Roger Williams, God's Apostle of Advocacy Biography and Rhetoric
| Author: | Camp, L. | |
| Year: | 1989 | |
| Pages: | 240 | |
| ISBN: | 0-88946-679-3 978-0-88946-679-1 | |
| Price: | $179.95 + shipping | |
| (Click the PayPal button to buy) | ||
A revisionist study of Williams' discourse artistry that analyzes Williams (1603-1683) as skillful, rational, and effective in the public forum, a conclusion based on: examination of Williams' spoken and written rhetoric; an analysis of the repressive circumstances of the era; and an evaluation of the rhetorical context of Williams' discourses. Research evidence includes data from hitherto unknown or unused manuscript collections, from the Bodleian Library at Oxford and the Pembroke Library at Cambridge, and from the Folger Library in Washington, D.C. The study also contains unusual illustrations, including several woodcuts that are not available in other Williams studies or biographies.
Reviews
". . . important for its biography but more so for its interpretation of Roger Williams' life from a rhetorical perspective. . . . The strength of this study lies in the thoroughness with which Camp explores the evidence on Roger Williams. . . . a significant scholarly contribution . . . ." - Dennis L. Bailey in Scholarly Research and Review
". . . a convincing portrait of Roger Williams as a forceful and talented persuader. . . . a study that will add significantly to our understanding of Roger Williams . . . an important contribution to scholarship." - James R. Andrews
"Camp explains how Williams developed and used his persuasive talents, something Perry Miller's Roger Williams (1953) and John Garrett's Roger Williams (1970) fail to address. Camp revises William Hunt's assessment of Roger Williams in The Puritan Movement . . . which pictures Williams as an irrational advocate. . . . Upper-division undergraduates and above." - Choice
". . . explores one side of Williams' public persona to determine if he was truly the irrational, harsh, and abusive controversialist that many of his contemporaries as well as modern critics have claimed. . . . for those with an interest in Puritan religious history, the work should prove rewarding." - Encounter "The book's contribution is narrow but significant. Its strength lies in four things: the new light shed on details of Williams's early life in London; a fuller picture of Coke and his probable influence on Williams; new light on the teaching of rhetoric and disputation at Cambridge in the 1620s; and a bit of new information on Laud's hounding of Essex Puritans. With great energy and admirable detective work Camp has attempted to recreate Williams's formative world, supplying background color and educated surmises. . . . this study enriches our understanding of Williams's early life and rhetorical practice." - Church History
"Camp is to be commended for examining previously unexplored sources of information. . . . The results are a fresh look at people and institutions that shaped Williams' thought. . . . this volume is the result of careful research. . . . paints a vivid portrait of Roger Williams the advocate." _ Baptist History and Heritage "This well-written book. . . offers the reader an unusual biography of the early new Englander, Roger Williams. . . . Camp's unique interweaving of Williams' biography and rhetoric contributes to a better understanding of his work in its historical context. The book is not a historical critique, nor is it a theological critique. As a study of rhetoric, it is a perspective on argumentation, judged by a person expert in classical rhetorical theory." - Journal of Church and State
"This book is solid. The research is thorough, the sources ample, the narratives well-developed, the style measured and steady, and the conclusions well-supported. Camp has, in my judgment, effectively achieved his "neo-revisionist" purpose, and done the
". . . a convincing portrait of Roger Williams as a forceful and talented persuader. . . . a study that will add significantly to our understanding of Roger Williams . . . an important contribution to scholarship." - James R. Andrews
"Camp explains how Williams developed and used his persuasive talents, something Perry Miller's Roger Williams (1953) and John Garrett's Roger Williams (1970) fail to address. Camp revises William Hunt's assessment of Roger Williams in The Puritan Movement . . . which pictures Williams as an irrational advocate. . . . Upper-division undergraduates and above." - Choice
". . . explores one side of Williams' public persona to determine if he was truly the irrational, harsh, and abusive controversialist that many of his contemporaries as well as modern critics have claimed. . . . for those with an interest in Puritan religious history, the work should prove rewarding." - Encounter "The book's contribution is narrow but significant. Its strength lies in four things: the new light shed on details of Williams's early life in London; a fuller picture of Coke and his probable influence on Williams; new light on the teaching of rhetoric and disputation at Cambridge in the 1620s; and a bit of new information on Laud's hounding of Essex Puritans. With great energy and admirable detective work Camp has attempted to recreate Williams's formative world, supplying background color and educated surmises. . . . this study enriches our understanding of Williams's early life and rhetorical practice." - Church History
"Camp is to be commended for examining previously unexplored sources of information. . . . The results are a fresh look at people and institutions that shaped Williams' thought. . . . this volume is the result of careful research. . . . paints a vivid portrait of Roger Williams the advocate." _ Baptist History and Heritage "This well-written book. . . offers the reader an unusual biography of the early new Englander, Roger Williams. . . . Camp's unique interweaving of Williams' biography and rhetoric contributes to a better understanding of his work in its historical context. The book is not a historical critique, nor is it a theological critique. As a study of rhetoric, it is a perspective on argumentation, judged by a person expert in classical rhetorical theory." - Journal of Church and State
"This book is solid. The research is thorough, the sources ample, the narratives well-developed, the style measured and steady, and the conclusions well-supported. Camp has, in my judgment, effectively achieved his "neo-revisionist" purpose, and done the