Recommended Books

New books:

A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism: From the Beginning to 1899

Dan McKanan, editor   A panel of top scholars presents the first comprehensive collection of primary sources from Unitarian Universalist history. This critical resource covers the long histories of Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism in the United States and around the world. Selections include sermons, theologies, denominational statements, hymns, autobiographies, and manifestos, with special attention to class, cultural, gender, and sexual diversity. Volume One begins with selections from Arius and Origen and covers Unitarian and Universalist history through the end of the nineteenth-century. Selections include those of leaders, thinkers, and ordinary participants in the ever-changing tradition of liberal religion.

A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism: From 1900 to the Present

Dan McKanan, editor  Volume Two provides a selection of documents from the beginning of the twentieth-century through more recent writings from Peter Morales and Rebecca Parker. This anthology features a wide variety of selections, more than a hundred distinct selections per volume, each with scholarly introductions by leading experts in Unitarian Universalist history. Volume 2 provides a wealth of sources from the first fifty-five years of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Selections include sermons, theologies, denominational statements, hymns, autobiographies, and manifestos, with special attention to class, cultural, gender, and sexual diversity. Primary sources are the building blocks of history, and A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism presents the sources we need for understanding this denomination’s past and for shaping its future.

book - true harvestTrue Harvest

Collected by Barry M. Andrews Readings from Henry David Thoreau for Every Day of the Year; Offers 365 short readings from the famous Transcendentalist

book-spirit-leadsThe Spirit Leads

Barry M Andrews, editor Margaret Fuller in Her Own Words
Commemorates the bicentennial of Margaret Fuller’s birth with a dynamic collection of excerpts from her writings. Also available as an eBook in the Amazon Kindle Store and on Google Play.

Transcendentalism and the Cultivation of the Soul

Barry M. Andrews focuses on a neglected aspect of this well-known group, showing how American Transcendentalists developed rich spiritual practices to nurture their souls and discover the divine. The practices are common and simple―among them, keeping journals, contemplation, walking, reading, simple living, and conversation. In approachable and accessible prose, Andrews demonstrates how Transcendentalism’s main thinkers, Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, and others, pursued rich and rewarding spiritual lives that inspired them to fight for abolition, women’s rights, and education reform. In detailing these everyday acts, Andrews uncovers a wealth of spiritual practices that could be particularly valuable today, to spiritual seekers and religious liberals.


children_of_the_same_god_tnChildren of the Same God

Susan J. Ritchie In Children of the Same God, Susan J. Ritchie makes the groundbreaking historical argument that….

history_first_parish_scituate_NewHistory of the First Parish Church of Scituate, MA

Richard M. Stower The First Parish Church of Scituate, Massachusetts was gathered in 1634 but the history of the c..

selma_awakening_NewSelma Awakening

Mark Morrison-Reed The foremost scholar of African-American Unitarian Universalist history presents this long-await..

stirring_the_nations_heart_NewStirring the Nation’s Heart: Eighteen Stories of Prophetic UUs

Polly Peterson Here are eighteen compelling stories from the lives of some of the nineteenth-century Transcendental..

EliotFrontCover_UUHHS_NewWilliam Greenleaf Eliot

by Earl K. Holt III William Greenleaf Eliot: Conservative Radical When William Greenleaf Eliot came to the “untamed..

missionaries_builders_pathfinders_NewMissionaries, Builders, and Pathfinders:

Gail Forsyth-Vail and Polly Peterson Here are twenty compelling stories of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Unitarians and Univers..

prophetic-encounters-mckananProphetic Encounters: Religion and the American Radical Tradition

Dan McKanan Prophetic Encounters explores the religious beliefs and practices of American radicals including Fre..

standing_before_usStanding Before Us: UU Women and Social Reform

Dorothy May Emerson Standing Before Us presents 160 years of women’s work. It contains letters, essays, stories, poe..

walking_together_thumbnailWalking Together

Conrad Wright Walking Together: Polity and Participation in Unitarian Universalist Churches To view this PDF ..

no_silent_witness_tuckerNo Silent Witness: The Eliot Parsonage Women and their Unitarian World

Cynthia Grant Tucker “In Prophetic Sisterhood, Cynthia Tucker demonstrated that women’s networks are as fascinating as th..

boston-religionTHE BOSTON RELIGION: Unitarianism in its Capital City

Peter Tufts Richardson This work is a window into the entire history and significance of American Unitarianism. In tra..

introduction_to_the_unitarian_and_universalist_traditions_cover_TNAn Introduction to the Unitarian and Universalist Traditions

Andrea Greenwood and Mark W. Harris The scope, the depth, and the detail of this work are all impressive. Greenwood and Harris explo..

elite_harris_coverElite: Uncovering Classism in Unitarian Universalist History

Mark Harris “Mark Harris has given us the gift of a well polished mirror and challenged us to look deeply into o..

FERENC DÁVID

Mihály Balázs, Translated by Judit Gellérd This is the first comprehensive history of early Transylvanian Unitarianism. Its prestigious aut..

here_we_have_gatheredHere We Have Gathered: The Story of Unitarian Universalism in Western Pennsylvania, 1808-2008

Kathleen R. Parker Kathleen R. Parker’s newest book integrates regional, social, and UU theological history with the ..

joseph_priestley_and_english_unitarianismJoseph Priestley and English Unitarianism in America

J. D. Bowers “A resolute and positive reaffirmation of Joseph Priestley’s place in the heritage of American Unita..

sacred_parker_coverSacred Service in Civic Space: Three Hundred Years of Community Ministry in Unitarian Universalism

Kathleen R. Parker “To minister is to serve.” So begins the opening chapter of ‘Sacred Service in Civic Space,’ an ..

arcOfTheUniverseThe Arc of the Universe is Long: Unitarian Universalists, Anti-Racism and the Journey From Calgary

Leslie Takahashi Morris, James (Chip) Roush, Leon Spencer Skinner House has recently published a history entitled The Arc of the Universe is Long: Unitari..

till_the_people_all_are_oneTill The People All Are One: Darwin’s Unitarian Connection

Clifford M Reed Charles Darwin described himself as an agnostic, but how far was he really a Unitarian? That is ..

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