April 3, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS – Fortress Press is happy to announce the release of Nancy Koester's new book, Fortress Introduction to the History of Christianity in the United States.

This thorough and lively overview of Christian history in the United States, from colonial times to the present, is informed by both classical and recent scholarship and is written for the non-specialist. Focused on popular movements and how Christians have come to terms with modernity, Koester offers ample coverage of Evangelical and Roman Catholic developments, as well as historic Protestantism. Her text is amply augmented with carefully selected illustrations, glossary, map, study questions, suggestions for additional reading, and bibliography.

Contents
Preface
1. Colonial Beginnings
2. Awakening, Enlightenment, and Revolution
3. Christianity in the New Republic
4. Slavery and Civil War
5. Moving People
6. Responses to Modernity
7. The Great War to the Cold War
8. A New Millennium
Bibliography
Glossary

"Many general readers and beginning students want a concise, basic overview instead of a massive, detailed volume about the historical development of Christianity in the United States. That is just what this book provides-a brief survey, in understandable language, based upon respected academic sources. The breadth of content covered in so few pages is remarkable. Koester is balanced and judicious in her narrative, and she is aware of the themes and issues of current scholarship." –Bruce David Forbes, Professor of Religious Studies, Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa.

"Nancy Koester's highly accessible introduction to the history of American Christianity does not sacrifice attention to the complexities of multiple and ever-unfolding plot lines. She offers powerful examples of how changing social, political, and economic realities in every century have demanded responses from the established traditions and have given rise to new forms of Christianity as well. Further, she has a gift for demonstrating the drama rather than the dryness of theological issues." –Mary Farrell Bednarowski, Professor of Religious Studies Emerita, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.

Nancy Koester holds a doctorate in Church History from Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, where she has taught for many years. She is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is the author of Journeying through Lent with Luke. She is working on a biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Fortress Introduction to the History of Christianity in the United States, By Nancy Koester, Item Number: 978-0-8006-3277-9, Details: 5.5" x 8.5," paperback, 256 pages, Price: $18.00 / CAN $21.50 / UK £9.99, Publisher: Fortress Press.

To order Fortress Introduction to the History of Christianity in the United States visit our Web site at http://www.augsburgfortress.org/.

To request review copies (for media), or to discuss speaking engagements or interviews, please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.

Fortress Press