New Books by Baylor History Faculty

A New Force at Sea: George Dewey and the Rise of the American Navy

By David A. Smith

Dr. Smith’s book follows the story of George Dewey, influential naval officer who gained fame in the Spanish-American War. Dewey ushered the United States onto the world stage, helping create a global naval strategy that would increase U.S. influence and power abroad. He would go on to become the only man with the title of “Admiral of the Navy,” which he held until his death.

Oral History and the Environment: Global Perspectives on Climate, Connection, and Catastrophe

Edited by Stephen M. Sloan and Mark Cave

In Dr. Sloan’s book, oral historians’ interviews with activists, farmers, foresters, herders, survivors of catastrophes, rangers, tribal trustees, and water system managers from around the world provides special insight into the ways in which humans and the environment interact and adapt to each other.

He Will Save You from the Deadly Pestilence: The Many Lives of Psalm 91

By Philip Jenkins

Dr. Jenkins’s book illustrates how the evolving uses of Psalm 91 map developing ideas about religion and the supernatural. Depending on the era, Psalm 91 has been considered protective, triumphalist, messianic, apocalyptic, and therapeutic. It has shaped theories of politics and government. In different ages, it has borne many different names: the Song of Evil Spirits, the Soldier's Psalm, the Protection Psalm – even the Song of Plagues, a moniker with new relevance in our times.

The Old Faith in a New Nation: American Protestants and the Christian Past

By Paul J. Gutacker

Dr. Gutacker’s book explores the ways that U.S. Protestants studied and used Christian history in the 19^th century. When faced with questions of governance, church-state relations, citizenship, immigration, and a host of others, Protestants in the antebellum era often turned to the Christian past in a search for responses despite claiming to rely on the Bible alone. Dr. Gutacker’s book shows how religious memory and understandings of the past shaped the nation.