From the religious historian whose The Gnostic Gospels won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition. With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller; Pagels turns Satan’s story into an audacious exploration of Christianity’s shadow side; in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.
#363990 in Books Knopf 1997-09-30 1997-09-30Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.75 x 7.00 x 1.50l; #File Name: 0679404449432 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great psychological profile of JQA the personBy Robert G. RosenthalJohn Quincy Adams (or JQA) was a brilliant; but troubled man; who never seemed to feel as if he accomplished very much. A Harvard educated Lawyer; scholar; writer; orator; diplomat; and having served in public office for over 60 years; he was his own worst enemy.Like his father; the 2nd President John Adams; John Quincy Adams was a difficult person; and a person who liked to be surrounded in controversy; and was not afraid of forcing his opinion on others. This led to his developing many enemies in government; among which were his successor as President; Andrew Jackson; and others. Over his life; his dread of slavery and concern about its spread of in the United States; made him despised by many in the South; where human enslavement thrived throughout his lifetime. His denouncement of it; and growing hatred of it throughout his life and career made him the brunt of jokes; ridicule in the press; and a target for bullies while serving in government. His oratory skills; however; drove the sentiment among the public (mostly in the north) to speak out against the horrors of slavery.An interesting character; his personality was formed by a driving father; and strong mother who rarely showed trust of belief in her son. She constantly berated him as he was young; and even into adulthood; about watching out for temptations of flesh. She never trusted that he would follow "Christian" morals. Eventually; she shut off his communication with her; failing to respond to her letters.Raised primarily in Europe; where his father was a diplomat; he developed a fondness for all things European and became fluent in several languages. His diplomatic skills honed; he was first appointed to the US Diplomatic Corps by George Washington. Throughout his diplomatic career; he was assigned to France; England; Holland; Belgium and Russia. He returned to the US where he was elected to Congress; and eventually became Secretary of State under President James Monroe. He followed Monroe as President. Although he lost the popular vote to Andrew Jackson; he was given the Presidency by the House of Representatives.This caused severe tension in government; led by those who felt he stole the Presidency from the one who deserved it and won the popular vote. There was a wedge drawn between him and the southern states; and the spite shown to him caused his Presidency to be largely a failure and uneventful. He lost his second term to Jackson in what has become known as the bitterest election in the history of the United States.Although he largely felt a failure; he was elected to Congress where he served until the day he died. He was not only a champion of freeing the slaves; he argued and fought in congress for ensuring the US was a peaceful country. When the US went to war with Mexico over ownership of what is now Texas; he was one of a dozen congressmen who voted against the war.If I were to diagnose JQA; psychologically; I would guess that he was bipolar and paranoid. He had tremendous highs; where he would travel; orate and write journals; and serious lows where he would contemplate his own death. Louisa; his wife of over 50 years; served to help him through these crises; although it took a tremendous toll on her. She was his intellectual equal; and was the first of the First Ladies of the United States who did more than simply entertain guests.I found the book remarkable. At 400 pages; it is certainly not the longest book written about a US politician. The author; Paul Nagel; drew his research primarily from the volumes of personal documents the former President left behind. Interestingly; with all of his remarkable accomplishments; only one chapter is dedicated to his Presidency. Given everything else the man accomplished in his life; one chapter probably was enough. But; I found the level of detail in the book to be both a help and a hindrance. There were times where the tedium was high; and reading became difficult. All in all; the detail in the book brought life to a man dead for almost 200 years. I applaud this book as a real triumph in showing the character of a man who had a tremendous impact on the development of this new country.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Enjoyable and InformativeBy Sean ClaycampI'm nearly at the halfway point of my mission to read a biography of each President. I would put this bio in the top third of those I've read for a variety of reasons.First; it was the perfect length. JQA was an important President but was he TJ; Roosevelt; Truman; Nixon; Lincoln... no. Nothing that important happened when he was President at least in a very broad; international sense. I'm very glad the author didn't lengthen the biography and make it detailed to a fault just to make it look like he did more research or overvalued the importance of JQA.JQA was quite a character. Clearly he was an intelligent man. I loved the way the author talked about what JQA read. In fact; I might even read some of those books myself because as with nearly every President; they gathered most of their intelligence from reading on their own. I liked the fact that the author included all the info about JQA's literary; research and professorship.I didn't get the point of how the author pointed out JQA's schedule so often; when he got up; what he did all day; that got a bit old.Other than that; it was really a great biography that shed a lot of light on this man.A few things I found interesting about JQA that the author did a good job detailing.1. Abigail and John Adams really put a lot of pressure on their son. That was very apparent and made JQA a sympathetic person at times.2. JQA was a stick in the mud a lot of times so it is easy to see why a lot of people didn't like him. It also explains why his presidency isn't held in such high regard. I thought it very telling that on Andrew Jackson's deathbed JQA was very uncomplementary. I would've hated to cross him.3. And perhaps this is the most interesting. JQA couldn't rise above the pressure that was put on him by his parents. He passed that pressure on to his kids; causing one to kill himself. Of course; I do think he mellowed as he got older which the author detailed allowing him to become a sympathetic figure again.Lastly; how about the fact that JQA died pretty much in congress. Wow; what dedication.Good bio that I would recommend.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great AmericanBy Jack MurrayJohn Quincy Adams is an amazing American. The range of his contributions to our history and to the spirit of America is amazing. He was not cuddly. He could have done so much more as president (cf. Barack Obama) if he'd had the right Congress. As it is; all that he wanted very soon came to be; especially in infrastructure. Everyone should also read Henry Adams's account of JQ; by then an old man; walking him to school after finding him playing hooky. Nagel's volume is a must-read.
