5 comments about President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman.

1. Wlliam Lee Miller's new book on US President Abraham Lincoln focuses entirely on the 1861-1865 period when Lincoln was chief executive and the nation suffered through a horrendous Civil War. Miller is an eloquent author and an expert on Lincoln. His book is a combination of narrative laced with a detailed study of several of the moral issues the Kentucky railsplitter faced in office. Among these Gordian Knot problems upon which Lincoln had to decide were:
   1. Whether to supply Fort Sumter by sea or allow the Charleston SC.fort to be surrendered to the new Confederate government without a shot being fired? Lincoln had promised to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution in his inaugural address on March 4, 1861. He believed the President of the United States should defend our territory so refused to give up on Sumter. The Confederates fired on the fort leading to a declaration of war with the United States. The Civil War would cost over
   600,000 lives-2/3 of them because of disease and insanitary conditions.
   2. Lincoln made the decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in Confederate controlled areas as of January 1, 1863. As a wily politician this act did not apply to slaves held in Union held but slave states. All African-Americans in bondage would be freed by the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution following the great emancipator's death
   by assassination on April 15, 1865.
   3. Miller cites several examples of Lincoln's mercy to soldiers convicted by court martial. He could be tough refusing to save the life of Nathaniel Gordon a slave ship owner and a man who shot a white officer leading a parade of black soldiers in Norfolk, Va. Lincoln was a kind and merciful man who was without hubris or self-glorification.
   4. Lincoln showed mercy to most of the Indians who had been involved in the war launched against white settlers in Minnesota in 1863.
   5. Lincoln was a great war leader getting rid of poor generals such as George McClellan and choosing fighters like Grant, Sherman and Sheridan to lead the north to victory. He favored a tolerant policy to the South following the war. Unfortunately he died before Reconstruction which proved to be harsh under Andrew Johnson.
   6. The Civil War, says Miller, was not total war as civilians were not targeted for death although their property was destoyed by armies. This especially occurred during Sherman's March to the Sea.
   7. Lincoln expressed the highest aspirations of republican government in his great speeches. He was in favor of the common person and had no tolerance for rulership by an aristocratic elite.
   Lincoln saw his purpose as President to be dominated by two major themes: 1. The preservation of the United States governed by the Constitution 2. The elimination of chattel slavery and the granting of citizenship to the four million Africa-Americans who lived in America. Lincoln was not a racist but a friend of blacks. He welcomed the black leader Frederick Douglass to the White House.
   William Lee Miller's book should be required reading in any course dealing with the American Civil War, Presidential Leadership or the life of Lincoln. This great and good man shows us that morality in high office can be practiced by a skillful politician.
   This books should be read in tandem with Miller's earlier book on Lincoln's virtues which takes our sixteenth president through his career up until election as President of the United States.
   A book to treasure!



2. First off , Miller writes well. Very well. The voice is conversational. And the insights flow: how Lincoln saw the war as a transcedent matter(after all the South withdrew from the union because they lost an election; no fundanmental rights were infringed;how can any republican government survive that?); the way Lincoln mixed mercy, strategically used, with a firmness to do anything(and anything covered a lot of ground for Lincoln) within his power to save the idea of a republican government; how he never let it be about him and his needs, but always about the greater needs of the cause he served( the writing on how he dealt with McClellan ,and the border states is superb; makes you wish our current politicans had more of the stuff of which Lincoln was made). A must read for anyone interested in the war and, more importantly, on what makes a great leader, political or otherwise.



3. Miller had an almost throwaway line about halfway through the book where he stated his opinion that Lincoln was the most intelligent president we've ever had, bar none -- not even Jefferson.
   
   And, by the time I got done, I came to the impression that this statement (with which I heartily agree) was the fulcrum of the whole book.
   
   Miller breaks Lincoln's Civil War activities down into easily reviewed and analyzed chunks, and in doing so, parses, pulls out, and displays Lincoln's intelligence undergoing presidential growth, meeting the challenges and rising to the occasion.
   
   A couple of other specifics. Miller does an excellent job of defending Lincoln against improperly revisionist historians' (there are properly revisionist historians) charges of racism or similar. Lincoln was moderatly left of center on racial enlightenment, in terms of his day and age, even before becoming president, and grew vastly after taking office. As for colonization ideas, Lincoln was not racist, nor was he alone in proposing colonization, nor was he alone in why he proposed it.
   
   Miller is not a hagiographer, though. He points out that Lincoln did have one notable weakness, indeed somewhat of a failing, in his administration -- Indian affairs. The 1862 Minnesota Sioux uprising and its aftermath are cited as evidence.
   
   That said, had Lincoln served a second term, free from the Civil War, although dealing with Reconstruction, I certainly agree with the implied idea of Miller that Lincoln would have exhibited the same degree of growth in Indian affairs as he did elsewhere.



4. William Lee Miller has continued (from Lincoln's Virtues which ends with the 1860 election) with his profound insight to show us the crises which Lincoln faced, the alternatives presented to him and the choices he made. Miller shows us the moral universe around Lincoln and how Lincoln fit into it and how Lincoln brought his own self understanding to it.
   
   There are implications for how Lincoln has shaped the America which followed him. You can argue this or that decision, (this is an objective, warts and all, in depth evaluation), but when the smoke clears, we are better people for Lincoln's leadership.
   
   Miller, makes clear the cruel nature of slavery, and counters those who would obfuscate its essential importance to the meaning of the civil war.
   
