Taken to Europe as a slave, he found his way home and changed the course of American history   “A captivating, elegantly written biography.”―Melanie Kirkpatrick, Wall Street Journal   Winner, PROSE Award in Biography from the Association of American Publishers ● Winner, 2025 Early American Literature Book Prize ● Winner, 2025 New York State Society of Colonial Wars Distinguished Book Award ● Winner, 2025 New England Society Book Award ● Named a Best Native Studies Book of 2024 by Tribal College Journal   American schoolchildren have long learned about Squanto, the welcoming Native who made the First Thanksgiving possible, but his story goes deeper than the holiday legend. Born in the Wampanoag-speaking town of Patuxet in the late 1500s, Squanto was kidnapped in 1614 by an English captain, who took him to Spain. From there, Englishmen brought him to London and Newfoundland before sending him home in 1619, when Squanto discovered that most of Patuxet had died in an epidemic. A year later, the Mayflower colonists arrived at his home and renamed it Plymouth.   Prize-winning historian Andrew Lipman explores the mysteries that still surround Squanto: How did he escape bondage and return home? Why did he help the English after an Englishman enslaved him? Why did he threaten Plymouth’s fragile peace with its neighbors? Was it true that he converted to Christianity on his deathbed? Drawing from a wide range of evidence and newly uncovered sources, Lipman reconstructs Squanto’s upbringing, his transatlantic odyssey, his career as an interpreter, his surprising downfall, and his enigmatic death. The result is a fresh look at an epic life that ended right when many Americans think their story begins. “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 Reviews “ Squanto illuminates the complexity of the famed Wampanoag diplomat whose life is too often reduced to a mythologized first Thanksgiving caricature. . . . Lipman’s greatest contributions to discourse come from his exploration of the complications Squanto confronted while trying to navigate dualling alliances to his Native brethren and the colonists who rechristened his homeland as ‘Plymouth.’”—Ryan Winn, Tribal College Journal , “Best Native Studies Books of 2024” “A fine rendering of a world often lost in interpretation.”—Siddharth Handa, Open Letters Review “The true value of Squanto: A Native Odyssey can be found in the elegant ways that Lipman recovers Tisquantum’s humanity—meaning both his character strengths and flaws—by foregrounding Wampanoag language and culture. . . . Although it is set in the early seventeenth century, Squanto’s tale is fitting for our own times with its emphasis on identity, community, and resilience.”—Matthew Sparacio, Orange Blossom Ordinary “The author ultimately paints a complex picture that humanizes Squanto. . . . A powerful narrative and elucidating case study.”—Christoph Strobel, William and Mary Quarterly Recommended in the Berkshire Eagle “Gift Guide,” 2024 “Lipman convinces with an immersive style of writing that evokes sensory impressions and tells Squanto’s story as one full of twists, turns, and suspense. Lipman entertains as well as educates.”—Florian Wieser, H-Net 2025 PROSE Award winner, Biography and Autobiography category, sponsored by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) 2025 Early American Literature Book Prize winner 2025 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 NASOH Winner 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 imaginativ