Authors: Bruce Feiler
ISBN-13: 9780060574888, ISBN-10: 0060574887
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date Published: October 2009
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Both funny and intellectually rigorous, Bruce Feiler has applied his investigative spirit to religion, Japan, the circus, country music and assorted other topics. His personal accounts of various cultural forays are always illuminating, if you can keep up.
The exodus story is America's story.
Moses is our real founding father.
In this groundbreaking book, New York Times bestselling author Bruce Feiler travels through touchstones in American history and traces the biblical prophet's influence from the Mayflower through today. Feiler visits the island where the pilgrims spent their first Sabbath, climbs the bell tower where the Liberty Bell was inscribed with a quote from Moses, retraces the Underground Railroad where "Go Down, Moses" was the national anthem of slaves, and dons the robe Charlton Heston wore in The Ten Commandments.
One part adventure story, one part literary detective story, one part exploration of faith in contemporary life, America's Prophet takes readers from Gettysburg to Selma, the Silver Screen to the Oval Office, to understand how Moses shaped the nation's character. America's Prophet is a thrilling original work of history that will forever change how we view America, our faith and our future.
A bestselling author for his popular explorations of the lands of the Bible, Feiler turns his attention to the biblical figure of Moses in U.S. history. He argues that the story of the life of Moses as told in the book of Exodus has been the dominant metanarrative employed by political and social leaders in shaping America's identity, from the Pilgrims escaping religious persecution to the civil rights movement with its vision of a Promised Land. A journalist rather than a historian, Feiler approaches his subject using the same formula he has employed in previous books: physical walks through historic sites and interviews with experts. Although the book offers snippets of interesting anecdotes, the approach is uncontroversial and the book lacks forward momentum. Feiler is a popularizer, and readers interested in a light and cursory treatment of a theme in U.S. history will enjoy it. Readers wanting a more in-depth and critical understanding of the subject may want to look elsewhere. (Oct.)
I Moses! Moses! 1
II An Errand into the Wilderness 7
III Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land 35
IV A Moses for America 73
V Let My People Go 106
VI The War Between the Moseses 140
VII Mother of Exiles 176
VIII The Ten Commandments 208
IX I've Seen the Promised Land 241
X A Narrative of Hope 275
Giving Thanks 311
The Books of Moses 315
Select Bibliography 325
Index 337\