New World, Inc.: The Making of America by England’s Merchant Adventurers

The age of merchant sailors is one full of adventure, discovery, and the quest for money. These merchant adventurers sailed the high seas in search of trade and profit, sometimes on their own dime and not always using money from the Crown. Really, any book is interesting when recounting their exploits. This book is good, but I do have a couple of issues with it. The authors do an excellent job recounting the early days of merchants sailing from England, a period generally glossed over quickly. The book begins by giving us how the Muscovy Company started, and they then move in chronological order as voyages beget more voyages and each one brings in more information about the outside world. It is highly readable for the average reader and brings a good dose of excitement. But my two main issues are the little bios of some of the players in their tale. The length of these bios are a bit distracting, and they interrupt the flow. And my other issue is the subtitle. By the time we get merchants going to America, there are around 60 pages left in the book out of 300. Not the most accurate subtitle.