Under God: Religion and American Politics
by Garry Wills
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In Under God,Garry Wills, one of our liveliest and most eminent political observers, moves through the tapestry of American history, illuminating the instances where American politics and American religion have collided.Beginning with the 1988 presidential contest, an election that included two ministers and a senator accused of sin, Wills surveys our history to show the continuity of present controversies with past religious struggles and argues that the secular standards of the Founding show more Fathers have been misunderstood. He shows that despite reactionary fire-breathers and fanatics, religion has often been a progressive force in American politics and explains why the policy of a separate church and state has, ironically, made the position of the church stronger.Marked by the extraordinary quality of observation that has defined the work of Garry Wills,Under Godis a rich, original look at why religion and politics will never be separate in the United States. show lessTags
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Substance: Disquisition on the interface of religion and politics instanced by the 1988 Presidential campaign. Some of the analysis seems plausible, but most feels like post-hoc entrail-reading. The book was published soon after the election and Wills clearly depends on the reader remembering the context; after 3 decades, not so much (more background and just plain facts would have helped the comprehension level immensely).
Style: Journalistic analysis - need I say more?
Style: Journalistic analysis - need I say more?
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68+ Works 13,246 Members
Garry Wills, 1934 - Garry Wills was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1934. Wills received a B.A. from St. Louis University in 1957, an M.A. from Xavier University of Cincinnati in 1958, an M.A. (1959) and a Ph.D. (1961) in classics from Yale. Wills was a junior fellow of the Center for Hellenic Studies from 1961-62, an associate professor of classics show more and adjunct professor of humanities at Johns Hopkins University from 1962-80. Wills was the first Washington Irving Professor of Modern American History and Literature at Union College, and was also a Regents Professor at the University of California in Santa Barbara, Silliman Seminarist at Yale, Christian Gauss Lecturer at Princeton, W.W. Cook Lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School, Hubert Humphrey Seminarist at Macalester College, Welch Professor of American Studies at Notre Dame University and Henry R. Luce Professor of American Culture and Public Policy at Northwestern University (1980-88). Wills is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and his articles appear frequently in The New York Review of Books. Wills is the author of "Lincoln at Gettysburg," which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1993 and the NEH Presidential Medal, "John Wayne's America," "A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government" and "The Kennedy Imprisonment." Other awards received by Wills include the National Book Critics Award, the Merle Curti Award of the organization of American Historians, the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale Graduate School, the Harold Washington Book Award and the Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting, which was for writing and narrating the 1988 "Frontline" documentary "The Candidates." (Bowker Author Biography) Garry Wills is a Pulitzer-prize winning historian and cultural critic. A former professor of Greek at Yale University, his many books include Lincoln at Gettysburg, Reagan's America, Witches and Jesuits, and a biography of Saint Augustine. He lives in Evanston, Indiana. (Publisher Provided) Garry Wills is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine and The New York Review of Books. He lives in Evanston, Illinois. (Publisher Provided) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, General Nonfiction, Politics and Government, History
- DDC/MDS
- 322.1 — Society, Government, and Culture Political science Relation of the state to organized groups and their members Religious organizations and groups
- LCC
- E880 .W54 — History of the United States United States Later twentieth century, 1961-2000 Reagan's administrations, 1981-1989
- BISAC
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- Members
- 300
- Popularity
- 106,510
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.97)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 8
