This single nation of separate states is pieced together from thousands of years of human experience in countless societies throughout human history. Understanding the efforts and intents that have produced this extraordinary country is instrumental to its current greatness and future success.To fully appreciate the founding philosophy and internal workings of our Freedom Charters, one must understand their original source, fundamental premises, and systematic processes. Most essen...

Spanning 315 pages, the book dives into the historical, philosophical, sociological, and psychological forces that gave birth to the American constitutional republic. The book introduces the concept of “Our Freedom Charters,” which includes the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and all subsequent amendments—not just as static texts, but as the product of the collective ideas from the history of human civilization and the actions that formed a new natio...

America’s bestselling biographer reveals the origins of the most revolutionary sentence in the Declaration of Independence, the one that defines who we are as Americans—and explains how it should shape our politics today.“Isaacson uses a jeweler’s loupe to scan what gives his snappy little book its engaging title….Isaacson skillfully teases fresh pith and resonance out of those familiar words.” —The Wall Street Journal“A sh...

"A comprehensive, graceful narrative that truly represents the pluralism, momentum, and vitality of American religious life." —Amanda Porterfield, Florida State University, author of Conceived in DoubtIn this landmark work, award-winning Princeton historian Leigh Schmidt teams up with Edwin Gaustad—a scholar "in the front rank of American religious historians" ( The New York Times)—to produce a fully revised, updated, and expanded version of a mode...

In this cogent volume, renowned Christian historian Martin Marty delivers a brief yet sweeping account of Christianity and how it spread from a few believers two thousand years ago to become the world’s largest religion.Comprising nearly one third of the world’s population–more than two billion followers–Christianity is distinctive among major faiths in that it derives both its character and its authority from the divinity of its central figure, Jesus Christ. Examining this facet o...

“People who take God seriously will not remain silent about their faith. They will often disagree about doctrine or policy, but they won’t be quiet. They can’t be. They’ll act on what they believe, sometimes at the cost of their reputations and careers. Obviously the common good demands a respect for other people with different beliefs and a willingness to compromise whenever possible. But for Catholics, the common good can never mean muting themselves in public debate on foundational issu...

A Logos Book of the Year"If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide."Abraham LincolnNothing is more daring in the American experiment than the founders' belief that the American republic could remain free forever. But how was this to be done, and are Americans doing it today?It is not enough for freedom to be won. It must also be

The tea parties, the guns at town hall meetings, the protests against health care reform, and the general unrest in America today have taken many people by surprise. Some interpret it in terms of economic hard times, but Lee Harris offers a different explanation. Today's populist revolt is only the latest installment of an ongoing cultural war that began long before the current economic crisis. It is a rebellion against a self-appointed intellectual elite whose attitude to the average Amer...

A compilation of the recorded life, times, and influence of a Roman legend, Cincinnatus and the Citizen-Servant Ideal captures the essence of human virtue as it was embodied in the Roman Republics earliest days. Describing Cincinnatuss recorded life and times, Hillyard traces the legends major interpretations from its origin amidst early Roman culture through contemporary times. In its impact on some of the worlds leading thinkers and leaders, such as Livy, George Washington, Henry Knox, H...

How did the United States, founded as colonies with explicitly religious aspirations, come to be the first modern state whose commitment to the separation of church and state was reflected in its constitution? Frank Lambert explains why this happened, offering in the process a synthesis of American history from the first British arrivals through Thomas Jefferson's controversial presidency.Lambert recognizes that two sets of spiritual fathers defined the place of religion in early A...

Abraham Kuyper's Our Program was originally written to inform people participating in the Dutch general elections of 1879. The French Revolution was long over, but not its ideas. The influence of modern life and its secularizing influence was growing and reshaping the minds and hearts of Europeans and the rest of the Western world. What should the Dutch people believe and understand on the basis of Scripture, sound reason, and common sense?Kuyper reminded them of their Dutch Calvin...

Twenty essential tips for picking great leaders from the father of modern politicsOne of the greatest political advisers of all time, Niccolò Machiavelli thought long and hard about how citizens could identify great leaders—ones capable of defending and enhancing the liberty, honor, and prosperity of their countries. Drawing on the full range of the Florentine's writings, acclaimed Machiavelli biographer Maurizio Viroli gathers and interprets Machiavelli's timeless...