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Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims' First Year in America

by Glenn Alan Cheney

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Title: Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims' First Year in America

Author: Glenn Alan Cheney (Click here to contact this author.)

Author's Website: http://www.cheneybooks.com

Price: Hardcover - $21.95, Paperback - $15.95

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Description: Thanksgiving is not a book about a holiday. It’s about something that a few dozen survivors did after a year of suffering, death, struggle, and courage.

They bowed their heads to give thanks.

The Pilgrims’ journey began as a joint venture of business and religion, but soon it became a matter of survival.

With 102 men, women, and children packed into a dim, wet space below the main deck, the Mayflower set out on a terrifying 66-day crossing of the Atlantic. They dropped anchor well north of where they’d intended, and just as the New England winter was setting in.

With no choice but to spend the winter in the dank, frigid ship, they took ill. One by one, almost half of them died. The few individuals well enough to work rowed the dead into shore and buried them in graves left unmarked so the Indians wouldn’t know how weak they were.

Spring promised only a year of toil and difficulties as they attempted to settle new land in a place they called Plymouth.

But then a miracle walked out of the woods...an Indian who had already crossed the Atlantic four times. He spoke English very well. He showed them how to catch the local fish and grow the local crops. He introduced them to the local people, and in an experience unique in colonial history, Europeans and Indians became friends and allies.

And that autumn, the new and native Americans came together for a feast that lasted three days. Thanksgiving is a book of fact that all but breathes with the human drama of life, death, birth, hope, prayer, work, desperation, and thanks.

Though these few dozen people were hardly the first Europeans to settle in North America, their values and beliefs grew into the American culture. We are what they were.

Every American should read this book before bowing for grace on Thanksgiving Day.

Reader Reviews of Thanksgiving

"I've been a fan of Glenn Cheney’s writing for years, with Journey on the Estrada Real being my favorite thus far as he transported me along an ancient, mystical road through the mountains of Brazil. However he’s now outdone himself with his newest book Thanksgiving. I read it over the course of a few days, not because it was excessively long or ponderous as some historical tomes are, but because I was enjoying the depth and flow of this remarkable work. It is one of the most informative, most interesting, most accessible books about the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, the New World, the Indians and the trials and tribulations at Plymouth Plantation that I've ever read. The way Cheney melds historic fact with read-between-the-lines plausible borders on brilliant because he’s not ramming untruths or revisionist history down our throats, but gives intelligent thought and insight into what most likely occurred during the Mayflower’s voyage and the Pilgrim’s settling in Plymouth. Every schoolchild, and adult for that matter, in America should read Thanksgiving and every public library and school library should own a copy. It should be read aloud by kids and parents around Thanksgiving to illustrate what we’re really giving thanks for. "

Peter Saracena, Wilton, Connecticut

"The book is very well done and insightful. I learned many things, and I certainly got a feel for the travails the pilgrims experienced. What a courageous bunch of people. It is a book that needed to be written and Glenn Cheney should be applauded for the research and work he's done. I think it could be something important for others to read – and especially around the Thanksgiving holiday season. I've just bought a few extra copies to give as holiday gifts this year! "

Ellen Heffes, Florham Park, New Jersey, Executive Editor

"Q. True or False? “Our Pilgrims ventured to a land new and unknown for their religious freedom,” or “The only ‘venture’ involved with the Plymouth colony was a business venture.” Nothing is as elusive as Truth. In his 2007 book Thanksgiving, Glen Alan Cheney uncovers many contradictions, discovers new facts, shares fresh insights. He explores that seminal year including the famous first feast that Americans everywhere commemorate. Historical research challenges cherished myth, leaving not a diminished truth, but a larger reality even more profound and enriching. A fascinating read. A. When offered apple or pumpkin pie, the only right answer is “All of the above!” "

Karen the Librarian Stevens, Scotland, CT

"Cheney's brilliant writing style makes this book an instant classic. Growing up in New England, I thought I had a good idea of what life was like for the Pilgrims. Come to find out, I knew nothing. Reading "Thanksgiving," I felt like I was right there, from preparing for the voyage to getting established in America. This story is amazing, and I plan to share this book with as many people as I can. This a history book for the masses, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. "

Chris Campbell, Denver, Colorado, Author, Social Worker

"This book is very easy reading, full of interesting Pilgrim facts, and is a very interesting account of their daily trials. Glenn Cheney has poured hours of research into a highly detailed accounting of the entire adventure. Cheney has not left anything out. He has described one detailed scene after another in a way that the reader is drawn from one page to the next. This is not boring reading by any means…. If you want the entire Pilgrim story, this is the book for you. "

Mayflower Newsletter Winter 2007-2008, Society of Mayflower Descendants in Michigan

"Do you think you "know" the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving? Read Cheney's version and you'll be pleasantly surprised and what you didn't know or never thought of. It is a well written, well researched, historically correct story of what these brave people went through to begin anew. The hardships, sorrow, loss, and starvation must have been almost unbearable. Yet they persisted. Cheney presents a rather believable view from the Native American side also. A must read for anyone interested in our history. "

Donna Benoit, Massachusetts, Regent, Lynn Cobb Quequechan Chapter, D.A.R.

