Edmund Morgan's books about the Puritans

[Pilgrim]

Are his books worthwhile?

I have a ton of books I need to get rid of, and I'm at the state of trying to decide what to get rid of and what to keep. These are the ones I have:

The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop
The Puritan Family: Religion and Domestic Relations in Seventeenth-Century New England
Visible Saints: The History of a Puritan Idea

I've got another short work of his "The Birth of the Republic: 1763-89."

 

[Contra_Mundum]

He was part of the mid-20thC American Puritan studies renaissance, thanks to Perry Miller (his doctoral supervisor). They tried to put to rest some of the caricature stereotypes, and to allow these pioneers on the North American continent to be seen as real, flesh and blood people that (with some help) modern folk could actually relate to.

Morgan taught at Yale, and won numerous awards for his books. If your goal is to have the "best books" in your library, there's an argument that Morgan's belong. If you have an ongoing interest in Puritan studies, you should keep Morgan's works for reading and reference. If you have read them, and have no more reason to shelve them, find a good home for them.

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

The field has obviously moved on a bit since those books were published, but they are still valuable studies. I would be inclined to keep them; although I am one of the world's worst hoarders.

 

[Pilgrim]

Thanks, brothers. I haven't read them yet. "Visible Saints" in particular looks interesting. I'll probably keep them for a while. It's not like they take up a ton of room, unlike some of the Study Bibles and other things that I have.