At the center of the upheavals brought by emancipation in the American South was the economic and social transition from slavery to modern capitalism. In Between Slavery and Capitalism; Martin Ruef examines how this institutional change affected individuals; organizations; and communities in the late nineteenth century; as blacks and whites alike learned to navigate the shoals between two different economic worlds. Analyzing trajectories among average Southerners; this is perhaps the most extensive sociological treatment of the transition from slavery since W.E.B. Du Bois's Black Reconstruction in America.In the aftermath of the Civil War; uncertainty was a pervasive feature of life in the South; affecting the economic behavior and social status of former slaves; Freedmen's Bureau agents; planters; merchants; and politicians; among others. Emancipation brought fundamental questions: How should emancipated slaves be reimbursed in wage contracts? What occupations and class positions would be open to blacks and whites? What forms of agricultural tenure could persist? And what paths to economic growth would be viable? To understand the escalating uncertainty of the postbellum era; Ruef draws on a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data; including several thousand interviews with former slaves; letters; labor contracts; memoirs; survey responses; census records; and credit reports.Through a resolutely comparative approach; Between Slavery and Capitalism identifies profound changes between the economic institutions of the Old and New South and sheds new light on how the legacy of emancipation continues to affect political discourse and race and class relations today.
#129860 in Books George M Marsden 2016-03-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.20 x 4.90 x 7.70l; .0 #File Name: 0691153736280 pagesC S Lewis S Mere Christianity A Biography Lives of Great Religious Books
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Books have biographies too.By Rudy NelsonBooks have biographies too. That was the realization behind a new series frm Princeton University Press—"Lives of Great Religious Books." The list so far includes some obvious entries: Augustine's Confessions; The Book of Common Prayer; Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison and an occasional surprise; like The Dead Sea Scrolls. The new book under review here is a natural for the list in both its history and in the choice of author.Clive Staples Lewis authored a whole shelf of books in several genres. Mere Christianity; probably his most famous book (though some would argue for Screwtape Letters or the Chronicles of Narnia) didn't start out as a book. In the darkest days of World War Two; all of Europe in Hitler's control and the German airforce raining down bombs on London every night; embattled England was the free world's last hope. Lewis's fifteen minute talks every evening on BBC helped keep that hope alive.In the final chapter; Marsden captures in one masterful sentence the unique qualities that Lewis brought to the task. "Almost like a Mozart of words; Lewis was so thoroughly steeped in a rich tradition; was so much a master of a rational discipline; and so much a lifelong connoisseur of the imagination that he could toss off a series of occasional pieces for broadcast that were not even at first planned to make up a book; and they would turn out to be a compelliing set of rhetorical gems."That sentence demonstrates something else as well—the publisher's wisdom in choosing Marsden to write the book. Steeped in the same tradition as Lewis; with perfect balance of reason and imagination in his own work; Marsden's breadth of intellect and sensibility pervade the whole book from beginning to end.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. InterestingBy Sewing GrandmaI expected there to be more history in general of the period during which Mere Christianity was written. This is history of the book itself; and its acceptance by and impact on the public. I've learned some things I never knew about C. S. Lewis. My son graduated from Wheaton College; and I always wanted to know more about why the wardrobe that inspired the Chronicles of Narnia was housed there. Now I know! C. S. Lewis is such a fascinating character. God has definitely used him over a wide span of demographics.5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. One of the best books of 2016 (so far); a biography about the life of a book.By Tony ReinkeOf the most intriguing 40 Christian non-fiction titles published in the first half of 2016; historian George Marsden’s new book — C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity: A Biography — stands out immediately. Published in Princeton’s pioneering series; “Lives of Great Religious Books;†Marsden has written a biography about a book; and if that sounds boring; it’s not. Lewis’s classic has a backstory worth telling and Marsden has told it in one of the best books of the year.When it comes to ’s bestselling books in Christian apologetics; Mere Christianity has claimed first place ever since I can remember. The book was originally the product of a series of short eight-to-fifteen-minute talks delivered on BBC radio by Lewis during World War II; and delivered to an increasingly post-Christian British audience who now lived under perpetual fear of night bombing raids.He gathered a listening audience of between 1–1.6m; which was big but not huge (the evening news update programs would draw ten-times that number). He pulled the short addresses off with great skill and imagination; but it was all met with mixed reviews in the British press; and generated an almost unbearable amount of fan mail for Lewis.Marsden retells the amazing story of how God used one wartime intellectual; but also a novice apologist and lay theologian (CSL); to invest himself in the immediate medium at his disposal (BBC); in a dire time in world history (WWII); to produce talks that would become three separate books; then one book; that would be published and would spread globally in the 1950s; and then largely drop off and get forgotten during the sexual revolution in the 1960s (except at Wheaton College under the key influence of Clyde Kilby); and then would surge in the late 1960s and take wings in the 1970s — largely by the long-tail of word-of-mouth spread — leading to a swell of posthumous sales and popularity and eventually to 's top spot.In the end; what makes Mere Christianity so powerful? All Christian non-fiction apologists will pay close attention as Marsden summarizes the key features of Lewis’s work (pages 153–188):1. Lewis looks for timeless truth as opposed to the culturally bound.2. He uses common human nature as the point of contact with his audience.3. Lewis sees reason in the context of experience; affections; and imagination.4. He is a poet at heart; using metaphor and the art of meaning in a universe that is alive.5. Lewis’s book is about “mere Christianity.â€6. Mere Christianity does not offer cheap grace.7. The lasting appeal of Mere Christianity is based on the luminosity of the gospel message itself.A respected historian has retold a worthy story any Christian reader or writer will benefit from hearing. Like his biography of Jonathan Edwards; though shorter by 460 pages; Marsden has once again pulled off a masterpiece of history; in retelling the fascinating life of one of the most influential Christian books in the past century.[Originally published at tonyreinke.com]
