Our Beloved Kin

A New History of King Philip’s War

By: Lisa Brooks

Narrated by: Rainy Fields

A compelling and original recovery of Native American resistance and adaptation to colonial America

With rigorous original scholarship and creative narration, Lisa Brooks recovers a complex picture of war, captivity, and Native resistance during the "First Indian War" (later named King Philip's War) by relaying the stories of Weetamoo, a female Wampanoag leader, and James Printer, a Nipmuc scholar, whose stories converge in the captivity of Mary Rowlandson. Through both a narrow focus on Weetamoo, Printer, and their network of relations, and a far broader scope that includes vast Indigenous geographies, Brooks leads us to a new understanding of the history of colonial New England and of American origins.

Brooks's pathbreaking scholarship is grounded not just in extensive archival research but also in the land and communities of Native New England, reading the actions of actors during the 17th century alongside an analysis of the landscape and interpretations informed by tribal history.

©2018 Lisa Brooks (P)2019 Tantor

One of the best books in the subject

You can get over the narration which is not ideal - But the content is outstanding- the detail and perspective on the war it’s causes and players is really unmatched - Not a beginner book read one of the others for overall perspective then listen here

Important book, but lacks both narrative drive and skillful narration

The narration was exceptionally poor, marked by numerous mispronunciations and a monotone voice. Read it; don’t listen to it

Great writing marred by reader

The reader pauses and mispronounces words. Does not read in a smooth, conversational pace. It is jarring and a disservice to the excellent scholarship and content.

Important, interesting book --poorly read

I've just started this and will come back to it when I'm done, though I can already share that this is a monumentally creative and information-rich book with all sorts of insights about early (for Europeans) New England that by rights should be reframing centrally any kind of standard narrative about this place and this time. The reader, though. I like her voice, her pronunciation is clear -- but this sounds like a trial run, like a beginner's effort. I'm glad it's an audiobook, but I wish the publisher had hired someone who could parse the syntax comprehensibly. The reader pauses as bizarre places (ends of lines?? page break??) that force a person to be aware of her reading -- and often to re-listen to the paragraph. She also heavily over-emphasizes and in illogical places. ("She heavily over-EMPHASIZES and IN illogical PLACES", for example.) It's as if she's not fully understanding what she's reading. Actors do this all the time, and you can catch their non-comprehension occasionally, but the sounds of what-does-this-mean are all over the place in this audiobook. It's a shame, because this book is IMPORTANT and deserves more professional treatment. In addition, because she does such a strange job with the sentences, the reader cannot be trusted, to my ear at least, to be offering the pronunciation of the many Wampanoak and other Native names and words correctly. She seems to be consistent, at least, so it's comprehensible. Nevertheless, this audiobook has that one worst flaw: it creates a palpable divide between the reader and the text rather than becoming an imperceptible conduit to the content. Hire professionals (and pay them properly). This is a librivox-level narration. A *poor* librivox narration.

Brilliant book marred by poor narration.

This is a brilliant, innovative, and meticulously researched book that brings a new perspective to King Philip's War. Read it; do not listen to it. It is painful and jarring to hear the narrator pause where no pauses should be and stumble over words, making the reader wonder why on earth she was selected.