On September 17, 2024, Andrew Lipman, associate professor of history, published a new book titled Squanto: A Native Odyssey.
In this work, Lipman explores the life of Squanto, the Native American man who made the first Thanksgiving possible in the 17th century. The majority of schoolchildren in the United States are only taught about Squanto in the form of holiday legend. Lipman provides a closer look at the historical significance of Squanto’s actions while analyzing the mysteries that still surround his life story.
The book explores how Squanto escaped bondage under the English after a ship captain kidnapped him in 1614, how he returned home, and why he helped the English Mayflower passengers after having been enslaved by an Englishman.
Published by Yale University Press, Squanto: A Native Odyssey is Lipman’s second book. It marks an unprecedented reconstruction of Squanto’s narrative, from his upbringing in the Wampanoag-speaking town of Patuxet to his journey in captivity across the Atlantic, his career as an interpreter, and his enigmatic death.
The biography was positively reviewed in The Wall Street Journal by Melanie Kirkpatrick who praises Lipman’s “captivating, elegantly written biography,” for successfully giving “the Wampanoag people their due in the often-misrepresented Thanksgiving story.”