This was an interesting and factual book, anyone who wants to know more about this time period would get their fill of facts.  It was a bit dense at times, and hard to get through.  However, the writing was descriptive and it was easy to visualize what the colony and what the pilgrims might have went though.  

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced review

Not your typical book about the Mayflower. The Pilgrims are not given halos and accolades. They are presented as real, flawed individuals fighting a hostile environment and opposing natives. Some of the information was eye opening and disturbing which is probably why it is not recounted in most histories. The author uses primary sources to flesh out the very real people involved in the founding of New England.

I am a fan of the authors previous work so I was delighted to  receive this ARC to review through Net Galley and the publisher. 
This is a sweeping  meticulously detailed  historical account of the Winslow family  who were one of the Pilgrim families.  As my family is descendants of the Pilgrims I was interested to read this account of a families journey to religious freedom on American shores.  
 Fraser follows  Edward Winslow and his wife Elizabeth, from the Protestant Reformation, and among the 102 passengers aboard the Mayflower, a decrepit   old vessel, when it set sail for the New World in 1620. The crossing took two grueling months, the Pilgrims arriving in winter, giving the passengers no  crops for the following year.  They were able to make contact with the people known as Massasoit, inclined towards kindness and willing to share their food .  
The author details here the hardships in growing their food, communicating with the Massasoit and building a life in their strange new land. I found the documentation of the settlement and growth of the Plymouth Colony fascinating to read. Each detail of colony life is detailed here for the reader. This is an accounting we never received in school books.  This is the story of the Pilgrim's in detail,, their successes and their disappointments, the deaths from illness and their governance.  A fascinating read. 
This is a epic saga for all interested in early American history. I highly recommend this book for all classroom teaching and reading enjoyment.

The Mayflower by Rebecca Fraser is a deeply researched accounting of the build-up of tensions which resulted in the departure of numerous Puritans and others seeking out a new world. It follows the history of a significant few immigrants and their associations with the Native Americans, the English share holders and political forces, and each other. Rebecca Fraser's work envelops the pilgrims and gives them voice after all these years. I believe The Mayflower to be valuable to those seeking to explore their ancestor's path in the new world as well as those who have an interest in early American history.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

This history of the Plymouth Colony follows the Pilgrim settlers through the course of the 17th century, from England to their years in Leiden, then across the Atlantic on the Mayflower to the founding of Plymouth. Fraser examines the relationships between the Plymouth colonists and their native American neighbors, the relationships between the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies, and the leadership of the Plymouth colony with particular reference to Edward Winslow and his family. The bibliography reflects ample use of primary sources on both sides of the Atlantic. This book will satisfy many readers looking for a popular history of this era. Academic readers may be frustrated by the somewhat skimpy scholarly apparatus that is unfortunately typical of histories aimed at a broad reading public. The notes for each chapter identify significant source material for the chapter contents, but the notes generally lack specificity regarding which source(s) provide the basis for which facts or assertions in the text.

This review is based on an electronic advanced reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

The Mayflower: The Families, the Voyage, and the Founding of America by Rebecca Fraser is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in late November.

Written as a character study within the framework of history, it almost should've been called Plymouth, due to the extent of the timeline beyond the first Mayflower voyage (1620-1704) and the outcomes of the original families. What I loved most was to learn about aspects I'd never considered before, like Sir Walter Raleigh's friend, Hakluyt the Younger, securing a settlement in the U.S. from James I of England for religious asylum; the Mayflower carrying 2 dogs, 102 passengers, 250 pairs of shoes, and an iron screw that had intended for use as a house jack, but would help to secure the mast after a storm; the rise and fall of wampum as a form of currency; the Thirty Years War and King Phillip's War; and that communal Puritan living really fell out of favor in comparison to living on smaller land parcels in late 1623.

The Mayflower is an in depth look at the history of Plymouth Colony and the Pilgrims who settled it. Fraser introduces the cast of characters in a comfortable manner. So many died the first year of settle,met, it is astonishing the colony endured. The text includes copious footnotes and extensive bibliography. This book is great for historians or history enthusiasts.