Although I was a political science student at UW I never took a class from Tony Gill. This book makes me both wish I had because of its style and thoroughness and glad I didn't because of the volume of information covered. Gill makes history come alive while offering a unique theory of religious liberty that ought to become a discussion point in graduate level classes. I am no sure how well his theory would translate to other religions such as the expansion of Islamic states but that is outside the scope of this book.

Growing up in a small protestant denomination with its own history of suffering intolerance I found Gill's accounts of the New World settlements fascinating. We cried for tolerance or religious liberty, had an opportunity to set up whatever structure we wanted, yet created an intolerant political-religious system which changed not from a wisdom and compassion but only when shaped by external forces.

I recommend this book to aficionados of both religious and political history and to lovers of religious liberty everywhere.