Benjamin Woolley is an award-winning writer and broadcaster. He is the author of the best-selling The Queen's Conjuror: The Life and Magic of Dr. John Dee and Heal Thyself: Nicholas Culpeper and the Civil War for the Heart of Medicine in Seventeenth-Century England. His first book, Virtual Worlds, was short-listed for the Rh�ne-Poulenc Prize and has been translated into eight languages. His second work, The Bride of Science, examined the life of Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter. He has written and presented documentaries for the BBC on subjects ranging from the fight for liberty during the English Civil War to the end of the Space Age. He has won the Arts Journalist of the Year Award and an Emmy for his commentary for Discovery's Three Minutes to Impact. He lives in London.
"An engrossing bit of elegant social history." -- Los Angeles Times"A lucid narrative." -- Financial Times"Comprehensive account of the first permanent English colony in North America.... A well-told story of discovery, conquest, business and politics." -- Kirkus Reviews"This highly readable account of the founding of Jamestown moves from the English throne to the daily struggles of the colony's first settlers and the experience of Virginia's Indians as their relations with colonists became increasingly strained....Woolley blends nuanced analysis with fast-paced narrative." -- Publishers Weekly"To mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, historian and journalist Benjamin Woolley has constructed a far-ranging account of the political machinations and human suffering that went into creating and preserving this tormented English outpost." -- BookPage"[H]ighly readable . . . Woolley blends nuanced analysis with fast-paced narrative." -- Publishers WeeklyA swashbuckling saga of political maneuvering, storms at sea, hostile indigenes, violence and starvation....his book is sprightly and vivid. -- Los Angeles TimesBenjamin Woolley presents an engaging, well-researched take on the basics....Woolley's prose bounces along, equally cheerful in the face of a comprehensive flaying and the founding of what became Washington, D.C. -- Entertainment Weekly
The 400th anniversary of England's first permanent settlement in America has inspired a deluge of new works on a topic already well covered by academics and novelists alike, not to mention Disney filmmakers. Here are two more. What distinguishes Woolley's comprehensive history is its remarkably heavy reliance on primary sources from many key players in the successes and failures of Jamestown. Much of the book consists of quotes, making for a wildly disjointed, challenging, yet ultimately highly rewarding read. Woolley's meticulous research provides new insights into the dysfunctional relationships within Jamestown as well as the political, religious, and financial machinations in England that led to, and almost destroyed, the struggling settlement. Encounters with the Native Americans are examined in fascinating and sometimes gory detail. Throughout this highly informative narrative, Woolley remains a neutral recorder of facts, never offering comment, analysis, or perspective. It is an impressive work of scholarship and a worthy addition to any academic and large public library's early Readers seeking a more vivid but less scholarly account of some of the exciting and melodramatic aspects of Jamestown's story might be better served by Doherty's effort. Doherty mixes primary sources with his own assumptions, providing a novelistic account of select episodes in the story, most notably the doomed 1609 voyage of the eponymous ship, which was to have delivered manpower and supplies to the beleaguered colony after a devastating winter, and the Virginia Company's inept leadership throughout the ordeal. Unfortunately and inexplicably, however, he spends much of his work on Pocahontas and her relationships with John Smith and John Rolfe, sinking into melodrama and speculation at the expense of scholarship. Admittedly fascinating, riveting, and well told, Doherty's work nonetheless fails to provide any new insight into any aspect of the Jamestown story. It could be interesting reading for the general public, but scholars and informed lay readers will prefer Woolley's intense, impeccably researched effort.-Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
"An engrossing bit of elegant social history." -- Los Angeles Times"A lucid narrative." -- Financial Times"Comprehensive account of the first permanent English colony in North America.... A well-told story of discovery, conquest, business and politics." -- Kirkus Reviews"This highly readable account of the founding of Jamestown moves from the English throne to the daily struggles of the colony's first settlers and the experience of Virginia's Indians as their relations with colonists became increasingly strained....Woolley blends nuanced analysis with fast-paced narrative." -- Publishers Weekly"To mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, historian and journalist Benjamin Woolley has constructed a far-ranging account of the political machinations and human suffering that went into creating and preserving this tormented English outpost." -- BookPage"[H]ighly readable . . . Woolley blends nuanced analysis with fast-paced narrative." -- Publishers WeeklyA swashbuckling saga of political maneuvering, storms at sea, hostile indigenes, violence and starvation....his book is sprightly and vivid. -- Los Angeles TimesBenjamin Woolley presents an engaging, well-researched take on the basics....Woolley's prose bounces along, equally cheerful in the face of a comprehensive flaying and the founding of what became Washington, D.C. -- Entertainment Weekly
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