   Miller shows that the Bush Presidency, one which has publicly used Lincoln as its model for how to deal with its crisis, has missed the point and upended Lincoln's understanding of freedom and its relationship to the laws and customs of humanity. Our current crisis is to understand freedom for our day. It cannot be done in secret, nor with a population mis-led by slight of hand or even calculated lies.



5. Many of us have wondered through the years "what really made Abraham Lincoln such a great man?" Often we have read histories and biographies that have attempted to answer that question from any number of viewpoints, many of which are superficial and recitative at best. William Lee Miller has produced, I feel, the definitive work of revealing those character traits, moral underpinnings and intellectual methods that Lincoln not only possessed inherently, but actually labored to develop within himself throughout his truly inspired life. Miller has done this in such a way as to lead us step by step through his socratic method of establishing fact, precendent, context and conclusion. When I was finished with the book, I literally said to myself, "this is so clear now. Why haven't more historians been able to see this before?"
   
   Having read dozens of books and articles on President Lincoln by any number of historians/authors, this book I find to be the best, bar none, in outlining in clear terms and logical methods what made Abraham Lincoln so great - the fact that he was both an intellectual AND a moral giant at the same time.
   
   William Lee Miller continues to show his own intellectual and moral gifts with this hugely satisfying work. I already had a very high opinion of Abraham Lincoln before reading this book, but now I stand in awe of this "simple man from the prairie".

5 comments about Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels.

1. Jane Austen's novels are endlessly layered and this book does a fascinating job of peeling the onion so we have full understanding of her world.



2. As a longtime student of Jane, this book absolutely riveted me. you learn so much about her life, her times, her works, and her influences, and the style of this beautiful book is enchanting. LeFaye skillfully weaves together pieces of biography, history, and plot to create a fascinating Austen portrait. It is also lavishly illustrated and printed on lovely paper, which helps make it one of my favorite books, period. A must have for any Jane lover.



3. For anyone who wants to know more about the period Jane Austin lived and wrote her novels about, this is the book for you; very informative of that period.



4. 2002's "Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels" is author Diedre Le Faye's highly enjoyable survey of the world of romance writer Jane Austen's beloved stories. Austen's novels continue to be popular because her characters are so true to life. However, as Le Faye tellingly notes, the modern reader misses at least some aspects of the novels because we lack understanding of the Georgian and Regency England context in which they occur.
   
   Jane Austen left behind only a limited footprint for future biographers: her six completed novels, a few incomplete or juvenile manuscripts, and some surviving letters to family and friends. A few relatives captured further details in memoirs or comments. To expand this limited quantity of information, Le Faye investigates Austen's immediate and extended family, the places she lived or may reasonably have traveled to, the customs and fashions of the day, the class system, and such mundane details as food, clothing, and sanitation.
   
   The effect of this, the first half of the book, is to help us better appreciate the novels. In "Pride and Prejudice", the reader can understand why Mr. Darcy's refusal to dance with Elizabeth Bennet at their first meeting was so exceptionally rude, and why Elizabeth could not respond directly to Darcy's letter. In "Emma", the reader learns why her attempts to interest Mr. Elton in Harriet Smith were likely to be understood as Emma's interest in him, thus adding a comical sense of impending disaster to Mr. Elton's eventual marriage proposal to a shocked Emma. In "Sense and Sensibility", we learn why a man could not break an engagement to a woman (although the woman could). Thus, when Edward Feres stood by his prior engagement to Lucy Steele in the face of the opposition of his family, Jane Austen's contemporaries understood this as a noble action, an interpretation less obvious to the modern reader.
   
   The second half of the book is an extended review of Jane Austen's novels in the order in which they may have been written. Readers already familiar with Jane Austen's work can skim her gentle literary criticism for some interesting details about the writing of each novel. An example is the startling recollection by one of Jane's nieces that Jane's sister Cassandra advocated for an alternate ending to "Mansfield Park" in which Fanny agreed to marry Henry Crawford. Another example is the likelihood that Jane's brother and literary agent Henry actually selected the titles of her two posthumously published novels, "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey".
   
   A few small cautions are in order. Le Faye's discussion of Jane's life mixes mentions of Jane Austen's fictional characters and the members of her real life family in a way that may be confusing to readers new to her work. Le Faye may be overconfident in her speculations about some real life locations as the basis for their fictional counterparts in the novels. The offerings of period portraits as representative of characters in the novels may be helpful to new readers; Jane Austen fans likely already have a mental picture of those characters.
   
   This delightful book is highly recommended to fans of the Jane Austen novels and those looking for some social insight into the world of Georgian and Regency England.



5. I've just dipped into this and find it both informative and easy to read last thing at night. As a research source, it will be valuable.

5 comments about A Welcome Grave (Lincoln Perry).

1. Sometimes it's easy to forget that Lincoln Perry isn't a middle-aged guy who's been in the P.I. business for a long time. He demonstrates a maturity beyond his years - most of the time. It's when he doesn't do that, when he acts his chronological age, that his life gets very messy. In A WELCOME GRAVE, Perry agrees to do a favor for an old flame, the woman he was once engaged to marry. Now anyone with a grain of sense would know that this will probably not turn out well. Perry doesn't see past that all-too-human desire to put his rival in a bad light.
   
   Alex Jefferson has been murdered, after being tortured. His wife Karen is the old flame. She asks Perry to track down Alex's son, from whom he has been estranged for quite some time. Matthew is an heir, and Alex was a very rich man. When Perry finds Matthew, not a difficult task, Matthew kills himself in front of Perry. The police, who were already interested in Perry because of the rivalry over Karen, are even more interested now.
   
