Preview
  • American Messiahs

  • False Prophets of a Damned Nation
  • By: Adam Morris
  • Narrated by: Joel Richards
  • Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (20 ratings)

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American Messiahs

By: Adam Morris
Narrated by: Joel Richards
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Publisher's summary

A history with sweeping implications, American Messiahs challenges our previous misconceptions about "cult" leaders and their messianic power.

Mania surrounding messianic prophets has defined the national consciousness since the American Revolution. From Civil War veteran and virulent anticapitalist Cyrus Teed, to the dapper and overlooked civil rights pioneer Father Divine, to even the megalomaniacal Jim Jones, these figures have routinely been dismissed as dangerous and hysterical outliers.

After years of studying these emblematic figures, Adam Morris demonstrates that messiahs are not just a classic trope of our national culture; their visions are essential for understanding American history. As Morris demonstrates, these charismatic, if flawed, would-be prophets sought to expose and ameliorate deep social ills - such as income inequality, gender conformity, and racial injustice. Provocative and long overdue, this is the story of those who tried to point the way toward an impossible "American Dream": men and women who momentarily captured the imagination of a nation always searching for salvation.

©2019 Adam Morris (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
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What listeners say about American Messiahs

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An amazing unbiased review of the history of this movement in the USA

Opened my eyes to the need of communal living and working in the USA as well as the problems and pitfalls this path takes.

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Perfect

Cult and religion is my favorite subject. I’ve read piles of it and this is one of the best. I bought the paperback.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Maddening Mispronunciations

Good history of an interesting topic. The epilogue alone is worth the price of the book. I would’ve given it a 4 stars (it takes something pretty special to get a 5 out of me) except that the narrator has the really annoying habit of mispronouncing words; lots and lots of words. It’s grating and distracting in the same way as frequent wrong notes would be in a musical performance (Samuel Taylor “COOLeridge,” Mr. Richards? Seriously?) The narrator has a nice voice and a smooth delivery…but god, man, study up on your lexicon!

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