American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr. (Library of America) [Hardcover]

Various (Author), Michael Warner (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Library of America | Publication Date: March 1, 1999

The sermon is the first and most enduring genre of American literature. The essential medium of the Puritan settlements, it continued in succeeding centuries to play a vital role - as public ritual, occasion for passion and reflection, and, not least, popular entertainment. The 58 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 and the civil rights movement in the 1960s, these texts reclaim a neglected aspect of American literature.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether it take the form of the formal prose of the Puritans, the clear, plain-spoken wisdom of the Quakers, or the improvisational style of African American folk preaching, the sermon is one of America's most unique types of literature. While this collection should never be considered easy reading, its high quality and profundity more than compensate for its challenges. In fact, this collection (spanning the 17th through the 20th centuries) is packed with literary and historical gems. Absalom Jones, an African Episcopal minister, preaches a heart-wrenching sermon that sings the praises of the end of the slave trade in 1808. Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers "The Lord's Supper Sermon," and, of course, there's Martin Luther King's most famous sermon, "I've Been to the Mountaintop."

Newsweek magazine called this "the most important book-publishing project in the nation's history." This may be an exaggeration; nonetheless the book is certainly a worthy project, if only for its recognition of the sermon as a legitimate and stirring genre of American literature. --Gail Hudson

From Library Journal

Library of Americas latest tome rounds up in chronological order 58 sermons, from Robert Cushmans address to the colony of Plimmoth in New England in 1621 to Kings 1968 Ive been to the mountaintop speech. This also includes biographical notes and notes on the texts.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 939 pages
• Publisher: Library of America (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883011655
• ISBN-13: 978-1883011659
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A review of American religious writing., July 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr. (Library of America) (Hardcover)

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.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A useful and thought-provoking reference work., November 12, 2000

By 

David Marshall - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr. (Library of America) (Hardcover)

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 [e-mail]

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr., January 3, 2007

By 

Carole Mclean (Greensboro, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr. (Library of America) (Hardcover)

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.