"Here, then, was the solution to the colonists' dilemma between peacefully degenerating into barbarians or fighting like savages: wage the war, and win it, by whatever means necessary, and then write about it, to win it again." (Prologue, 11)

"We can't help but be drawn into his narrative, but we can try to measure the genuineness of our compassion, the troubling fascination underlying our revulsion, and the curiosity behind our condemnation." (Prologue, 18)

"It was three weeks since John Sassamon's body had spoken from beyond the grave. King Philip's War had begun." (Chapter 1, 23)

"Although the shape and size of the possible motives vary, they cast an identical shadow: behind each of them lies the specter of John Sassamon's position as a cultural mediator, as a man who was neither English nor Indian but who negotiated with both peoples." (Chapter 1, 25)

"War is a contest of words as much as it is...