The Mayflower and Her Log; July 15, 1620-May 6, 1621 — Volume 2

In the summer of 1620, a group of religious refugees desperate for sanctuary set sail on a ship that would become legend. This volume captures the Mayflower's legendary voyage in vivid detail: the cramped quarters, the perilous Atlantic crossing, and the desperate first months in an unfamiliar land. Ames, writing in the late 19th century, draws on primary sources and contemporary accounts to reconstruct not just the famous dates and landmarks but the human drama underlying every decision. We witness the fractious negotiations between the Merchant Adventurers funding this venture and the Leyden congregation seeking escape from persecution, the terror of storms that nearly sent the ship to the bottom, and the grim winter that claimed nearly half the colonists before spring arrived. This is history rendered with the urgency of a dispatch from the frontier, revealing the Pilgrims not as distant monuments but as flesh-and-blood people grappling with impossible circumstances. For anyone seeking to understand the real story behind the myth, Ames provides an indispensable account.