The Weight of Smoke

George Robert Minkoff
McPherson & Company Publishers (2006)
ISBN 0929701801
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (11/06)

 “The Weight of Smoke” is the first book in a trilogy series titled, “In the Land of Whispers.”  The author, George Robert Minkoff is a very talented writer.  This is not a dry historical novel.  Minkoff has a gift for writing that pulls the reader into the story.  He is so descriptive and his words flow in such a way that the reader is able to visualize the story to a point that it seems more like you are watching the events take place rather than reading about them.  I love Minkoff’s style of writing, especially when it is about history.  I feel like I learned more about the people and the places that are described in his book because of his descriptive writing abilities. 

The title “The Weight of Smoke” refers to a challenge that Sir Walter Raleigh had with Queen Elizabeth.  He told her that he knew the weight of smoke.  He proved this by weighing out tobacco on a balance, lighting it in his pipe and weighing the remaining ashes.  He said that the weight of the tobacco minus the weight of the ashes was the weight of smoke.    “If thought be smoke evaporating in the wind, what ash is left is our estate…To weigh our failures is to weigh the smoke.”

“The Weight of Smoke” is a fictional historical novel written as if the information was taken from the secret diaries of Captain John Smith.  It takes place from 1607 to 1609 during the founding of the Jamestown Colony.  Captain Smith and his men had to interact with the Native Americans.  These interactions were incredibly interesting because you didn’t know if they were going to be friends or enemies.  Sometimes they were both.  The Englishmen traveling with Smith did not have a high opinion of the natives.  They saw them as savages and did not hold a lot of respect for their beliefs and lifestyles.  They also felt that as Englishmen, they were above these people.  Yet when they had famine and sickness the Indians were the ones to provide them with food.  Intertwined in this tale is also the story of the privateer Francis Drake.  His time of renown was during the late 1500’s.

I highly recommend this novel to history buffs, especially to those interested in the early founding of America.  I would also recommend “The Weight of Smoke” to history instructors that would like their students to know more about this time period.  Students will enjoy getting caught up in the tale.

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