   As Perry keeps poking around, he seems to get into more and more trouble. Someone is either going out of his way to make Perry look like a truly bad guy, or his luck is incredibly bad. All of this causes some strain between Perry and Amy, a friend in the process of becoming more than that. His business partner Joe is slowly recuperating from taking a bullet in the shoulder, a bullet that saved Perry's life. So Perry's support system is a little shaky right now.
   
   This is the third book in Koryta's Lincoln Perry series. He's good, and getting better. One can excuse some of Perry's more foolish choices; he is, after all, pretty young. He seems to grow a little more with each book. The settings are wonderful, the plotting tight. Readers of classic P.I. series, with just a bit more than a hint of noir, will relish Koryta's newest.



2. OK people. Let's get past the fact that the author of three outstanding novels is only twenty-three years old. Let's look at his writing and when you do that, his genius is timeless.
   
   The thing about this novel that enthralled me is how the protagonist of the book, Lincoln Perry, kept getting drawn deeper and deeper into the murder investigations in two locations notwithstanding the fact that he was innocent of either murder or the ones that followed.
   
   There is a murderous manipulator at work in this story and how he goes about controlling events and getting the police to chase all the wrong suspects is both frustrating to the reader and infuriating to Lincoln Perry.
   
   Do not pass up on anything this talented young man has written. They are keepers.



3. I couldn't put this book down about a private eye (Lincoln Perry) who is framed for a few murders and must clear his name as the police are tightening the noose. Perry has only his partner Joe and his new girlfriend Amy behind him and everyone else against him. Add to that, the mysterious Thor is thrown into the mix and when all can't get any bleaker, Lincoln must team with Thor to maybe turn the tables on the "real" bad guys. A great thriller!



4. I've often heard Michael Koryta mention people who have influenced him or the genre. A Welcome Grave is proof that he himself is influencing this genre now, and definitely for the better!
   
   Koryta has a gift when it comes to the English language. I have not walked away from any of his books without feeling like the characters somehow made their way inside me...inside my head, inside my soul. A Welcome Grave continues the character development of Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard, but it also starts to lend weight to some other characters: Amy, Thor. And the dynamics of these characters in relation to Lincoln and Joe add a lot of dimensions to the plot.
   
   Life is never black and white in Koryta's world; I love the shades of gray that develop throughout the course of the book. They help in the suspense and definitely keep the plot from becoming predictable.
   
   Koryta should definitely be a staple of any mystery-lover's booklist!



5. This book is the third in Kortya's fine series about Lincoln Perry, a Cleveland private investigator.
   
   Once again he weaves together strong local Cleveland color as well from southern Indiana to tell a Ross MacDonald-esque story of family greed, desires, and repressed secrets.
   
   As his writing progresses, his plots have become even more multi-layered than in his fine debut work and its follow up. The villains are darker and the violence is greater. Complicating this book is that Perry is the most likely suspect in both locales for a couple of murders, and the local law enforcement officials have no interest in his side of the story. That tension between cop and PI has been done many times before, but not recently to such good effect.
   
   It's a wonderful thing to contemplate work this good from someone in his twenties and just how scary good he might become. Can't wait for his next work!

4 comments about Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator (Childhood of Famous Americans).

1. This has been one of the more interesting biographys I read. This book focoses in more on his childhood than more on his life in polotics.



2. My mom was always encouraging me to read biograhies. One day, my mom sat me on a chair and forced me to read at least one chapter. I didn't think I would like it, but I loved it! Tons of info on Abe Lincoln! Some conversations were added to make it more interesting, but most of it was true. I am reading tons of bios from the same series (the Childhood of Famous Americans series). I would encouage everyone to read this book and other books of the series!



3. Abraham Lincoln the Great Emancipator is a book written by Augusta Stevenson. It is 192 page biography.
   Abe lived in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.
   
   This story begins when Abe was a little boy, in Kentucky.
   
   He learned the ways of the forest, walking without making noise, learned to cover tracks and follow them, learned to hide, learned to crawl through grass without making it move.
   He learned the sounds of the forest and animals.
   
   His family moved to Indiana, this is when Abe was homeschooled, he was 10 years old at the time.
   
   Abe loved to read, write and to learn from books and people.
   He would walk for miles to borrow a book, and walk miles to return it.
   
   Abraham Lincoln was called "honest Abe" because of his integrity. He was also a very hard worker, always polite, funny, a good story teller and cared for others.
   
   No wonder he made a good president of the United States.



4. This is not a biography, per se. The "Childhood of Famous Americans" books are a series of fictionalized accounts of the youth of famous Americans. The conversations and scenarios are made up, to show the character formation of the famous person. The places and names of people seem biographical; the situations are probably not.
   
   Having said that... we like this series very well.
   
   The Abraham Lincoln book conveys the values and choices that children would do well to adopt. But it is subtle -- the chapters are entertaining and engaging. The few illustrations are very clear and good.
   
   My kids are 6 and 3 -- I read the story out loud to them. They listened and enjoyed the book. They asked a lot of questions, about early settlers and problems with Indians, and how did Lincoln's mother and sister die? We used the opportunity to look up the answers to their questions together (Mother - poisoned milk; sister - childbirth)
   
   I recommend this for early elementary and up -- it is a great read as a family and a good chapter book for growing readers.
   
   I especially like the Lincoln book because adventure books and moral books for boys are VERY hard to find, and this met my standards.

1 comments about Lincoln Cents Folder #1, 1909-1940.

1. The nice, lock-in feature prevents your coins from falling out of the folder, while holding them in a nice layout. The only drawback is you cannot see the reverse of the coins when they're in the folder.

5 comments about America's G From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln.

