Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the effort to find a copy, March 18, 2005
This is one of the best historical biographies I have ever read. If sterotypes and simple categorizations are the junk food of the mind, here is well-prepared dish to feast on. The author's wealth of research and evident grasp of the period and the person permeate the pages. Here is a wonderful opportunity to visit a transitional time between the middle ages and the modern scientific age and to get to know an influential, enigmatic and represtative player of the period. Whether you are drawn toward biographies in general or history in particular, this masterful book will make a forceful impact on your view of the Puritans.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling and meticulously researched biography., December 31, 2005
Religion, next to poor economic conditions, was primarily responsible for the foundation of the colonies. It too was the backbone for its evolvement. And one of the chief leaders in that unfolding was the noted Congregational minister Cotton Mather, who, as author, theologian, science-minded neophyte and sometimes political insider, helped to lead the way before the likes of Washington, Franklin, Paine and Jefferson came into the underdeveloped social, religious and political scene. Though often cited as the one who added fuel to the fire in the Salem witch trials by giving a sense of legitmacy to the ideas and beliefs of spectral evidence, he was also openly criticized by his harshest critic and dogged nemesis Robert Calef, who mocked him for his blatant inaction and for his uttering of dated apocalyptic pronouncements when primitive superstition took a firm hold of the Salem villagers: "Robert Calef, Mather's angriest and most dogged critic, charged that by being "the most active and forward of any minister in the country" in the Goodwin case, and by printing his account of it, Mather "conduced much to the kindling of those flames" at Salem that "threatened the destruction of this country." P.87. There were those who saw the trials for what they were-a farce. And Mather-as a "learned" man-was not in the league of those who possessed clear comprehension. Hence, his name, over time, became stigmatized with that dark period of early colonial history.
As people are sometimes granted a second chance, Cotton Mather, after the tragic witch fiasco, took the opportunity to do only good-even in exchange for the bad-which he received from his enemies, a Biblical offering of the "other" cheek. The latter was the way of German Pietism, an approach that appealed to Mather, for it had: "...its emphasis on pastoral work and involvement in community life, its far-flung missionary work, perhaps especially its ecumenical attempt to reduce dogma to essentials." P. 231. But more than that, Cotton Mather seemed to try to go beyond himself, to try to outdue past accomplishments, because there was always this psychological manifestation of the stammerer he used to be, coupled with the stress of his prominent family lineage. It seemed to be pressure coupled atop pressure, forceful and expected success at all costs. In trying to be God's warrior and live up to perfection, he paid many costs: bankruptcy, the death of 13 of his 15 children, intellectual belittlement, to scores of other misfortunes. Yet, through his voluminous religious, economic, social, science, political and medical writings, he refined the colonies to a crest that it had never been at before. He, by his sermons, writings, insight, gave the colonies a caliber of legitmacy that it sorely needed in the eyes of the mother country, England. In a way, he gave the colonies respect by immersing himself in the lives of those who sought his council: academics, doctors, politicians to a bevy of others. He, in effect, taught himself and become knowledgeable-sometimes even an expert-in the career fields of the very individuals who sought him out. And thus, he was past being well-rounded and effective. But that also brought about jealousy and contempt. But prayer, introspection and conformity to theology (though it was a heavy struggle) gave him the necessary framework to do what he had to do. And upon his death, the respect that he so yearned for while alive, was heaped upon him in abundance.
Kenneth Silverman's The Life and Times of Cotton Mather is quite simply a stunning work of early colonial history and biography; he delves deeply into age-old diaries, hymnals, political documentation, to a whole pool of sources, and he makes them come to vivid life by his crisp and tight writing style. He brings a bygone era and all its conceivable joys, sufferings and anger to the forefront, illustrating with scholarly and literary certitude that the problems of our times have not differed in any extremity to previous generations. The evolution just becomes more pronounced. In the Life and Times of Cotton Mather, readers will be exposed to wharves, perriwigs, flickering candles and towering Congregational steeples that loom over a fledging city trying to form its own identity, history and truth. The book is a resounding achievement.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tremendous biography, but..., December 11, 2004
If I had to describe this book in one word it would be: Excellent. I thought I knew a great deal about Cotton Mather, but after reading this book I realized I really didn't. I always believed Cotton was much more involved in the Salem witch trials than he actually was. I also didn't know someone tried to kill Cotton because of his support of small pox inoculation. And I didn't realize how involved he was not only in religion, but also in science and politics. After reading this book I find I think I know more about Cotton Mather than I know about my own neighbors today. This is a very detailed book.
In this book we see both the great talents of Cotton Mather and his faults. Not only are we given information on what he did, but also we find out why he did it. His life is covered from birth to death. We find out how his father and even his grandfather influenced his life. We find out how his quest for fame and struggles with that quest affected his life. We see the struggles he had with three wives and a multitude of children.
Not only do we learn about Cotton Mather, we learn about what was going on around him, and so we are shown a slice of how society operated at that time.
There is a tremendous amount of information in this book. In fact, in my opinion, there was too much information. For example, in the early part of the book, we learn about Cotton's stuttering problem--which is good, because we learn how this affects Cotton's life at that time, but this goes on and on and on for many pages. I didn't need to know that much. But, on the other hand, none of this information is useless, and for anyone wanting a greater understanding of Cotton Mather, it is probably welcome. This is true throughout the book. The writing is engaging and easy to read, but to me the book at times becomes somewhat tedious. Not because it ever gets boring, but simply because I wasn't looking for such a detailed study of Cotton Mather's life. In fact, I found myself at times skimming through paragraphs to get to something new. Again, this is not a statement about the book as much as a statement that maybe for some people-like me--there is just too much detail for what we wanted to read.
But even then, this book is one of the best biographies of any I have ever read from this time period. As a comparison, I will relate this to a very popular book from a few years ago-John Adams by David McCullough (yes, I know this is later time period). In the Adams book, we are given only a slice of history of Adams life, starting from early on in the American Revolution forward. In the Mather book, we learn nearly everything from his birth to his death. The Adams book is distorted in that the writer tries to make a hero of Adams, never pointing out his weaknesses, but only stressing his strengths. In Cotton Mather we are given everything-both strengths and weaknesses. In Adams we are given just a string of events in the life of Adams. In Mather we are given not only the events, but are given information to understand just why Cotton Mather reacted to them and influenced them as he did. I know I am in a minority, but I thought "John Adams" by McCullough was not a great biography. Cotton Mather is-even though I also thought it was too detailed for my tastes. In fact, I think if this book were edited to half its length, I believe it would find a much larger audience. But then, it would offer only half the information. A definite dilemma for any author.
In the end, however, this is a tremendous book offering a great deal of information. It is well written and easy to read. I have read other accounts of Cotton Mather's life, but this one has to be the best, offering the most, I have ever read. As a book in general I would rate it only a three, just because, as I said before, sometimes I found it tedious because of the tremendous amount of information.
The book is well-written but not the best written book I have ever read. It is engaging, but sometimes tedious (if that makes sense). It is a good book to read, but it isn't one of my favorite books of all time by a long shot, so rating this book is a bit of a struggle. So to make things easy, I have decided to simply judge the book by its cover, and its cover says, "The Life and Times of Cotton Mather." Judging the book on how the author justified the title, I couldn't not give it a 5 star rating...well, okay a 4. I'll save the 5 star ratings for books I just can't put down.
In any case, if your desire is to learn about the life and times of Cotton Mather, I know of no better book than this one.
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