The Kingdom of Matthias/a Story of Sex and Salvation in 19Th-Century America: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19Th-Centtury America

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: This is one of the exquisite books that I have read about this time. And to the writer "Orrin Judd", how dare you be such a anti-intellectual dunce? Just by holding on to the case of the Lewinsky/Clinton trial (which by the way Wilentz and Berman wrote before this happened) and other inane right-winged republican comments, if they are even worty of any name other than trash. They remark on this book as something it is far from being, a peice of garbage that can merely be thrown away as litter. As for the book itself, this is a masterpeice with pen and ink, wonderfully capturing the era. It goes behind the mind of this engrossing man and period, and includes people, such as Soujourner Truth, that were known later on, after the period the book was written. It just so awefully captures all the details and facts behind this, but still making it enjoyable. I reccomend this book highly, and give it 5 out of 5 stars. And to any creep, such as Orrin Judd, who thinks otherwise, then just consider this book one more time, the brilliance of it and the fabulous authors (Paul Berman and Sean Wilentz) who made the making of this book possible.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: This is one of those very rare books--a work by first-rate scholars that is simultaneously a real page-turner. Once you start it, the story that unravels is so compelling that it is hard to put it down. By coincidence I read this about a week before the news of the Heaven's Gate cult hit the news. It is definitely an essential work to read if you want to understand more about the bizarre history of cults in America