1. I came to the book at a result of reading _Jonathan Edwards: A life_ by Marsden. M.Noll like G.Marsden has made my short list of i-must-read-them authors. This is perhaps my 5th book by him i've run across and looked at during my year's study of the issues in the creation-evolution-design(CED) debate. It is, to me, a rather important book for it puts together several issues i have been thinking about but had not related, in particular slavery and evolution being, in the conservative Christian community, similiar issues revolving around the interpretation of Scripture, i intend to follow up this idea. Furthermore, the very systematic way he goes about building a case for the influences of republican ideals on Reformed theology interests me as a very concrete example of the way the cultural matrix determines religious thought. Noll doesn't use the term "American captivity of the Christian Church" but the critical ideas are presented to make such a case.

   It's a rather long (450pages) book, with a complex structure and at times detailed arguments, so i find myself wondering to whom to recommend it. Because of it's historical nature and subject material, simply reading the chapters that most interest you is not as good an option as it would be in reading a collection of essays. So if you simply want to get a taste of the book i would read the first 20 or so pages which are the introduction to both the book, how Noll approaches his subject and what he intends to show with this scholarly research. I found chapters 18 and 19 the most interesting: chapter 18 "The 'Bible Alone' and a Reformed, Literal Hermeneutic", and
   chapter 19 "The Bible and Slavery", i have several long quotes from these chapters on my extended review at: www.livejournal.com/users/rmwilliamsjr/84610.html
   . I think if someone is adequately motivated that the book is accessible to anyone with an interest in history but if your knowledge of the time period or of the theologies discussed is inadequate you will wonder what the fuss is all about, perhaps many secular people will wonder that in any case.

   The theme of the book is not hard to summarize. It is that forces of the political life of the US, in particular, republicanism, Whiggery, the demand for equality, had a very important influence on the evolution of each American Christian theology. So too did several cultural influences in the philosophic sphere: common sense moral reasoning via the Scottish enlightenment, an anti-authoritarianism that reached out to all authorities-kings, priests, intellectuals, elites, these too influenced the evolving theology. But the influence was not just a one-way street, but rather in the search for converts the churches became a dominant influence in the culture, not just themselves but the myriad voluntary organizations they gave rise to. So by the Civil War we have a voluntary church, disestablished where those in Europe were not, filled with republicans, certain that their common sense will rightly interpret the Bible, and their morality derived thusly will support a glorious city-on-the-hill that they envisioned for the US. But the devil is in the details, and this is where the book gets really interesting. How do these forces relate? How does theology evolve, why and who is doing what thinking and writing? All done with a scholarly professor's mind, tying together the years of research with a joy and exuberance that is catching. Thanks M. Noll for another most excellent read.......




2. Noll argues that American Protestantism developed a unique religious perspective due to the combining of three historical idea forces: 1) the theology of the Protestant Reformation, 2) the philosophy of republicanism that arose from and was animated by the American revolution, and 3) the thought of the Scottish common-sense Enlightenment.
   
   Protestantism's ability or willingness to speak the language of these three strands of thought made it the religion of choice and influence in the early republic, as its apologetic and evangelistic discourse echoed contemporary political assumptions and commitments.
   
   But, Noll argues, there was a down-side to this success. The theology of Protestantism was itself changed by the use of this republican and common-sense language. These changes led to a literalistic, individualistic Biblical hermeneutic that made American Protestantism unable to speak definitively on the issue of slavery. North and South used the American Protestant hermeneutic to come to radically different conclusions on the morality of slavery.
   
   This intractability ended in the civil war, which was not just a political crisis, but a theological one as well. The failure of the American Protestant synthesis to resolve the great moral issue of slavery, Noll argues, caused it to lose its social force, and opened the way for the modern era.
   
   Noll's argument is almost overwhelming. He lays an exhaustive groundwork of 18th century religious/philosophical/political thought, moves into early 19th century theological evolution of Calvinism and Methodism, and then builds to a civil-war-era climax of heated, yet impotent, theological dispute. Each section is so rich and deep that challenging Noll on his intermediate conclusions is a daunting task. Yet, Noll's ultimate conclusion is so breathtaking in its implications for non-Calvinist theologies, that a closer look is warranted. A few key observations can be made.
   
   Noll has a tendency to so broadly define his key terms that their essential meaning becomes vague, obscure and highly malleable. The most obvious example of this is his use of the word "republicanism," which Noll uses to cover concepts such as virtu (common good), anti-aristocracy, rule of law, proper use of power, separation of powers, representative government, and most largely, the belief in the reciprocity of personal morality and social-well being. (55-57).
   
   He later adds to this mélange of meaning by distinguishing between civic-humanism republicanism, which was concerned with the public good and order, and liberal republicanism, which emphasized individual self-determination and, according to Noll, economic rights. (210-211). Noll himself acknowledges that "republicanism" was a "multivalent, plastic and often extraordinarily imprecise term." (447) Yet he frequently cites historical writers and speakers in support of his "republicanism" thesis, without attempting to determine which particular meaning of republicanism the historical thinker had in mind.
   
   Noll is also guilty of this in dealing with the "common-sense" Enlightenment. Every reference to human reason, intuition, insight or other source of knowledge other than scripture becomes an example of common sense philosophy, whether the reference is before or after Hutcheson and Reid. The great flexibility of terms is significant, as it gives Noll enormous latitude in his argument to sweep in or out thinkers, ideas and theologies, depending on how they relate to his main thesis.
   Perhaps the single most important argument against Noll's larger thesis is Methodism. Pre-revolutionary Methodism had the literalistic, individualistic hermeneutic, along with the "reasonable" view of God, sinners and salvation that Calvinism only moved towards as it was tempered by post-revolution republicanism and common-sense philosophy. (333-334).
   
