"Professor Miller's volume is a vivid scholarly rebuttal to the sloppy historical mythology of the 'Christian Nation' advocates and anti-separationist jurists. It is a remarkable examination of the complex intellectual giants of religious freedom -- Jefferson, Madison, and Roger Williams -- coupled with a crisp analysis of the Supreme Court jurisprudence which came to buttress the moral foundation of separation of church and state.This work clearly and unequivocally documents the clarity of vision of Jefferson and Madison as they convinced Virginia and the nation to adopt the boldest political idea in modern history: genuine religious freedom for believers and non-believers alike.This is one of the most lucid and engaging examinations of the genesis of religious liberty in American intellectual and legal history." -- Barry Lynn, executive director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
"At a moment when issues of religious liberty assume ever greater importance in this country, a new and revised edition of William Miller's The First Liberty could hardly be more timely or more welcome....Never has there been greater urgency about recognizing the uniqueness of our dual First Amendment guarantees of religious liberty -- and nowhere can the curious reader find a better resource than in William Miller's superbly organized and written account of The First Liberty." -- Robert M. O'Neil, founding director, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and professor of law, University of Virginia
"William Lee Miller combines the narrative skill of a novelist with the knowledge and critical acumen of a first-rate scholar. In these fast-moving pages the ideals, stratagems, and frustrations of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Roger Williams come alive. Miller's tale gives the lie to modern demagogues who, for self-serving purposes, wrongly associate the separation of church and state with hostility to religion." -- Vincent Blasi, Lamont Professor of Civil Liberities, Columbia Law School and Massee Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
"William Lee Miller's The First Liberty is an admirable elaboration and updating of a book first published in 1985. No better introduction can be found to what is perhaps the most monumental achievement of the American Revolution: the establishment of freedom of religious conscience together with the necessary complement of separation of church and state as an inalienable human right. Miller's book is at once a history of that idea and a penetrating discussion of its vicissitudes in the American experience. While scholarly the book is also a reaffirmation of the tradition in which Roger Williams and Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, too, united on the metaphor of 'a wall of separation' between church and state." -- Merrill D. Peterson, professor of history emeritus, University of Virginia, author of John Brown: The Legend Revisited and Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation
"This is a book, filled with historical truths and imbued with generosity of spirit, that is surely worth the attention of people who care deeply about freedom of conscience." -- Samuel Rabinove, Legal Director of the American Jewish Committee, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"This is a book of many beauties. Its grace, depth, breadth of vision, information, discrimination, sympathy, and wit fully reward the reader's patience." -- National Review, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"We are not likely to find a better mix of clear perspective, keen analysis, and happy advocacy. May Americans rediscover the meaning of their liberty in this splendid book." -- News and Observer, Raleigh NC, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"This well-written, thoughtful and fair book does much to explain why, in Mr. Miller's useful terminology, we are neither a confessing state, nor -- equally important -- a disbelieving one." -- The Wall Street Journal, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"William Lee Miller of the University of Virginia has written one of the finest expositions on American religious liberty to appear in modern times." -- The Richmond News , reviewing a previous edition or volume
"Speaking personally, I do not believe that any book has ever encouraged me to think more clearly, to be more patriotic and public-minded, and to be more worthy of the rights of free conscience than The First Liberty." -- William and Mary Quarterly , reviewing a previous edition or volume
"An elegant book, erudite and wry." -- Kirkus Reviews, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"The time is ripe for Miller's balanced and scholarly reminder of the central significance of religious freedom -- the quintessential American liberty." -- Booklist, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"Written with verve and sweep, this timely volume will reach a wide audience." -- Edwin S. Gaustad, professor, University of California, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"This distinguished volume on religious freedom in America is balanced, sophisticated, nuanced and delightfully readable. Professor Miller's exciting work may well be the finest book in print on church-state relations in America." -- Robert F. Drinan, SJ, Georgetown University Law Center, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"The importance of William Lee Miller's subject can hardly be exaggerated." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"Here is a scholar, raconteur and teacher busy teaching and provoking, at times almost evoking from the reader a desire to be let off the hook for a moment. Must the author be that interesting all the time? Well, Miller must." -- Christian Century, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"Miller has written with an integrity that reminds us that these ideals of our founders were not in vain. He overwhelms us with the intensity and conviction that it took to establish our religious rights, and convinces us of how essential religious liberty was to this country's self-definition." -- San Francisco Chronicle, reviewing a previous edition or volume
