Four centuries after its founding, Jamestown has become the stuff of movies, legend, and tourism. This important work treats the reality behind the legends--Pocahontas, John Rolfe, Powhatan, John Smith, and others--and puts the stories into a broader context. More than 250 A-Z entries detail the colonial strategies, military considerations, political realities, and personal privations that went into the creation of the first enduring beachhead in the British effort to colonize the New World.

Based on primary sources and ongoing archaeological work, this book is the most comprehensive...