   To his credit, Noll himself acknowledges the "sting" of the Methodist argument, agreeing that Methodism contained the elements of "American Protestantism" before it actually came to America. (334, 340-41).
   
   But acknowledging the sting is one thing; removing it is another. Noll does not do this, nor really try to. Methodism does seem to raise an unanswered challenge to the charge that it was the "corruptions" of republicanism and common-sense thought that caused Protestant America to turn literalistic, individualistic, and arminian, and to be unable to cope with slavery. Methodism was all these things without republican and common-sense reasoning, and it was, at least initially, forcefully anti-slavery.
   
   Thus, an alternate interpretation to Noll's is that: Biblical protestant Christianity contained the seeds of individuality, freedom and common-sense echoed in republicanism and common-sense thinking, that the intractable nature of the slavery dispute had to do with flawed constitutional rather than theological compromises, and that Southern religious' views were shaped more by the commercial impulses of their founding than by faithfulness to a Biblically-derived hermeneutic. This view is supported, at least in part, by Noll's tracing of the process of theological development: the insights of general revelation (general human experience) interact with, clarify, and even modify, understandings of special revelation (Biblical interpretation), and vice versa.
   
   But further discussion of this would lengthen an already over-long review. Suffice it to say that the majority of American Christian's today would claim allegiance not to Edward's God, or Lincoln's God, or Noll's God-but to the Bible's God, as they read about and understand Him in the Bible for themselves. Which is not a bad legacy for a "permanently damaged" theology. (445).
   
   Noll's comprehensive, even magisterial work, is clearly going to be required reading for everyone on both sides of almost any discussion of religion in the early republic.



3. Mark Noll wrote this book with the goal of describing how Christian theology gradually became more comfortable using the catchwords and ideas of the American political scene (liberty, freedom, virtue, rights, common sense, reason). Noll shows that even though Calvinist and Arminian and Wesleyan thought may not have radically changed because of American republicanism, the way they were packaged and presented were.
   
   In this book, we begin with the traditional Reformed ideas of Jonathan Edwards. We see how Calvinists in America were quick to side with the colonies in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. We see how even George Whitefield was somewhat sympathetic toward the colonial cause, though he tended to shy away from preaching politics.
   
   We read of John Wesley's opposition to the American form of government, as he reveals that he has not met one republican who was a good Christian.
   
   We see how Thomas Paine's writings were very influential in promoting reason and common sense, and how this influenced preachers of the faith, such as Timothy Dwight, the new President of Yale, who rumor has it spend six months in 1795 challenging his students to a debate on whether or not the Bible was the Word of God.
   
   We see how Charles Finney incorporated populist American jargon into his revival sermons. We also see his ardent opposition to the American slavery system.
   
   Speaking of slavery, the last 100 pages of the book deals with how people of differings theological persuasions dealt with this divisive issue. Noll seems sorry to report that the pro slavery people did a better job of supporting their view from scripture than the abolitionists did.
   
   Noll also seems ready to blame the Reformed Literal Method of interpreting scripture for influencing people to support the institution of slavery.
   
   There is also an interesting discussion about the theological reflections of Abraham Lincoln. Noll notes that the 16th President of the United States was no evangelical and that he wasn't an active member of any organized church.
   
   In fact, Noll contends that none of the notable founding fathers of the United States were evangelicals.
   
   I recommend this book to history students and those who are interested in the history of Christianity in America. This book is a nice complement to Noll's earlier "History of Christianity in the US and Canada."
   
   But the reason why I give this book 4 stars instead of five is that most of the time, it makes for tedious reading. The sections on the development of Holiness theology after Asbury was engaging, and the section about slavery held my attention as well.
   
   But the bulk of the book is tough, academic reading. You may want to read instead Noll's more accessible book "The Rise of Evangelicalism."
   
