-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
Moses and the American Story
by Bruce Feiler
Whenever the USA has experienced hard times it has turned to the Exodus story for direction, inspiration and hope. The Pilgrims quoted his story. Franklin and Jefferson proposed he appear on the U.S. seal. Washington and Lincoln were called his incarnation. The Statue of Liberty was molded on his image. Martin Luther King invoked him the night before he died. Barack Obama casts his presidency in his image.
As they face another moment of national anxiety - and ask, What is the meaning of America? What are our values? Will we rise again? Moses once more holds the clues and points the way. In his boldest book to date, Bruce Feiler visits the island where the Pilgrims spent their first Sabbath, climbs the bell tower where the Liberty Bell was inscribed with a quote from Moses, retraces the Underground Railroad where Go Down, Moses was the national anthem of slaves, and dons the robe Charlton Heston wore in The Ten Commandments. Meticulously researched and highly readable, America's Prophet is a thrilling, entirely original work of history that will forever change how we view America, faith and the future.
"Feiler is a popularizer, and readers interested in a light and cursory treatment of a theme in U.S. history will enjoy it." - Publishers Weekly
"A facile retracing of American history on a Mosaic theme - which is not to say Feiler fans won't love it." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. Feiler confidently concludes that the major themes of Moses' story continue to shape America and affect the lives of countless Americans, such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Fascinating and thought provoking." - Booklist
"This is one of the most original, intelligent and endlessly fascinating books I have read in years: it should become a set book for anyone wanting to know what truly makes America tick." - Simon Winchester
"With a journalist eye and an adventurers spirit, Bruce Feiler brings his prodigious gifts of biblical analysis to a reconsideration of Moses as the essential prophet of the American Experience. This is an accessible and engaging book of indispensable insight." - Tony Horwitz
"What a smart, original, and deeply intriguing reflection on the role Moses played – yes, Moses – U.S. history. America's Prophet is Bruce Feiler at his innovative best: compelling, sweeping and engaging. Highly recommended!" - Douglas Brinkley
This information about America's Prophet was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo Credit: Andrew Feiler
Bruce Feiler is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers, including Life Is in the Transitions, The Secrets of Happy Families, and Walking the Bible. His three TED Talks have been viewed more than five million times, and he teaches the TED Course "How to Master Life Transitions." A native of Savannah, Georgia, Bruce lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Linda Rottenberg, and their twin daughters.
Author Interview
Link to Bruce Feiler's Website
Name Pronunciation
Bruce Feiler: fi-ler (first syllable rhymes with my)
If you liked America's Prophet, try these:
by Claire Keegan
Published 2023
From Booker Prize Finalist and bestselling author of "pitch perfect" (Boston Globe) Small Things Like These, comes a triptych of stories about love, lust, betrayal, and the ever-intriguing interchanges between women and men.
by Leigh Newman
Published 2023
From the prizewinning, debut fiction author: an exhilarating virtuosic story collection about women navigating the wilds of male-dominated Alaskan society.
by Lily King
Published 2022
By the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers, Lily King's first-ever collection of exceptional and innovative short stories.
It is always darkest just before the day dawneth
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
