Contrasting judgments often arise from studying the Niagara of words that justified the American War for Independence—together with all the words that circulated anxiously during the parlous years under the Confederation Congress—which rose to a great flood in the period 1787 to 1790 in . . . . Continue Reading »
A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion by catherine l. albanese yale university press, 640 pages, $40 If one is looking for a fascinating tour of the many sideshows of the carnival that is religion in America, Catherine L. Albanese is the guide you want. . . . . Continue Reading »
As Orson Welles famously remarked, playing the unscrupulous Harry Lime in the film The Third Man: “In Italy for thirty years, under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had . . . . Continue Reading »
Alexander Hamilton, American by richard brookhiser simon & schuster, 240 pages, $16.99 National Review senior editor Richard Brookhiser has followed up his successful 1996 biography of George Washington (Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington) with a biography of Alexander Hamilton. . . . . Continue Reading »
The Churching of America, 1776–1990: Winners and Losers In Our Religious Economy by roger finke and rodney stark rutgers university press, 325 pages, $22.95 In mainline theological schools, divinity students are told a familiar tale about the church in modernity that goes something like this: The . . . . Continue Reading »
One Holy and Happy Society: The Public Theology of Jonathan Edwards by gerald r. mcdermott pennsylvania state university press, 203 pages, $29.95 Gerald McDermott, who teaches religion at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, has written a persuasive revisionist account of Jonathan Edwards . . . . Continue Reading »
Just when you thought it was safe to dismiss the American experience as a compendium of invasions, intrusions, and indiscriminate cruelties, along comes Dan Morgan to spoil the pretty, ugly picture. Correspondent for the Washington Post and a National Book Award nominee for Merchants . . . . Continue Reading »
The Democracy Reader: Classic And Modern Speeches, Essays, Poems, Declarations And Documents On Freedom And Human Rights Worldwide edited by Diane Ravitch and Abigail Thernstrom HarperCollins, 330 pages, $35 A very useful anthology of almost a hundred readings. Regrettably, the . . . . Continue Reading »
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