Phil Grisé

For decades, Western Massachusetts youth had a common book among our standard reading, "Boy Captive of Old Deerfield" (1903). Before leaving elementary school, we'd all read it, talked about it, andvin many cases, visited Deerfield. We loved it. Now, Swanson has provided a well-researched documentary that takes the original novel from story to serious history! It's magnificent. And it's well-complemented with a central insert of several pages of historical maps, diagrams and photos recalling the people and events from the late 1690s into the early 1700's. The focal point makes a dramatic shift from the traditional view of bloodthirsty savages attacking a remote American/English outpost on the fringes of new wilderness, to a much longer running battle between French Catholics and Protestant English. Wow! History comes alive here!