   Rev. Marc Axelrod



4. This very ambitious and enlightening book is an effort to write a "social history of theology" for American religion between the mid-18th century and the Civil War. Noll chose this starting point and this terminus quite logically. The mid-18th century sees the work of the last and greatest of Puritan theologians, the tremendous Jonathan Edwards, while the Civil War was caused by and ushered in forces that produced a real discontinuity in American life. This book is primarily an effort at synthesis. While Noll has read deeply and productively in a large range of primary sources, it draws even more on a large and impressive array of secondary work in American political, social, intellectual, and religious history. Indeed, some of the pleasures of this book are the excellent footnotes and superb bibliography.
   Noll's goal is to set the development of American theology in the broad context of the development of American society in this period. This is far from intelleuctual history construed narrowly. Noll argues convincingly that this historical study of theology will be broadly informative about the ways Americans thought about religion and American life in general. He begins with a nice summary of Puritan thought and other aspects of American Protestant theology, particularly the work of Edwards, as a the background to a century of enormous change. The discussion of Edwards himself is enlightening, particularly as Noll shows the ways in which this essentially backward looking intellectual unexpectedly opened routes to major changes in American theology and religious practice.
   Noll then moves on the Revolutionary period and its aftermath. The intellectual and social forces causing and unleashed by the Revolution produce a major change in the nature of American Protestant theology. In contrast to the hierarchial and integralist Reformed thinking dominated by ideas of human sinfullness, American theologians incorporate ideas of republicanism, the Whig dissenting tradition, increased valuation of human moral capacity, and emerging democratic values inspired by the success of the American Revolution. Many, if not all of these ideas come from outside the Reformed tradition, primarily from the dissident Republican tradition of English Whiggery and the Scottish Enlightenment, particularly the writings of the 'Commonsense' school of Scottish thought. By the early Republican period, what emerges is a new and distinctively American theological approach that stresses attachment to republicanism, increased faith in human moral capacity, emphasis on individual experience of holiness, intense emphasis on literal (and 'commonsense') interpretations of scripture, and a sense of Americans as being involved in a new religious and moral experiment.
   While the intellectual traffic Noll describes is largely one-way, he is careful not to describe American theologians and religious leaders as passive recipients of new ideas. Quite the opposite, Noll argues very well that during the initial decades of the 19th century, the emergence of a distinctly American form of theology and religious practices played a very large role in the development of a common American identity. For Noll, and this is a very convincing argument, this style of religion was crucial for the development of an American nation. As he points out, the first half of the 19th century was the apogee of American piety and this was accompanied by a strong sense of America as a uniquely religious society, as American institutions as divinely inspired, and Americans as a chosen people.
   Noll concludes with an examination of how this consensus faced the great problem of slavery and sectional conflict in the decades prior to the Civil War. Not very successfully is Noll's answer. The emphasis on Biblical literalism in particular confronted many with a choice between condoning slavery or rejecting biblicism as a source of ultimate values. A few radicals, like the abolitionist Garrison, were willing to reject biblicism, but it appears that many more were driven into defense of slavery (particularly Southern theologians) and others (mainly Northern theologians) seem to have suffered a form of intellectual paralysis. Noll asserts as well that the 'commonsense' epistemology that was part of the religious consensus prevented a critical examination the pervasive racism that underlay the debates on slavery and the status of African-Americans. In Noll's view, the 19th century religious consensus did not equip American theologians with the intellectual tools to make sense of the problem. At the same time, the identification of America with the Christian mission and the insistence of both sides that their positions were based on divine sanction increased the intransigence of both sides.
   Noll also argues that the early 19th century concensus prepared American theologians poorly to confront the religious and moral implications of the Civil War and by implication, prepared them equally poorly for the intellectual (the impact of Darwin, for example) and social challenges (urbanization, non-Protestant immigrants) that would come with and after the war. Noll describes this accurately as a "theological tragedy."



5. 
   I knew what I wanted in this book and that was primarily as a reference.It is not bedtime reading but with charts and tables of the relevant historical events it is ideal to turn to in order to fill in the blanks in my knowledge and understanding. I was a bit disappointed that my copy arrived without the dustcover shown in the display.However well worth the $11.00. Noll is a trusted historian.Any chance of a dust cover?

3 comments about The New Interpreter's Bible : Second Corinthians - Philemon (Volume 11).

1. The New Interpreter's Bible is a twelve-volume series, updating the popular Interpreter's Bible from a few decades ago. There are several key features common to all of the volumes of this series. First, each includes a two-column, double translation of the Biblical text (NIV - New International Version, and NRSV - New Revised Standard Version) arranged by topical unit or story. Then, they provide commentaries that look at the passages as a whole, as well as verse-by-verse. Third, interesting Reflection pieces that relate the passages to each other, to history, and to current concerns occur at the conclusion of each passage. Fourth, introductory articles for each book are provided that discuss transmission, historical background, cultural setting, literary concerns, and current scholarship. Finally, there are general articles about the Bible, each Testament, and various types of literature (Narrative, Gospel, Wisdom Literature, etc.) are provided to give general placement and knowledge about the text overall.

   The list of contributors, editors, and consultants on the project is a veritable Who's Who of biblical and theological scholarship, representing all major traditions and schools of thought liberal and conservative. Leander Keck, of the Yale Divinity School, is the primary editor of the series.

   The volumes were published individually, and can be purchased individually, which is a good thing, given that they are a bit expensive. But for any serious biblical scholar, preacher, student, or enthusiast, they are invaluable.

   --Volume XI--

   The eleventh volume of the New Interpreter's Bible is the volume that completes the Pauline corpus in the New Testament, from 2 Corinthians to Philemon. Some of these letters are undisputed from Paul; others are of questionable attestation. (1 Corinthians and Romans, other Pauline letters, are to be found in the tenth volume.) Each letter is introduced with an essay exploring dating, place, linguistic issues, and topical/theological issues.

   J. Paul Sampley of Boston University introduces 2 Corinthians. One of the primary issues for 2 Corinthians is that the text is most likely made up of more than one letter, but there is a wide variance of opinion regarding the sequencing, number and contexts of the pieces.

   Richard Hays of Duke University addresses Galatians. Hays looks both at the significant theological issues and the pastoral concerns addressed by Paul in this letter.

   Pheme Perkins (who has contributed to other volumes of this series) of Boston College explores Ephesians in this volume. Perkins looks at issues of authorship as well as issues of the substance of the text, theologically and linguistically.

   Morna Hooker of Cambridge writes about Philippians. 'The characteristic note of Paul's letter to the Philippians is above all that of joy - a remarkable feature, in view of the fact that this letter was written in prison, where its author was held under a capital charge!' Despite Philippi's small size, it provided an important opening in Paul's mission.

   Andrew Lincoln of Cheltenham and Gloucester College addresses Colossians, looking at the text of the short letter as well as the large body of work generated exploring the possibilities of exactly what it is that Colossians opposes.

   Abraham Smith of Andover-Newton looks at both letters to the Thessalonians. The letters differ in significant ways, leading many to believe that they were written by different authors. Smith explores the evidence and arguments for this.

