Our beloved kin

I hadn't heard of King Philip's War until I moved to Massachusetts, and even then it was only because I regularly passed signs around the state referencing one of its battles or key players. This despite it being one of the important wars of colonial North America, with its denouement impacting not just the continent but eventually reverberating through European fortunes as well. Other books mostly cover this conflict and its genesis in passing, but Brooks sets the stage with rigorous, incredible research to lay out the state of New England on the eve of the war and then methodically follows it to its disturbing conclusion. Her work combining a wide variety of Native American and colonial sources is impressive, and adds significant depth of understanding to the geographic and political landscape of the period.

Having now lived in New England for the majority of my life, understanding a formative period of history underlying many of the places that I spend my time was illuminating and sobering - many of the place names here mean something to me, and over the years I have already happened upon many of the sites that are referenced here. For people who don't have that connection to New England or are interested in Native American or colonial history, this book might be too in the weeds. If you're in this group, however, it's mandatory reading. Highly recommend