On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding [SIGNED FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Novak, Michael

Published by Encounter Books, San Francisco, California, 2002

About this Item

Fine condition dark blue boards with gold spine lettering contained in a fine condition non price-clipped color photographic dust jacket. Includes Dedication; Preliminary Page Quotes by John Adams, etc.; Preface: The Forgotten One Hundred; Extensive Appendix; Notes; Appendix Notes; and Bibliography. Signed by ex-President Richard Nixon aide, Charles W.Colson, with thin blue pen on a Prison Fellowship Ministries bookplate affixed to the blank first free front endpaper. "I thought I appreciated the role of religion in the American founding, but I was unprepared for the massive documentation and powerful reasoning of Michael Novak's On Two Wings. The book is an original and indispensable contribution not only to the history of our country but to an understanding of its essential character." - Gertrude Himmelfarb. "No one writes with more clarity and insight about the intersection of American politics and religion than Michael Novak. In On Two Wings, he convincingly shows what many have chosen to deny or overlook - that religious faith played a vital role in the founding of the republic." - Evan Thomas, Newsweek. "I can't remember the last time I had such a rush of enthusiasm upon reading a book manuscript. It's sensationally good, and terribly important. I am only one of many who will be grateful to Michael Novak for having written it." Irving Kristol. "Jews have always felt particularly at home in America. But not until I read the first chapter of [the author's] new book did I fully understand why. Rich in its insight and analysis, Novak's discussion brilliantly illuminates the Hebrew influence upon the American founding, the way in which the Jewish vision of the world outlined in the Hebrew Bible shaped the political thought of the Founding Fathers. As Novak shows, the idiom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was a religious lingua franca for the founding generation." - Rabbi David Dalin, author. "The leaders of the American Revolution were not, like the leaders of the French revolution, secularists. They did not set out to erase religion." Indeed, as Michael Novak points out in this brilliant book about the birth of the American Republic, the very first act of the Continental Congress was to pray to Divine Providence in the face of British bombardment of Boston. In establishing a new model of self-government, the Founders believed that they were not only acting according to reason and common sense, but also obeying a religious duty. Benjamin Franklin proposed as their motto: "Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God." There have been religious peoples throughout history - including Jews and early Christians - whose strong faith did not lead to the creation of a republic of civil liberty. The American eagle could not have risen without the empirical turn of mind embodied in John Locke's teaching on the ends of government and the consent of the governed. The Founders also believed that liberty depends on certain habits of life - and these in turn depend on faith as well as reason. In telling the story of the forgotten - if not deliberately ignored - role of faith in America's genesis, Novak probes the innermost religious conviction of Washington, Jefferson, Madison and others who helped the American eagle take flight, including some of the lesser-known Founders whose reputation has dimmed with the passage of time. These founders were not "Deists," Novak shows, but shared an underlying "Hebrew metaphysics" of contingency, openness and liberty.Michael Novak has created a profound meditation on American history, and on human nature and destiny as well. This book is original, unconventional and thoroughly stunning. It could not have come at a better time." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. Seller Inventory # 002393

Bibliographic Details

Title: On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense ...

Publisher: Encounter Books, San Francisco, California

Publication Date: 2002

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition