Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul

For centuries Americans have struggled with the relationship between church and state and between a free individual and the state. These questions initially were raised by Roger Williams, who left England in a dispute over the place of the Anglican Church in English government and then was exiled from Massachusetts because of disagreements with Puritan leaders. This audiobook offers a thorough examination of the man and the people and forces that shaped him. Richard Poe offers a solid reading, with just enough of a conversational style to keep listeners engaged. While he pauses longer than he needs to at times, that's only a small flaw. Parts of the content itself, such as an examination of the English judicial system, are sometimes overly detailed, making listening tedious, but, overall, Barry and Poe provide an interesting history. R.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

May 1, 2012

In his latest work, New York Times best-selling author and historian Barry offers a richly detailed look at the life and times of America's original proponent of the separation of church and state. Like others who fled persecution from British authorities in the 1620s-30s, Minister Williams opposed England's official faith. However, he didn't aspire to establish a new society under a different set of theological rules--quite the contrary, Williams stated that forced worship "stinks in God's nostrils." Audie-award winner Richard Poe gives a compelling reading of this work, which is more a history of ideas than a strict biographical portrait. VERDICT Recommend to Barry fans as well as listeners who enjoy histories by Walter Isaacson and Erik Larson. ["This masterly, well-documented inquiry will prove valuable to academics and interested readers of popular history, philosophy, or political science," read the starred review of the New York Times best-selling Viking hc, LJ Xpress Reviews, 12/16/11.--Ed.]--Beth Farrell, Cleveland State Univ. Law Lib.

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