Books

Franzen has turned his considerable novelistic talents to a kind of inquisito­rial examination of the American ideal of freedom. He shows how freedom is negatively construed—focused on what we are free from and not on what freedom might be for, what worthy ends it might be used to pursue.

Our fall books issue includes reviews by Robert Westbrook, Susan R. Garrett, Stanley Hauerwas, Randall Balmer, Anne Blue Wills, Valerie Weaver-Zercher, Shirley Showalter, Amy Frykholm and Brian Doyle.

Before his untimely death in Novem­ber of 2008, William Placher was a celebrated teacher who exercised his gifts of exceptional insight and clarity of expression not only in the classroom but also in his many books, book chapters and edited works. One project in progress at the time of his passing was a biblical commentary series authored by well-respected theologians and published by Westminster John Knox.

Each Century books issue includes annotated lists of recent titles in a couple broad areas. Our fall books issue features Beverly Roberts Gaventa on New Testament, Philip Jenkins and Grant A. Wacker on world Christianity and American religion and Anthony B. Robinson on practical theology.

Students of American religious history have long been aware that, at least until re­cently, the field has been riddled with four yawning gaps—eras that cried out for solid synthetic treatments. Those gaps are (in reverse chronological order) religion during the Great Depression, religion and the Civil War, religion during the Revolutionary era and religion during the Great Awakening.

I have returned again and again to Letters and Papers in search of insight into what it means to do theology today, especially in my own South African context. Whether my interest and inquiry has focused on theological issues, on the renewal of the church and its public responsibility or on history, literature, art and aesthetics, this remarkable collection has always provided much practical wisdom for people living in tough and uncertain times.