An analysis of American colonial history, told in twenty-four essays, is categorized under such sections as "New Englanders," "Southerners," and "Revolutionaries" and features detailed discussions on a wide range of topics including early American leaders and the impact of slavery. 40,000 first printing.

A celebrated scholar and author of the best-selling Benjamin Franklin, Morgan calls this collection of essays on aspects of early America that have intrigued him "an intellectual autobiography." Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

---

Author of the best-selling Benjamin Franklin, Morgan (Sterling Professor, emeritus, history, Yale Univ.) is one of the most respected authorities on American Colonial and Revolutionary history. His new work consists of 24 book reviews originally published in the New York Review of Books over the past quarter of a century. But these are more than mere reviews; they are discursive essays that range far and wide over two centuries of history. As Morgan notes in his preface, these essays amount to an intellectual autobiography, as they trace his evolving interests through a career of over five decades. The first section deals with New Englanders, the second with Southerners, and the third with Revolutionaries. The many topics covered include sex (which the Puritans enjoyed more than one might have guessed), women, witch-hunting, slavery, John Winthrop, the Seven Years War, and numerous others. Morgan is a member of that rare species: the academic who can write with authority and grace, offering insights valuable for their common sense, perspicacity, wit, and persuasiveness. This book belongs in every library; they don't come any better than this. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/04.]-Thomas J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

---

Even in his 80s, Morgan continues to be one of the wisest and most eloquent interpreters of early American history. Because we have come to expect Morgan to provide deeply insightful and original readings of the American past, this new book at first disappoints, for it consists of review essays that first appeared in the New York Review of Books. On the other hand, the 24 essays represent a Morgan miscellany and function, he notes, as a kind of intellectual autobiography, tracing the development of his scholarly career. In the earliest of these essays, on Puritan New England, Morgan measures the value of various studies of Puritanism against the classic work of his mentor, Perry Miller. Later essays reveal the brilliance of Morgan's scholarship as he examines topics ranging from Puritanism and sex (sexual pleasure was an "entitlement" of marriage, for women as well as men), witch trials and slavery to the significance of the publication of the 24-volume American National Biography (in an essay co-written with his wife). In various essays, Morgan argues that John Winthrop was America's "first great man" because he, like Washington, Franklin and Lincoln, "pursued and accomplished radical ends by conservative means" and that George Washington was "the founding father" because of his pursuit of power by honorable means. Morgan's essay on Benjamin Franklin provides an outline of his acclaimed and bestselling 2002 biography. Morgan's elegant prose and critical acumen shine brightly and remind us how deep our debt is to his illuminating readings of early American history. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.