   James Dunn of the University of Durham explores both letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus. 'The Pastoral Epistles - 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus - are among the most valued of New Testament writings. Yet the Pastorals are among the most discredited of NT writings. Why this paradox?' With this intriguing opening, Dunn looks at issues of theology, ecclesiology, and pastoral intent, as well as possible socio-political underpinnings and questions about the authorship.

   Cain Hope Felder of Howard University finishes this volume with Philemon, the shortest of the Pauline letters, a mere 335 words in the original Greek. Philemon is unique in many ways, ways which Felder explores introducing the book.

   High praise goes to the general editorial staff for working with such strong authors/scholars, that their work fits together well as part of this set while retaining their individual characteristics (much like the writers of the Bible itself!).

   --Other volumes available--

   The following is a list of each volume in this twelve-volume set, and the contents of each.

   Volume I: General Articles on the Bible; General Articles on the Old Testament; Genesis; Exodus; Leviticus

   Volume II: Numbers; Deuteronomy; Introduction to Narrative Literature; Joshua; Judges; Ruth; I & II Samuel

   Volume III: I & II Kings; I & II Chronicles; Ezra, Nehemiah; Esther; Additions to Esther; Tobit; Judith

   Volume IV: I & II Maccabees; Introduction to Hebrew Poetry; Job; Psalms

   Volume V: Introduction to Wisdom Literature; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Song of Songs; Book of Wisdom; Sirach

   Volume VI: Introduction to Prophetic Literature; Isaiah; Jeremiah; Baruch; Letter of Jeremiah; Lamentations; Ezekiel

   Volume VII: Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature; Daniel; Additions to Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Johan; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi

   Volume VIII: General Articles on the New Testament; Matthew; Mark

   Volume IX: Luke; John

   Volume X: Acts; Introduction to Epistolary Literature; Romans, I Corinthians

   Volume XI: II Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; I & II Thessalonians; I & II Timothy; Titus; Philemon

   Volume XII: Hebrews; James; I & II Peter; I, II & III John; Jude; Revelation




2. I was familiar with most of the writers in this volume, and they didn't disappoint. But it was a delight to discover Cain Hope Fielder's efforts on the much-neglected letter to Philemon. In particular, I am in Fielder's debt for the suggestions he makes regarding reconciliation.



3. Although one generally must look to individual volumes for in-depth commentaries on Biblical books (and then must look to the best volumes selected from among differing series), in the New Interpreter's Bible Volume XI one finds top-flight scholars offering commentaries on the briefer Pauline letters which could easily stand alone. It is part of a series that draws on (and reproduces) both the New Revised Standard Version and New International Version of Christian Scripture.
   
   Here is Andrew Lincoln, author of the now-standard Word Biblical Commentary on Ephesians, speaking on that letter's close theological cousin, Colossians. Here also is Morna Hooker, author of the incisive Black's New Testament Commentary on Mark, expertly leading us through Paul's letter to the Philippians. Joining them is Pheme Perkins, author of the Mark entry in this same series (New Interpreter's Bible, Volume VIII), drawing here especially from the Dead Sea Scrolls as she addresses Ephesians [note that Perkins' commentary was also presented as part of the Abington New Testament Commentary series (1997), though for the NIB she has added numerous pastoral "Reflection" sections, typical of this series].
   
   Add in J. Paul Sampley on the Second Letter to the Corinthians (his commentary on 1 Corinthians is presented in Vol. X of this series), Abraham Smith on Paul's correspondence with the Thessalonians, Richard Hays on the Letter to the Galatians, James D. G. Dunn on the Pastoral Epistles (Timothy and Titus) and cap-off the volume with Cain Hope Felder on Philemon and you have a guide to the briefer Pauline literature which can hardly be overlooked by any seeking to understand what Paul (and those who attempted to emulate him) sought to convey of his ministry, his thinking, and his encounter with Christ.

5 comments about The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln.

1. At last, we have a judicious and thoroughly unbiased account of Mary Surratt's involvement in the assassination of Lincoln. Professor Larson goes to great lengths to give Mary the benefit of the doubt. Court records and trial transcripts are gone over with a fine tooth comb proving what many have surmised for years: Mary was a willing co-conspirator who allowed all of the conspirators, including Booth, to use her boarding house and tavern at Surrattsville, as a meeting place for planning the death of Lincoln. There are new tidbits of information concerning Mary's inept lawyers, if you can call what they did, practicing law. Yet, even with their obvious stupidity, what was revealed by the witnesses, indicate that Mary was not the pious, innocent boarding house keeper she pretended. Even the Catholic clergy brought in as character witnesses, couldn't vouch for much; many didn't even know her that well.
   
   The evidence exists that President Johnson did receive information regarding a stay of execution for Mary, but with all the evidence, it is obvious that he had no choice but to let the matter proceed.
   
   It is only in the afterglow of the hangings, that public furor over the execution of the first woman by the federal government, increased to a rising crescendo, egged on by Southern sympathizers.
   
   Highly recommended, I would only suggest that the author, in a revised edition, include an extensive bibliography that would better assist those who are new to this area of Civil War study.



