Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel Ritchie  
Yesterday a copy of The New England Mind by Perry Miller arrived with me, having been sent from John Gowan books. Has anyone read this? One thing I did notice that was strange is that there are no footnotes or endnotes telling you where he got his quotes from.  |
How many pages is this book? I recall that
The New England Mind was a several volume series by Miller, but maybe I missed something.
Perry Miller was Chairman of the History department at Harvard for many years, primarily in the decades of the 40s and 50s. When he retired, the famous liberal historian and Kennedy confidant Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. took over, whom Miller also happened to mentor.
While I have only read minor excerpts from
The New England Mind, a gentleman from Arlington, Texas who had read it said that it was very good, and that Miller (who was an agnostic) actually had a very favorable opinion of the Puritans, apparently claiming that they had one of the better societal organizations ever seen on this planet. (Not sure if that statement is explicit given in
The New England Mind, but the Arlington gentleman told me that was the case.
Indeed, in the famous college history textbook
THe National Experience authored by Schlesinger and Kenneth Woodward, Miller's thoughts definitely had impact upon Schlesinger, who also spoke favorably of the Puritans (at least in my 1976 edition which I still possess on my bookshelf and access often).
Wow, it is interesting that Miller is viewed from both ends of the spectrum. Again, I have not completely read the series, but this is what I understood from the gentleman in Arlington, Texas, whom I respect and do not believe he would have lead me astray on this matter.