Making Haste from Babylon takes the iconic American origin story of the Pilgrims (and their near miraculous almost without history arrival on the coasts of the continent) and places it firmly in an historical context that is both complicated and weighty. Delving into the background of the movement that would become the Mayflower Pilgrims and the personal stories of those who made that journey possible, Nick Bunker adds depth and understanding to a story that has crossed from history to iconic.

Bunker begins with a comet; an event that could be a harbinger of doom or a signal for the creation of the new world:

When the comet first flew over London, the Pilgrims were trying to find the capital they needed for their plantation. Ten months earlier, they had obtained consent in principle from King James to settle within territory claimed by England in what were called “the northern parts of Virginia”…

This first step, the permissions to form the colony, had not come without struggle, and the future of the Pilgrims depended both on their abilities as canny businessmen and politicians, and their commitment to finding a place where the practice of their religion would not put them at risk of expulsion. At risk because of the enmity of King, Church, and, often, the common man, the Pilgrims struggled to make a colony that satisfied both their needs for religious freedom and fiscal success in what was, after all, an attempt to make at least some profit off of their plantations. All of these machinations are carefully traced by Bunker, using some freshly discovered primary sources and meticulously referenced secondary sources that serve to illuminate the British side of the Pilgrim’s history.

Bunker traces the origins of the Separatist movement and carefully follows the economic twists and turns that eventually allow the Pilgrims to survive as a successful and valuable colony. While he certainly does not ignore the Pilgrim’s dire need for a safe place to practice their religion, he spends significant time detailing the interaction between religion, politics, and trade, and allows the Pilgrim’s landing at Plymouth to grow organically from all of the complex forces that triggered it.

Making Haste from Babylon does an exemplary job of creating a complete picture of what drove the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock and what allowed them to succeed as a colony in a remote and harsh land. Although it may feel sometimes that the Pilgrims seminal moment was the Mayflower’s appearance off the coast of what would become Massachusetts, Bunker reveals the interwoven and complicated series of actions and motivations that brought them to the other side of the Atlantic.

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