2. A book of this nature must have a bibliography. This is a college professor? Mary Surratt, nee Jenkins was from a family of Catholics,not Espicopalian, Another famous St Marys parishener was Admiral Raphael Semmes CSA (but one would have to know something about the civil war to know that name)
   The Jenkins family of southern MD is listed by the Catholic Church as one of the colonies founding catholic families. The author is unfamilar with Catholicism, Mary called for a priest before her execution, not because she didnt want to see her family, but because as a devout Catholic, she wanted to receive Last Rites one of the seven sacraments. It didnt matter she didnt know the priest. Mary was "fair, fat and forty" by all eyewitnesses, not the sleek temptress the author put on the cover. A misrepresentation of Surratts' physique serves the authors purpose when she hints at a flirtation with JWB.
   Oxen Run (marys former Mill)is by the present day Naylor Road and Suitland Parkway in SE DC., NOT OXON HILL in suburban Maryland where the new National Harbor Center is located. The auther is not familiar with the common civil war era practice of collecting CDVs. Annas collection was not note worthy.
   The authors presentation of an hysterical Mary contradicts all eyewitness versions, it was Anna who was beyond hysterical.Marys illness in prison was not intestional as the author states , but female , and its horrific nature was descibed in detail by male prisoners in neighboring cells.
   The author ignores one of the most astounding facts of this whole event. The number of persons involved in Marys execution who later committed suicide...why did they?



3. This is a compellingly written book that brings together data from a wide variety of primary and secondary sources to paint a vivid, well-realized portrait of Mary Surratt.
   
   That said, the other reviewers who have complained about historical, factual, and typographical errors have quite a bit of justification. I was disappointed by the sloppiness of the book.
   
   But Kate Clifford Larson's prose style is engaging, and although not an authoritative text by any means, this was a fascinating read.



4. I was disappointed that this book offered no new insight into the tragic events of 1865. It is so heavily weighted with the authors opinions-she is quick in many cases to draw or infer the wrong conclusion because she is unfamilier with the society and manners of time.
   I found the book written by Elizabeth Trindal on the same subject much more interesting.



5. It seems Kate Clifford Larson has "borrowed" her research for this work from more thorough and accomplished authors than herself, though she has no problem disparaging their conclusions in her acknowledgments. The only difference in this treatise is her own distorted, twenty first century, feminist, liberal, white apologist twist to the history of the Surratt family!
   It is a shame her political and cynical views of the history of the time are interfering with her objectivity. Ms. Larson was in such a rush to publish her slanted view of Mrs. Surratt's supposed guilt, she didn't get Miss Anna Surratt's husband's surname right, among many other details(see other comments; I don't need to rehash)! And her undisguised hatred of John H. Surratt Jr. is a main character in this book!
   Mrs. Elizabeth Steger Trindal's fifteen years of reseach and ultimate publication of Mary Surratt: An American Tragedy is a more truthful and precise portrayal of sentiments, politics and facts associated with the entire population of the United States before, during and after the assassination of President Lincoln.
   I found it in no way skewed of Southern leaning and I think it's appalling Ms. Larson is trying to start another war between the North and South by suggesting Mrs. Trindal is less than objective.
   When Ms. Larson has spent as much time researching the subject and is used as a source for someone else's text as much as she has referenced Mrs. Trindal and others, maybe I'll look twice at what she has to say.
   Until then, I say real research is done in the field, not on the internet, Ms. Kate Clifford Larson!
   I was warned of this less than flattering portrayal of Mrs. Surratt before publication and now that I have read it, I say, "Save the Trees!".

5 comments about Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography.

1. Couldn't put this book down.....Jean Baker wrote a truly remarkable narrative non-fiction. I had previously read another fictional "Mary" book and was surprised to see that both books were similar in historical data surrounding her (Mary's) life. One can only imagine losing so many children and then one's husband, and NOT being driven to doing odd things. The psyche is a strange science marked by extraordinary and mysterious sensivities to outside pressures.



2. This is the seminal biography for Mary Todd Lincoln and one of the best biographies you will ever read. After reading dozens of books about Mrs. Lincoln to write my novel about her insanity trial (A Warrant For Mrs. Lincoln), I always came back to Jean Baker's book for information and insight into the Lincoln family. If you have an endless fascination for the Lincoln family, this book is a must.



3. very comprehensive study of a woman who began life as a spoiled child, but got kicked in the butt by life. she sedated herself with extravagance and meaninglessness. one of the most tragic things in her life was the betrayal by her son, who used his influence to have her declared insane so that he could obtain control over her money. that had to be as painful to endure as the assassination of her husband and the deaths of her two younger sons. i feel nothing but empathy for this poor woman.



4. Mary Todd Lincoln had a rough life. From the early death of her mother to the treatment she recieved from her stepmother, to her husband's assissination and was committed to an asylum by her own son. Reading the biography it was hard not to feel sorry for her. I knew naturally (as everyone) about her husband's assissination but I was surprised about how hard the rest of her life was. Her son Robert committed and she had to fight to get out of the asylum. Her early years Mary spent having to put up with a stepmother who wanted her husband's first set of children completely forgotten. Poor girl.



5. This book is a complete biography of Mary Todd Lincoln starting out with her grandparents which surprised me. This book is not an overview of Mary's life it is very detailed. I think it is a fair account of her life and there are some things I never would have guessed. I must admit I haven't finished the book as yet it is not one of those books you finish off in one afternoon, but I have read enough of it to know that a 4 star review is accurate.

5 comments about I Is for India (World Alphabets).

1. I showed this to my 1 and half year old daughter six months ago, and she still hasn't tired of it. The pictures are great and spark a lot of questions. I would recommend this to anyone who has a love of travel and other cultures.



2. This is a great book and part of a great new series. It tries hard to make the information all inclusive so that much of India is included. A great start to learning about India.



3. I read this to a 3 year old that is obsessed with his Indian heritage and he absolutley loved it! Great information along with the real pictures (verses drawings).



4. This beautiful alphabet book captures not only the look but also the spirit of India. The images were taken in the state of Orissa, but to my eyes (here in the U.S.) they appear to be representative of the country as a whole.



5. Nice photos and basic in format. My 2 y.o doesn't love it but does enjoy looking at the pictures.