the puritan dilemma

in 1958, edmund morgan (author of the much-praised benjamin franklin) penned the classic biography of john winthrop, longtime governor of colonial massachusetts, puritan, and influential leader of the great migration. by any account, morgan's the puritan dilemma remains an excellent volume. in 2003, though, francis bremer gave us john winthrop: america's forgotten founding father, another treatment of the puritan-governor. since the volume was released recentely in paperback, i took advantage of the opportunity to pick up a copy. i am fairly familiar with some of bremer's earlier writings on english and new english puritanism--of which he is a first-rate scholar. so, i was excited to secure john winthrop. thus far, i have not been disappointed. bremer's analysis of the religious and social climate of early modern england is brilliant. plus, he is a wonderful writer. if you have read the puritan dilemma or if you enjoyed marsden's jonathan edwards: a life, then you'll really be glad of the time you spend with bremer's attempt to remind the american public of john winthrop and his world.