Under dispute

Chapter 2: Note

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Essays, Letters & Speeches History - American

About This Book

An essay collection offers incisive, often wry reflections on religious zeal, social customs, literary life, and public character, balancing historical commentary with personal observation. It treats the legacy of strict religious communities, the hesitations of collective character, the pleasures and pitfalls of memoir-writing, the ethics of sympathy toward unpopular figures, the creative energy of discontent, the role of education, and the uses of humor; occasional pieces sketch controversies and cultural institutions. The tone ranges from critical to sympathetic, with polished prose that blends anecdote, cultural criticism, and moral observation.

Note

Five of the twelve essays in this volume, “To Counsel the Doubtful,” “The Happiness of Writing an Autobiography,” “The Divineness of Discontent,” “Strayed Sympathies,” and “The Battlefield of Education,” are reprinted through the courtesy of The Atlantic Monthly; four of them, “The Masterful Puritan,” “Are Americans a Timid People?” “Allies,” and “The American Laughs,” through the courtesy of The Yale Review; “The Preacher at Large,” through the courtesy of The Century Magazine; “They Had Their Day,” through the courtesy of Harper’s Magazine; “The Idolatrous Dog,” through the courtesy of The Forum.