This illuminating discussion of deism in the early American colonies presents an overview of its main tenets; showing how its influence rose swiftly and for a time became a highly controversial subject of debate among the first citizens of our nation. The deists were students of the Enlightenment and took a keen interest in the scientific study of nature. They were thus critical of orthodox Christianity for its superstitious belief in miracles; persecution of dissent; and suppression of independent thought and expression. At the heart of his book are profiles of six "rational infidels;" most of whom are quite familiar to Americans as founding fathers or colonial patriots: Benjamin Franklin (the ambivalent deist); Thomas Jefferson (a critic of Christian supernaturalism but an admirer of its ethics); Ethan Allen (the rough-edged "frontier deist"); Thomas Paine (the arch iconoclast and author of The Age of Reason); Elihu Palmer (the tireless crusader for deism and perhaps its most influential proponent); and Philip Freneau (a poet whose popular verses combined deism with early romanticism). This is a fascinating study of America’s first culture war; one that in many ways has continued to this day.
#416896 in Books Cole Bernard D 2016-11-15Original language:English 9.30 x 1.20 x 6.10l; 1.38 #File Name: 1612518389320 pagesChina s Quest for Great Power Ships Oil and Foreign Policy
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Military detail amid assessments common to other writingsBy ChrisFrom reading reviews this offering had the appearance of an interesting and insightful assessment of China's rise in power. The book is 214 pages of text plus 75 pages of notes and references. Select insights have value however; these could be condensed. The notes are source references for text and it would be challenging to access them.This book is best suited for those interested in specific information on military capabilities and geopolitical influence. If this fits your interest; the book may work for you; and you may wish visit the references. Because of level of detailed information and with facts that are relevant but superfluous to understand the thesis; this can be tedious to read. Even with this short volume; I found myself skimming large sections of weapons systems information. Another difficulty was absence of high level perspective and themes framing the presentation of factual material except for list summaries at the end of chapters.The chapter headings allude to a diversity of treatment of topics but this is not apparent in reading. Chapters: "China's Maritime World; Maritime Forces; Maritime Strategy; Economy; Energy Security; Foreign Policy in the Making; Foreign Policy in Action". Aside from explaining the same things in varying ways; or repeating in other places; the relevant messages to understand could be condensed into a long Economist article. To be fair when I came to this conclusion I realized I had read almost all messages (except weapons) in Economist; FT; other books. If prospective readers are looking for broad understanding; this may not be the best choice.Why 3*? ... because there are original insights; will need to sift to find them (also found in books by other China experts)..
