Brother Benjamin: A History of the Israelite House of David

What is the "House of David," who was King Ben, and how did this man come to establish a religious commune in Benton Harbor,Michigan? The book traces the history of this religious sect from 1903 to 1990. In BROTHER BENJAMIN, Clare E. Adkin, Jr. explores the answers to these questions from the inside. The foundation of his effort lies in the 200 plus interviews he conducted in an effort to look at the Israelites (as members refer to themselves) from every possible perspective-- including their famous long-haired baseball teams and scandals within the sect. Combine these interviews with the meticulous scouring of court records and reviewing of endless news articles, and the result is an extraordinarily detailed, lucid account of a rather well known although poorly understood, religious sect.

Clare E. Adkin, Jr. was born and raised on a fruit farm in Allegan County, Michigan. After graduating from South Haven High School in 1961, he attended Michigan State University where he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees. After 20 years as a high school history teacher and basketball coach, Adkin returned to school in 1985 and was graduated with honors from Western Michigan University with a history M.A. At that time he was inducted in Phi Alpha Theta the international honors society for history.

Adkin is active in a broad range of community, civic, and cultural endeavors. Within the classroom he involves his students in the art of history by utilizing personal projects such as book reviews, local history research, and political policy essays as examples of the historic method. Valuing a first hand historical experience, Adkin utilizes war vetrans, business people, and key area political figures in his classroom. He has been the recipient of several honors for both his teaching and coaching.

BROTHER BENJAMIN represents more than a decade of research and is Adkin's first attempt at a major hisotrical work. Adkin and his wife Sally raised three children in St. Joseph, MI, and now make their home in Chapel Hill, NC. Adkin is currently history chair at Cary Academy, a private high school in Cary, North Carolina.