[Lindsay 4] The Puritan Dilemma by Edmund Morgan

I bought this book for my American history class this coming semester, and I decided to read it once early to acquaint myself with it before having to really study it. It's fairly short at just under 200 pages, but it took me a few days to get through. It's primarily a biography of John Winthrop, but it also gives a lot of information on Puritanism, the founding and expansion of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the religious and political problems in England during Winthrop's lifetime. I found myself more interested in what the book has to say about Puritans as a group and the Colony as a whole than Winthrop specifically, and at times there was a bit too much detail regarding particular laws in the Colony to really hold my interest. Since for this time I read it outside the context of the classroom, I had a hard time following all the political and religious issues that led Winthrop and others to flee England. I hope that once I read it in the context of other instruction, it will make more sense and be a slightly more enjoyable read.