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Written Like an E-Mail I chose this book because of my keen interest in this topic. I've never heard of the author but he is well published and is a "Fellow" at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. In spite of his credentials, I've never read such a piece of trash. I'm through about 70 pages and can go no further. The problem I am having is both in following the train of thought and in fighting the distraction of all the grammatical errors. It disturbs me when a sentence starts with the word "and" or "but". I am disturbed when unnecessary commas chop the sentence up when they are placed in areas where the sentence should be joined. There are places in the first 70 pages where quotes are indicated by quotation marks and later, in the same paragraph, quotes are made without quotation marks. Let's look at a few examples: 1. Introduction, Page. xxi. Para. 1. "But protest is not enough anymore, and truly prophetic religion must always have better alternatives to offer." This sentence starts with the word "but" and juxtaposes a pausing comma next to the word "and" meant to join the sentence. 2. Introduction, Page. xxii. Para. 4. He has a page break with a paragraph title, "God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat." What does the sentence, "Or a Democrat." mean? This is troubling to me. 3. Chapter 2, Page 29, 3rd Para. Sentence 5 to end of para. "It seems that we are afflicted by no vision, on the one hand, and narrow vision on the other. Neither will suffice, neither has the capacity to meet the challenges of our time. And neither is faithful to the compelling public visions contained in both our best religious and democratic traditions." Can you read this? I was just shaking my head trying to "get" the thought content while trying to use the grammar for proper breaks, etc. What is he saying? 4. Chapter 3, Page 33, 1st Para. Sentence 4. "My father married his high school sweetheart on the same day he graduated from college and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, which was eager to send him and his classmates into the Pacific theater of World War II." Is this sentence run-on? The grammar completely took away from the important fact of his father's life that he is trying to get across. 5. Chapter 3, Page 35, 2nd Para. Sentence 5 to end of para. "The elders convened an emergency meeting to decide what to do. "Bring them up before the whole church, and we will denounce their behavior!" said most of the church's spiritual leaders. My father, who was the chief elder, objected to such harsh treatment. Why would such a thing be necessary? he asked. People need to know where we stand, the elders declared. Do you think anybody doesn't know where we stand? my father replied." No, you are not seeing things. This is actually how it is written. The first sentence uses quotation marks and the rest do not. Even the built in grammar checker made the corrections as I typed this review. I had to go back and manually put in the errors, being the sentence fragment such as, "my father replied." This is not only sad; it is unacceptable. 6. Chapter 3, Page 37, 3rd Para. Sentences 1-4. "Dear Jesse, You and I have never met, I think we've lived in different worlds. I've never been a biker, bouncer, or a boa-feathered wrestler. And you, I'll guess, have never led a prayer meeting. But you've been preaching a lot of sermons lately." This is the text of an open letter the author wrote to Jesse Ventura (then governor of Minnesota) which appeared in an MSNBC column. This sentence is run-on where it should be separated and separated where it should be joined. I hope I've made my case. I really am interested in this topic and this author's opinion. I simply cannot read any further. Based on my limited reading, I think this book is rubbish. When you combine the author's demagoguery with the brutal grammar, the book becomes a total insult and unbearable. I'm sorry I ever bought it. Yes, I'm just a hick from Kansas (a red state). I was, however, taught the King's English by the good fathers of the Norbertine Order and I was raised and rooted in Wisconsin (a blue state). I don't carry an adversarial position toward this topic-I just can NOT read anymore of this drivel. It is truly insulting. Tom Pronold