American Sermons (Loa #108): The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr.

by Various, Absalom Jones, Plain Spoken Quakers, et al.

Book Overview

The sermon is the first and most enduring genre of American literature. At the center of the Puritan experience, it continued in succeeding centuries to play a vital role--as public ritual, occasion for passion and reflection, and, not least, popular entertainment. The fifty-eight sermons collected in this volume display the form's eloquence, intellectual rigor, and spiritual fervor. Ranging from the first New England settlements to mass-media evangelism...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883011655
• ISBN13: 9781883011659
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Library of America
• Length: 939 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.3" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr.

The book is fine and so are the sermons. My only criticism is that the book included none of Peter Marshall's sermons which, to me, far outrank Martin Luther King, Jr. I was very disappointed in that. Otherwise, okay.

A useful and thought-provoking reference work.

Reading this book from cover to cover would be educational journey, but probably most readers will skip from place to place, as I did. Honestly, I found the 17th Century sermons, which make up a large part of the book, quite hard to follow, though I don't doubt there is much in them that will make the effort worthwhile, if I have need to look more closely. There is doubtless something to delight and offend everyone in this volume. The editors have been fairly conscientious in taking selections from a variety of viewpoints. Liberals may get a bit more space in the 20th Century selection, but on the other hand, J. Gresham Machen's ringing defense of the historicity of the Gospels, History and Faith, is also included. (A work that could have been written as a reply to the Jesus Seminar of eight decades later. A very devastating reply.) I also found Henry Ward Beecher's pre-Civil War jeremiad against slavery stirring and of more than historical interest. (That, too, of course. He was the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, of Uncle Tom's Cabin fame.) Joseph Smith's rambling funeral oration was useful in a different way, giving positive evidence for my prior feeling that the man was a bit, shall we say, close to the edge.Agree or disagree, readers of every viewpoint will find something of interest in this volume. It would be a most valuable reference tool for any class on American history, and, I think, belongs in every school library.Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

A review of American religious writing.

I bought this book with an interest in the literary form of the sermon and I was also interested in religion, although I may not call myself particularly religious. I was impressed with the degree of thought that the writers of these sermons gave to their subjects. If you are even slightly interested in exploring religion, this is a nice introduction in American religious thought. The Library of America does a superb job at producing a volume that will last many generations. A nice addition to any thinking man's library.