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The definitive biography of a visionary reformer who sought to guide the South into the modern age.

Edgar Gardner Murphy: Gentle Progressive by Hugh C. Bailey is the definitive biography of one of the most influential reform-minded leaders of the New South. Focusing on the life and public career of Edgar Gardner Murphy, an Episcopal clergyman, author, and social reform advocate, the book explores his efforts to promote education, civic responsibility, racial moderation, child welfare reform, and economic modernization during the Progressive Era. Bailey presents a nuanced portrait of a man whose ideas helped shape public discourse in the South at a time of profound social and political change.

Drawing on extensive research, Bailey examines Murphy's leadership in regional reform movements and his attempts to reconcile traditional Southern values with the demands of a modernizing society. The biography places Murphy within the broader context of Progressive Era America, illuminating the challenges reformers faced as they sought to address issues of poverty, education, labor, and governance while navigating the complex realities of race relations in the post-Reconstruction South.

Both scholarly and accessible, this volume highlights Murphy's achievements, limitations, and enduring legacy as a public intellectual and advocate for change. It offers valuable insight into the development of Southern Progressivism and remains an important resource for understanding the social, religious, and political evolution of the modern South.

Edward Everett Hale is remembered by millions as the author of The Man Without a Country. This popular and gifted nineteenth-century writer was an outstanding and prolific contributor to the fields of journalism, fiction, essay, and history. He wrote more than 150 books and pamphlets (one novel sold more than a million copies in his lifetime) and was intimately associated with the publication of many of the early American journals, among them the North American Review, Atlantic Monthly, and Christian Examiner. He served as editor of Old and New and was a frequent contributor to the foremost newspapers and periodicals of his time.

Yet the writings of this “journalist with a touch of genius” were only incidental to Hale’s Christian ministry in New England and in Washington, D.C., where he was for five years Chaplain of the Senate. His literary creed reflected that of his ministry, for Hale’s interpretation of the social gospel comprised an active concern with all phases of human affairs.

Confidant of poets and editors, friend to diplomats and statesmen, Hale helped mold public opinions in economics, sociology, history, and politics through three-quarters of what he called “a most extraordinary century in history.” In recounting Hale’s life and times, Holloway vividly portrays this fascinating and often turbulent era.

An exploration of the ideas that have shaped Jewish faith, culture, and identity.

In Essays in Jewish Thought, renowned scholar Nahum N. Glatzer offers a thoughtful and illuminating exploration of the intellectual, spiritual, and cultural traditions that have shaped Judaism across centuries. Drawing upon his deep knowledge of Jewish history, philosophy, theology, and literature, Glatzer examines the ideas, texts, and personalities that have influenced Jewish religious life and identity from antiquity to the modern era.

Through a collection of insightful essays, readers encounter enduring questions concerning faith, ethics, revelation, community, and the relationship between tradition and modernity. Glatzer's scholarship highlights the richness and diversity of Jewish thought while demonstrating how Jewish thinkers have engaged with changing historical circumstances and universal human concerns. His clear and accessible writing makes complex philosophical and theological concepts approachable without sacrificing intellectual depth.

Essays in Jewish Thought provides a valuable introduction to key themes in Jewish intellectual history and offers fresh perspectives for both newcomers and seasoned students of Judaism. The volume serves as a meaningful resource for understanding the foundations of Jewish belief, practice, and cultural continuity. Ideal for courses in Jewish studies, religious studies, theology, and philosophy, this collection remains an important contribution to the study of one of the world's most enduring religious and intellectual traditions.

Kristine L. Haglund views England’s writing through the tensions produced by his often-opposed intellectual and spiritual commitments. Though labeled a liberal, England had a traditional Latter-day Saint background and always sought to address fundamental questions in Mormon terms. His intellectually adventurous essays sometimes put him at odds with Church authorities and fellow believers. But he also influenced a generation of thinkers and cofounded Dialogue, a Mormon academic and literary journal acclaimed for the broad range of its thought.

A fascinating portrait of a Mormon intellectual and his times, Eugene England reveals a believing scholar who emerged from the lived experiences of his faith to engage with the changes roiling Mormonism in the twentieth century.