Jared's Reviews > The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
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A solid, reasonably well-written and researched biography. Unfortunately, the author permits her skepticism of Beecher's Christianity unintentionally to make Beecher out to as a bit of a skeptic. She doesn't give his faith enough historic credence; on this front, the development of Beecher's theology is unjustly neglected; I only received a vague idea of what he actually believed, and how this changed over time--more discussion of his theological writings and sermons, not just his fascinating biography, would have made this book much stronger. While the majority of the book is a breeze, and easy to read, the early chapters are a bit tedious, and too speculative on how a child H.W. may have felt. Recommended, however, for its strong placement of Beecher in his intellectual context of nineteenth century America.
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Reading Progress
September 3, 2013
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Started Reading
September 3, 2013
– Shelved as:
19th-century
September 3, 2013
– Shelved
September 21, 2013
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Finished Reading