Hannah Duston: A Captivating Guide to the First American Woman to Have a Statue Built in Her Honor (U.S. History)

This book is a nice, short, biography of Hannah Duston, consisting of 38 pages. I liked that it presents both the positive and negative views of Hannah Duston and also presents a bit of a feminist view of her. The Captivating History series rarely lists any authors for its titles; and although this title does not list any authors or have any footnotes, it does have more than 3 pages of citations (bibliography).The cons of this book:There were some gruesome sections – a Puritan man is tied to a tree and burned alive. (and it gets worse from there). So, definitely skip page 10 if you're not into that kind of writing. On the other hand, the pages on Hannah scalping the Abenaki tribesman are not described in a gruesome manner.There is some sloppy editing in the book. It seems as if a different person wrote the last 3 chapters of the book (chapts 7-9) because the grammar takes a downturn in these chapters. This is not surprising, since it feels like the books in the Captivating History (and Hourly History series) are a group effort – perhaps written by college students.Some of the grammatical problems in this book:* Redundant use of descriptive words: “Would they have <strong>surrounded around</strong> her feet eagerly awaiting to hear each and every detail?” (p. 28)* Incorrect use of <strong>then</strong> when it should have been <strong>than</strong>. (p.30)* Use of made-up words: “If she had been able to, much more would be known about … the journey and capture of her and her <strong>captees</strong>.” <em>Captees</em> is not a word listed in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, The American Heritage Dictionary, nor The New Oxford American Dictionary. The correct words are captor and captive.The substandard writing in the last 3 chapters seems to be the result of one or more of the following:* sloppy editing* ignorance of proper use of grammar, and/or* writing by someone for whom English is a 2nd language.Therefore, I deducted one star from my rating, for poor grammar. Fortunately, these writing issues were mainly in the last 3 chapters, so it was tolerable. Overall, I still recommend this book in spite of its shortcomings; and, at 38 pages, what do you have to lose?

This slender volume contains little real history and more of the author's ill-informed reflections than are worth the reader's time.

As a summary of this true story, as I was told as a child.. it's very good, but I don't believe that all women were to be delicate and feeble. Maybe for the upper class.Hannah was a strong compassionate family oriented women of her times. She showed strength and courage for her family.

Too many grammar errors. Book was too short for 99cents. I expect 100 pages minimum for each dollar charged.Too much time was spent on her sister, which had nothing to do with this story. And, I was left with more questions after I read the book than I had when I started it.

Amazing the history that we never learned growing up

This is a case of the good, the bad, and the ugly. A well written read that discusses what happened in America.

History of the pilgrims.

"She was a product of her time," is probably the best way to look at Hannah Duston.  People who think that Hannah went too far in revenging the loss of her infant were not there.  I have read many, many books about early colonial life.  The Puritans' life was incredibly harsh and short.  Hannah had given birth to a daughter 6 days before she was captured.  It was a difficult birth and Hannah was still abed.After being captured, walking 12 miles with only one shoe, knowing they were about to be beaten (and worse) by the whole tribe, Hannah formulated a plan.  In today's parlance, we would probably say she was suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and we would then think that whatever actions she took were done in the tension, dread, and fear of the moment/event.  However many she killed, she probably wasn't aware of her behavior at the time.  She was still in shock and fear for her life, and those who accompanied her. The issue of returning to the scene of the murders and scalping the Indians is a bit more problematic.  According to the story, there were two reasons for scalping the dead Indians.  Hannah and the group thought they would not be believed if they didn't bring proof of their story. Second, there was a bounty on Indian scalps.  It is hard to argue with the first justification; women were considered fragile, retiring, and feeble in her day.  That might have been the only way the Puritans would have believed Hannah's story.  Perhaps the Puritans would have threatened to kill Hannah for being a witch, without proof that no magic had been performed.  Remember, the Witch Trials were taking place in the New England area.Saying that Hannah was practical in bringing home scalps that were worth hard cash, sounds pretty callous.  However, we weren't there.  We don't know the pressures Hannah and the others were under.  It is very easy to demean people and actions from other eras -- but do we have the right?

For the money, it was a bit more than I thought it might be worth. It's a very thin, paperback booklet, BUT, it is my family history...She was a great great great, possibly great grand-mother on my Father's side. The story is quite interesting though and I'm proud to own this story about her. I have recommended it to other family members.

An insightful account of Hannah Duston’s capture and ultimate response,causing one to appreciate the values of today’s more civilised way of living.One asks the question-Did Hannah suffer PTSD as a result of her experience which then fuelled her violent response?

Hannah Duston lived in a period when women were meant to be delicate, feeble, and more compassionate, but she defied this stereotype. It's the horrifying yet fascinating true story about a woman who was kidnapped by Indians in 1697. Hannah faced horrific situations - she had been abducted, saw her home burned, her newborn child murdered, didn't know if husband or children were alive or safe, was forced to walk, threatened with torture when they reached the end of their journey. And still she found the strength to make plans to escape with the other prisoners. This is a short condensed history of a woman, her times and experiences. Recommended!