Squanto

Andrew Lipman is professor of history at Barnard College, Columbia University. His first book, The Saltwater Frontier, won the Bancroft Prize in American History. He lives in New York City.

“A captivating, elegantly written biography. . . . Squanto is the first book for adult readers on this intriguing figure in early American history.”—Melanie Kirkpatrick, Wall Street Journal“Native American history . . . has been revised and distorted for centuries. The story of Squanto, the Pilgrims, and the first Thanksgiving is a prime example. Lipman’s book is a step toward amending that. . . . [A] revelatory biography and social history.”—Katherine A. Powers, Washington Post“A balanced, thoughtful blend of biography and history.”—Kirkus Reviews2025 PROSE Award winner, Biography and Autobiography category, sponsored by the Association of American Publishers (AAP)2025 Early American Literature Book Prize winner2025 New England Society Book Awards winner, sponsored by the New England Society in the City of New York (NES)Received an honorable mention for the 2024 Lyman Book Award for Maritime and Naval Biography and Autobiography, sponsored by NASOHWinner of the 2025 New York State Society of Colonial Wars Distinguished Book Award“Lipman masterfully reconstructs ‘Squanto’s world,’ revealing dynamic and complex Indigenous contours to the broader Atlantic. Through creative and careful readings of the sources, Lipman fills in the many gaps of Tisquantum’s life, revealing the tensions between the legend and reality of this pivotal historical figure.”—Joshua L. Reid, author of The Sea Is My Country“Anyone educated in the United States knows Squanto, whose story is part of community ritual and grade school education. Andrew Lipman’s engaging and thoughtful book suggests new ways to understand him and his legacy.”—Carla Gardina Pestana, author of The World of Plymouth Plantation“Teasing the most out of sparse sources, Andrew Lipman thoughtfully and imaginatively reconstructs the life and times of Squanto in a compelling journey through the overlapping Wampanoag and English colonial worlds.”—Colin G. Calloway, author of The Indian World of George Washington“Engaging and witty yet thoughtful and respectful, Lipman narrates an intimate and expansive story of Squanto’s transatlantic odyssey from freedom to captivity to freedom again, traversing not just the Atlantic, but also the gulf between English and Native cultures. Delightfully readable, this book will appeal to all readers.”—Linford D. Fisher, Brown University“A refreshing and imaginative biography narrating the remarkable life of the Wampanoag man known as Squanto, whom the Pilgrims needed to survive in the Dawnlands. In precisely rendered scenes revealing his mastery of the archives, Lipman shows that we need to understand Squanto if we are to grasp the real origins of New England.”—Peter C. Mancall, author of The Trials of Thomas Morton  “The definitive biography of an iconic figure in America’s colonial origin story and a superb introduction to the contact between Native America and Europe.”—David J. Silverman, author of This Land Is Their Land