BOOKS

Q: What books do you use and recommend for beginners or scholars?

A: In regard to the issue of religion and government.

1. The Establishment Clause, 1994, second edition, revised, The University of North Carolina Press, by the distinguished constitutional historian Leonard W. Levy: "The thesis of this book is that nonpreferentialists [including former Secretary of Education William Bennett] are wrong about the framers' intentions" (p. xvii).

2. Church, State, and Freedom, 1967 (revised edition), Beacon Press, by the distinguished constitutional attorney Leo Pfeffer.

3. Faith of Our Fathers: Religion and the New Nation, Harper and Row, 1987, by Edwin S. Gaustad, Professor of History, University of California, Riverside. You will learn from and enjoy this book.

4. Toward Benevolent Neutrality: Church, State and the Supreme Court, 1992, Baylor University Press, by Robert T. Miller and Ronald B. Flowers. This is the reference I use for gaining an understanding of Supreme Court decisions.

5. America's Real Religion, 1994 (revised edition), America's Real Religion Publishing, by Gene Garman. In no way am I comparing myself in a class with the above scholars; this book merely supplements the above with some interesting additional information (as stated on the index page of this web site) not found in the above references.

B. In regard to general history related to the forefathers and Founders.

1. The Writings and Papers of Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison. These are the scholarly works (found at college and major libraries) of historians who provide the primary sources for the facts, not the fictions, of history. If you want to quote, for example, one of the above men, cite from these publications--not from a book written, for instance, by some preacher or a former high school math and science teacher.

2. The Founding Fathers. This is a wonderful series of books published in the 1970's by Newsweek Books, New York. Each book is "a biography in his own words" and they are based on the Writings and Papers of the men mentioned immediately above.

3. Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787, 1986 (paperback edition), by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier, and published by Ballantine Books, New York. This is my favorite book for reading about the Convention which drafted THE founding document for the United States of America.

4. Ye will say I am no Christian, edited by Bruce Braden. This book is composed of the Thomas Jefferson/John Adams correspondence on Religion, Morals, and Values. It is a MUST read.