Praise for Thanksgiving

I am one who likes nitty-gritty details as I feel they give me a better understanding of the people, their character, the events and what actually happened. It’s as if I’m sharing their experience. I recently read Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims’ First year in America by Glenn Alan Cheney, and found the book fascinating. The book briefly deals with the history of the Pilgrims in England and Holland, then goes into the voyage, their problems on the voyage, problems after they arrived, both the helpfulness and the hostility of the Indians, and the first Thanksgiving.

When I get a book that purports to be about true events, one of the first things I do is go to the back and check the Bibliography. I was extremely pleased to see that this book was well referenced. The details that I like to see were pulled together into a well- and logically organized text, and it filled in many details of previous books I’ve read. I actually felt as if I was looking through someone’s eyes as the events unfolded, or at least looking over his shoulder.

If you have previously read even one book about the Mayflower and the Pilgrims then you need to read this book to get a full understanding and develop a better appreciation. If you’ve yet to read a book about the Pilgrims, you should make this book your first one.

Jerry Hubbard
Counselor General
Virginia Society of the Founders and Patriots of America

"If you are looking for a book that engagingly conveys the story of the Pilgrims in a neat well told chronology, Glenn Alan Cheney’s Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims’ First Year in America fits that bill perfectly.

Without pretension, Cheney’s rendering of this familiar tale easily reveals the saga of a simple but determined, mostly godly people within the context of the unsteady European politics of the times, and the rampant religious intolerance and persecution from which they fled. It’s all there, their struggles in Holland, the hair-raising journey by sea in a fetid, reeking ship, and the incredible difficulty they faced, including death, sickness, and misery, as they went about building a life for themselves in a harsh wilderness. Of course all this sacrifice ultimately paid off as this little settlement not only succeeded, but indeed laid the seeds for a new nation. And certainly not over-looked by any means in this account is the critical role played by area native Americans.

Cheney presents the Pilgrims in a sometimes breezy narrative that often risks contemplating what might have been in the minds of these humble, sometimes naïve souls as they encountered challenges that to this day seem so extraordinary. No matter how often told, however, their story is an incomparable testimony to the truth that common people can do uncommon things, if given a mind to, and if they have the faith. This book belongs in your library beside Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower, and of course that venerable classic, George Willison’s Saints and Strangers."

Dean Dexter
The Shallop – Spring 2008
New Hampshire Society of Mayflower Descendants

"Glenn Alan Cheney's Thanksgiving is a concise and historically correct account of the Pilgrim's establishment of Plymouth Colony in North America. For those who are familiar with the accounts of William Bradford and Edward Winslow (Of Plymouth Plantation and Mourt's Relation), they will enjoy the possibilities introduced by the author. For those not familiar with Bradford and Winslow, this is a very interesting telling of the Pilgrim experience."

Judith Renker
Central Texas Colony
Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Texas

"Glenn Cheney vividly depicts the courage and faith of the Pilgrim settlers and the generosity and friendship offered by the Native Americans who welcomed them and helped them survive. The American culture of independence, hard work, and cooperation grew from the seeds planted at Plymouth. Every American should appreciate what happened there."

U.S. Representative Joe Courtney

"Glenn Cheney's Thanksgiving brings together numerous aspects of the Mayflower story into a comfortable and logically organized text, faithfully retelling the story of the Pilgrims’ first year at Plymouth, the history behind their voyage, and their interactions with Native Americans."

Caleb Johnson
Historian & Author
The Mayflower and Her Passengers

"Thanksgiving should be read by people who are familiar with the Pilgrim story and those who are not because it fills in many of the little episodes that people hear but don’t connect together. We will never know exactly what happened back then, but this book brings those episodes together in a scenario of how they may well have happened."

Edward Delano Sullivan
Governor General - General Society of Mayflower Descendants

"Glenn Cheney has given us fresh insights into the plight of those men and women who left their homes and families to travel to an unknown wilderness in search of their dreams and new freedoms. Thanksgiving will be more meaningful to those who read this book."

The Rev. Ron Lake
First Congregational Church
Stonington, Conn.

As advertised, the book Thanksgiving is not a book about a holiday. It's about something that a few dozen survivors did after a year of suffering, death, struggle, and courage....Perhaps after reading this book your Thanksgiving celebration will not be about the bountiful laden table but about the individuals who made it possible.

Lynne Orvis
The Hoosier Mayflower - April 2008
Indianas Society of Mayflower Descendants

In his book, Thanksgiving, Glenn Alan Cheney begins the story of the Mayflower Pilgrims in the year 1488. Starting with that year gives him a chance to explain the religious background in England that leads up to 1620. This includes the beginning of the Church of England, and the eventful break away groups such as the Puritans and the Separatists.

Mr. Cheney gives a good account of many of the people involved in the eventual crossing of the Mayflower. His description of life on board the ship brings the reader into the cramped quarters, the smells and sounds of the ship. He describes the eventual landing and the problems of finding food and the wet conditions the people had to endure. He describes the events of meeting with Samoset, Squanto and Massasoit and how the Indians helped the Pilgrims and how the Indians benefited from the exchange with the Europeans.

The major problem of death among the 102 passengers and eventual marriages of the few surviving women are described. The book concludes with the end of the first year in Plymouth and a description of what the first Thanksgiving may have been like.

I recommend the book for any one interested in early American history and especially those descendants of the Mayflower passengers. Not all passengers are mentioned but the reader will get the feeling of how they must have felt about crossing the Ocean to begin a new life. The book is easy to read and the short chapters let you read it at your leisure.

From The Kentucky Pilgrim — Spring, 2008
The Society of Mayflower Descendants of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

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