When I moved my father's personal library home after my mother died, this book was among an earnestly curated collection of titles related to The Restoration and Alexander Campbell. It was one of the few books I actually remember seeing my father reading, or commenting on - a relative oddity given that, in addition to being a preacher, he was an English teacher. But it seemed that he had his own curiosity about the historical underpinnings of the church where he practiced and shared his faith. Given my own struggles with faith and spirituality, it seemed finally time to dip into the history myself. The young Campbell, in the early chapters, is a much freer and more open mind. But his spiritual journey, and the struggles with human intervention in spiritual matters, appear to have painted him into a darker and insular corner. But the end, his ego and anger and need to restrict God is on full display. In fact, Campbell's own personality is a direct antecedent of what the modern Church of Christ became, and remains to this day. Once a powerful political and social movement, engaging Presbyterian and Baptist theology, this history of The Restoration is a window into modern fundamentals.

You don't need to have a particular interest in the Church of Christ, or Campbellites, to enjoy the book, as it serves as both a wonderful historical picture of the late 1800s as well as an insightful account of one man's struggles to define his own faith, even if that struggle meanders into a fundamentalist funk. ( )

A friend recommended this book. I don't know enough about Alexander Campbell to know which parts of this book were facts and which were fictionalized. I found it harder to read in the early pages, but it got better as the story established itself. The author's habit of referring to the same character by more than one name was confusing at first. ( )

Fictionalization of the life of clegyman, teacher, and politician who was instrumental in what was called the second Great Awakening in American and Church history.