Puritan studies is one of the most heavily researched areas of scholarship in both England and the United States. In this in-depth exploration of the relationship between Puritans in England and New England, Francis J. Bremer challenges the view that the colonists turned away from English Puritans in the 1640s. Rather, he convincingly demonstrates that the two communities retained a complex, symbiotic connection - a communion - throughout the seventeenth century, and that the clergy on both sides of the Atlantic saw themselves as closely linked in their spiritual mission. Focusing on the interaction between social experience and the shaping of belief, Bremer thoroughly analyzes how Puritan clergymen of a congregational persuasion came together in a godly communion and examines how that communion sustained them in times of trouble and physical dispersal. He explains the social forces that led to the articulation of early Congregationalism and details the significance of trans-Atlantic religious exchanges through correspondence, associations, publications, and other devices. Bremer traces the first-generation Puritans from their formative years at Cambridge University through the creation of a network of clerical friendships, through the flight to Holland and to New England, to the death of Oliver Cromwell and the beginnings of division within Congregationalism. This thought-provoking volume makes a solid contribution to Puritan studies and offers a basis for further discussions of the trans-Atlantic aspects of the Congregational community.

Jeanette Dowdell knows that life is a miracle filled with magic that does not promise guarantees. In a potpourri of poetry, she shares diverse reflections about life, beauty, meaning, joy, sorrow, friendships, family, and special moments that all offer the same message: to never give up. Dowdells light-hearted poems begin by exploring her childhood when she refused to keep her white high-top shoes on, loved surprises in cereal boxes, and devoured delicious treats from local bakeries. As she moves into poems that explore the role of fate, misty moments, wakeful dreaming, and love, Dowdell shines a light on all that life has to offer while encouraging others live in the moment, observe the beauty around them, and build memories that last a lifetime. Life . . . Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow shares a compilation of poems that reflect on one womans unique journey through life as she learns to embrace the miracle of her existence and never give up.

This book contains my thoughts and feelings in particular and specific events that I have experienced in my life. I wrote this book to hopefully inspire other people to live life to the fullest. Everything happens for a reason. Events from yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all part of God’s plan for us.

Teresa Hogan has edited many children's books and poems and has had her poetry published in several anthologies through the American Poets Society, JMW Publishing Company, and Poetry.Com. Now she is pleased to share with you her first compilation of poetry in Life, Love & Song. The author shares her philosophy on the many aspects of life with a creatively empathetic view. In a simple but unique and poetically expressive way, she awakens the beauty of nature, the gift of love, the value of friends and family, the nostalgia of memories, the harshness of reality and the joy of happiness. Through life experiences, through happiness and despair, you will find within these few pages a treasure in which the heart can relate to.

The Smithsonian Institution has been America's museum since 1846. What do its vast collections -- from the ruby slippers to a piece of Plymouth Rock, first ladies' gowns to patchwork quilts, a Model T Ford to a customized Ford LTD low rider -- tell Americans about themselves? In this lavishly illustrated guide to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Steven Lubar and Kathleen M. Kendrick tell the stories behind more than 250 of the museum's treasures, many of them never before photographed for publication. These stories not only reveal what America as a nation has decided to save and why but also speak to changing visions of national identity. As the authors demonstrate, views of history change over time, methods of historical investigation evolve and improve, and America's understanding of the past matures. Shifts in focus and attitude lie at the hearth of Legacies, which is organized around four concepts of what a national museum of history can be: a treasure house, a shrine to the famous, a palace of progress, and a mirror of the nation. Thus, the museum collects cherished or precious objects, houses celebrity memorabilia, documents technological advances, and reflects visitors' own lives. Taking examples from science and technology, politics, decorative arts, military history, ethnic heritage, popular culture and everyday life, the authors provide historical context for the work of the Smithsonian and shed new light on what is important, and who is included, in American history. Throughout its history, Lubar and Kendrick conclude, the museum has played a vital role in both shaping and reflecting America's sense of itself as a nation.