Did Pocahontas save Captain John Smith? /

The veracity of John Smith's account of his romantic 1607 rescue by Pochahontas was first challenged in the 1860s by essayist Henry Adams and historian Charles Deane. In this meticulous review of the sources of the controversy, author Lemay endeavors to show that the incident actually happened. He succeeds primarily by applying logic to his analysis of the texts by Smith and those of his 19th-century supporters and detractors. Lemay strengthens his argument by showing that none of Smith's contemporaries, Native American or English, was ever quoted as disagreeing with his account of the incident. While this is no longer a burning question in many circles, Lemay's study is appropriate for libraries with historiography collections.-- Mary B. Davis, Huntington Free Lib., Bronx, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.