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    Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty
    Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty
    Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty
    Audiobook17 hours

    Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty

    Written by John M. Barry

    Narrated by Richard Poe

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author John M. Barry has penned numerous works on a variety of historical subjects. Here Barry explores the development of the fundamental ideas of church and state through the story of Roger Williams. The first to link religious freedom to individual liberty, Williams helped shape the balance of religion and politics seen in America today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 10, 2012
    ISBN9781464008191
    Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty
    Author

    John M. Barry

    John M. Barry is the author of Rising Tide, The Ambition and the Power: A True Story of Washington, and co-author of The Transformed Cell, which has been published in twelve languages. As Washington editor of Dunn's Review, he covered national politics, and he has also written for The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and Sports Illustrated. He lives in New Orleans and Washington, D.C.

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    Reviews for Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul

    4.5/5

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    • 4/5
      Now I had read John M. Barry's other work, "The Great Influenza" and it was fantastic, so when I saw this one, I very gladly picked it up. However, I was a bit disappointed. The work does not flow as well as "Influenza," nor does it attempt to keep the reader's attention. Nothing's worse than loving history as a subject, and then finding a writer that makes it dull. History is not dull at all. And I do not want to dissuade readers from avoiding John M. Barry or the subject of Roger Williams, because Roger Williams was a brilliant man and I know Mr. Barry is an excellent writer. This was just a simple swing and a miss. One does not encounter Roger Williams until Chapter 11. The entire first half of the book is the history of Puritanism, beginning with Sir Edward Coke, Roger Williams' mentor. What Roger Williams is going through the entire time that Coke is battling the royal authority of James II and Charles I is totally left out. It then moves on to the story of William Laud, then the creation of the Plymouth Colony, the history of the Bay Company, then the story of John Winthrop and back again to law and the church in the Massachusetts Colony by Chapter 14. And as I mentioned, Roger Williams is a fascinating person. When Roger Williams is discussed, you are absolutely glued to the page. He was brave, intelligent, believed in nothing less than absolute separation of church and state and toleration towards all religions and atheism. These views are revolutionary for this time period, but even after reading 395 pages, I felt I barely got to know him at all. Another problem, but one that wouldn't necessarily have turned me away, was the editing. The book is fraught with missing words, punctuation errors, and repetition. On page 111 for example, "...independence that had to curbed..." On one page, "Winthrop was often criticized for being soft-hearted" , then on page 295, "Winthrop had often been accused of being soft." In context it not only seemed repetitive, but unexplained. Finally, the ending is appears rushed. The author ends the history of Roger Williams by stating that he lived another decade and had a major role in the North American conflict known as King Philips's War. After reading so much, the reader is left with no knowledge of the last 10 years of Williams' life. However, despite my qualms with this book, it at least gave me an introduction to Roger Williams and convinced me to seek out more biographies of this man. The bibliography is extensive, in both primary and secondary sources, so it shouldn't be too much trouble.
    • 4/5
      A very informative read about Roger Williams helping to establish democracy in America and trying to get away from some of the conflicting church and state policies having taken place in England, and in being banned from Massachusetts helped set up a new camp in Providence.Thank you for having this in a giveaway program also (advance uncorrected proof) and giving me the chance to win and review this copy:)
    • 5/5
      This is book focuses on the political and religious turmoil in England during the founding of the American colonies as much as on the profound intellectual contributions of Roger Williams. I'm a big fan of Roger Williams, so much of the material that pertained to him was not new. I was most surprised by the frequency of interaction between the colonists and England. I had imagined that the colonists were quite isolated. The discussions of the tense relations between the colonies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were also new material for me. The most entertaining part of the book is at the end when the Quakers begin to arrive in Massachusetts. What a pack of rowdies! The descriptions of how the Puritans dealt with them was a bit less amusing - branding, whipping, cutting off of ears, even hanging. The Puritans had much in common with the Taliban! This is a great book with fresh insight into the important concepts of religious liberty and the separation of Church and state.
    • 4/5
      Well written. What I thought was a biorgraphy of Roger Williams was, in reality, an exploration of the Puritan concept of America and how Williams broke from that concept to create something unique for America.
    • 5/5
      I listened to this book. Were I twenty years younger I would now buy the hard copy since I think it is a book I will refer to and probably read again. But, now I will probably be content to buy a kindle copy. My "collecting" days are diminishing!By listening rather than reading, I missed learning the spellings of so many Indian names. This book added so much depth to my understanding of American history. I had already learned (through my own reading, certainly not through anything taught in school!) that our country was NOT founded on the notion of religious freedom (at least, not for any sect other than the Puritans). I really had only a dim view that Rhode Island fought for that particular banner--and the little I did know was only because I had read that Mary Dyer and family escaped to RI when first banished from the Bay Colony.It is a long read (and long listen), but worth the effort. Barry did a good job. Richard Poe, the narrator, did a good job also.
    • 5/5
      Roger Williams stated most plainly that every soul had complete freedom and could not be compelled to forced worship, ‘for it stinks in the nostrils of god’. The state ruled peoples actions toward each other only. A wall separated the state from infringing on soul liberty.