colonial life!
One of my hobbies is recreating colonial life. I am a historical reenactor, and part of my passion for the hobby is recreating the lifestyle lived long ago as closely as possible. This book helped me immensely. I was able to understand how women especially passed their time and to pick up ways in which to create my character to her greatest potential. So many times while reading books about colonial Americans, women are virtually left out - I know they did something - but what was that something? This book helped me understand what their daily lives were all about.

March 4, 2000
Everyday Life in Early America
A fascinating book full of quotes from people of that era. The book examines all facets of life in 17th century America and explains how our way of life in the US evolved. I couldn't put it down.

February 1, 2000
A good overview about the American Colonies 1500-1750
This is a good book that I found suprisingly detailed with pertinant facts that gave me a better understanding of the culture, religion, family beliefs and social way of life in early Colonial America between 1500 to 1750 (before the Revolutionary War). The author does an excellent job in emphasizing the importance of the different Christian religious sects in the colonies and how importantly they influenced the personal and social structure in colonial life. Life on the farm, in the town or villiage is studied as well as the important tools, crafts, clothing that were used. Not only is the influence of England stated in this work but that of Holland and other European powers of the time mentioned as well. This is a great book to get to understand what society and indvidual lives were like prior to the American Revolution. Overall a very interesting read!

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