"Both the sources he employs and the scope of his study set his work apart from all that have precede it...The first study of New England preaching to span the entire colonial period...very important book." - Journal of American History "Simply breathtaking in scope. No one else has dared to grapple with the full sweep of Puritan preaching form the founding of New England through the American Revolution." - Nathan O. Hatch, University of Notre Dame "A massive achievement will stand as the definitive work on this important subject." - Reviews in American History "Impressive, imaginative, sensible, and lucid." - Donald G. Matthews, University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill "[Stout] has created a field of scholarship hitherto neglected - the manuscript sermon as a source of religious culture in colonial times. More than that, he has shown the extent to which sermon notes add to our knowledge of the times, notably for the period of the Great Awakening. And he has done so with great insight." - New England Quarterly "So soundly based on exhaustive research and so lucid in presentation, that even its most surprising conclusions carry conviction. An impressive achievement." - Daniel Walker Howe, author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 "One of the most impressive studies of Puritan New England society to appear in this century....Throughout the work, Stout enriches, supplements and revises much of the current knowledge about colonial New England. His language, which is both precise and playful, makes the volume a delight to read." -The Historian "Will surely become a benchmark in the study of early American history and culture." -Journal of the American Academy of Religion