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book reviews

Historian Michael Kazin reviews conservative pundit Mark Levin’s book on Marxism

John Fea   |  January 5, 2022

Michael Kazin is a history professor at Georgetown and former editor of Dissent. Some of you may recall his Current review of Anthea Butler’s White Evangelical Racism. Over at The Nation, Kazin reviews radio and Fox News personality Mark Levin’s...

On book reviewing

John Fea   |  August 12, 2021

I’ve had a lot of great reviews of my books. (My favorite remains Lauren Winner’s review of The Way of Improvement Leads Home in Books & Culture). I’ve also had some bad reviews written by people who wished I had...

Eric Miller reviews Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn’s Ars Vitae

John Fea   |  June 26, 2021

Eric Miller is editor of Current. Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn is a Current contributor. And some of you recall my podcast conversation with Lasch-Quinn in Episode 77 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast. Here is a taste of Miller’s review...

A critique of “Jesus and John Wayne”

John Fea   |  January 27, 2021

If social media is any indication, everyone loves Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s book Jesus and John Wayne. The praise is merited. It’s a strong book that says things about the recent history of American evangelicalism that should have been said...

*Reviews in American History* Is Now Free

John Fea   |  April 18, 2020

If you are an American historian or a reader of American history, Reviews in American History is a great way to stay current with the field. Project Muse is offering free access to this important journal until May. Learn more...

Book Coverage is on the Rise

John Fea   |  December 11, 2018

As an author, I am happy to learn that media outlets are starting to devote a little more attention to books.  Sam Eichner tries to make sense of this rise in book coverage in an interesting piece at Columbia Journalism Review. ...

Gordon Wood Strikes Again!

John Fea   |  November 29, 2018

I love reading Gordon Wood book reviews.  I don’t always agree with him, but sometimes I do.  Whether I agree with him or not, I must admit that I sometimes take guilty pleasure in watching him whip academic historians into...

A Pietist Response to a Negative Book Review on Pietism

John Fea   |  January 11, 2018

I was intrigued today by Bethel University historian Chris Gehrz‘s response to Union University’s Nathan Finn’s review of his book The Pietist Option: Hope for the Renewal of Christianity (co-authored with Mark Pattie).  The review appeared at The Gospel Coalition website....

Review of Gideon Mailer’s *John Witherspoon’s American Revolution*

John Fea   |  July 18, 2017

My review of this important book is in the Summer 2017 issue of New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Here is a taste: Prior to John Witherspoon’s American Revolution, the received wisdom from historians of Witherspoon’s thought was that the Presbyterian...

“The Coalition That Made American Independence Possible”

John Fea   |  June 14, 2017

Education and Culture: A Critical Review is running my review of Larrie Ferreiro’s Brothers in Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It. Education and Culture is John Wilson’s new venture.  For over two decades Wilson edited Books and...

“Education and Culture” Is Here!

John Fea   |  May 4, 2017

John Wilson‘s new venture, “Education & Culture: A Critical Review,” is now up and running at bestschools.org. Bookmark it and visit often. Many of you know John Wilson as the founder and only editor of the now defunct Books & Culture (1995-2016). With...

Why Has This Blog Been Silent on Francis Fitzgerald's *The Evangelicals*?

John Fea   |  April 26, 2017

Several of you have now asked. It seems like everyone is writing about this book.  I have a copy and I am reading it, but I will not be commenting on this blog because I will be reviewing it at an...

What Happens to Evangelical Intellectual Life After "Books & Culture?"

John Fea   |  January 11, 2017

I started graduate school in 1994.  That was the same year that Mark Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind was published. One year later, Christianity Today Inc. began publishing Books & Culture: A Christian Review with John Wilson as editor.  I subscribed...

The Bible Cause in The Wall Street Journal

John Fea   |  August 19, 2016

Check out Darryl G. Hart’s review of The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society in today’s Wall Street Journal! Here is a taste: For the past 50 years or so, the Bible—the collection of sacred Jewish and Christian texts—has taken...

*The Bible Cause* and its Mixed Reviews

John Fea   |  May 19, 2016

The reception of The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society has been interesting, to say the least. Some academics have claimed that I am too sympathetic to the American Bible Society. Other historians have offered positive reviews:  See here...

Paul Harvey Reviews *The Bible Cause*

John Fea   |  April 20, 2016

Check out his thoughtful and nuanced review at Religion Dispatches. Here is a taste: …A work of history is often about what its sources are about. And when the sources come directly from the archives of the institution, the language of...

Scot McKnight of "Jesus Creed" Reviews "The Bible Cause"

John Fea   |  April 6, 2016

Here is a taste of McKnight’s review at his popular blog Jesus Creed: The United States of America chose intelligently and rigorously not to have a national religion/faith. American Christians have not been so rigorous, even if intelligent. Instead of...

Candy Gunther Brown Reviews *The Bible Cause*

John Fea   |  April 5, 2016

The forum on my The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society continues at the Religion in American History blog with a review by Candy Gunther Brown of the Religious Studies Department at Indiana University and the author of The...

*Publisher's Weekly* Review of *The Bible Cause*

John Fea   |  April 4, 2016

Here it is.  I love that they mentioned “Aunt Sue.” This comprehensive history, written to commemorate the American Bible Society (ABS) bicentennial, explores the ABS’s roots, guiding philosophies, evolving mission, and influence domestically and internationally. Founded in 1816 by prominent...

*The Weekly Standard* Review of *The Bible Cause*

John Fea   |  March 18, 2016

Thomas Kidd of Baylor University offers a generous review of The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society: The ABS was one of the largest and most successful of the great benevolent societies of the antebellum period, and its...

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National Endowment for the Humanities funds 226 projects

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