What happens when Americans lose faith in their religious institutions—and politicians fill the void? From the Puritans to Donald Trump, this sweeping history will change your understanding of the forces that create leaders and hold their followers captive.
“The great story of charisma in American history, from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to MAGA, has never been more thrillingly told, never more learnedly explicated.” —Tom Holland, co-host of The Rest Is History podcast and bestselling author of Pax and Dominion
Evangelical Christianity is a paradox. Evangelicals are radically individualist, but devoted to community and family. They believe in the transformative power of a personal relationship with God, but are wary of religious enthusiasm. They are deeply skeptical of secular reason, but eager to find scientific proof that the Bible is true. In . . .
“The most exciting history of evangelical intellectual life to appear in decades.”—John Schmalzbauer, Books & Culture
A brilliant new voice— lively and contrarian—turns biography on its head in this remarkable story of a diplomat and his disciple. As a college freshman, Molly Worthen wrote the words “Charles Hill Is God” on the inside cover of her history and politics notebook. Hill was her professor, a former diplomat and . . .
“Fascinating...It is a story that often reads like a combination of Philip Roth's Ghost Writer and A.S. Byatt's Possession.—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times