St. Francis of America

“This well-researched biography is recommended as a case study of how the perceptions of historical individuals change over the course of time to fit and speak to contemporary issues.” — Library Journal

“Achieves success as both a work of careful scholarship and a delightful read.” — CHOICE

“Representative of the best of modern historical scholarship. . . . The volume will undoubtedly be of interest to scholars, educated laity, atheist, agnostic, and religionist alike.” — American Historical Review

“Makes an important contribution to American history of religion and to the field of Franciscan studies. . . . A must-read for historians of American religion and the Franciscan tradition alike.” — American Catholic Studies

“An entertaining read [that] helps us separate the real figure from folklore — Francis the popular icon from Francis the man.” — Episcopal Journal

“A cultural history of how the medieval monk has been represented in U.S. culture over the past two hundred years.” — Journal of American History

"Appelbaum’s narrative is vigorous, and her analysis of the ways in which Francis has been read and contested is convincing.” — Church History and Religious Culture

“A very serious book asking serious questions about a significant cultural phenomenon.”—Anglican and Episcopal History

“St. Francis didn’t much like books, but if he did he would bless this one, which follows the strange odyssey of this thirteenth-century Catholic saint into the homes and hearts of contemporary Americans. What is at stake here is not the historical Francis but the Francis of the American imagination, an all-purpose rebel and crossover saint beloved not only by Catholics but also by Protestants, Buddhists, and the 'spiritual but not religious.' Through careful historical research and interpretive panache, Appelbaum deftly stalks this American saint from his rediscovery in the mid-nineteenth century to his more recent incarnations as pacifist, hippie, and environmentalist.” — Stephen Prothero, author of God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World

“A fascinating trip through American cultural history.  St. Francis is a wonderful way to see how popular and elite are deftly interwoven into the life-worlds of actual people. A welcome scrutiny of the literary and material culture surrounding a figure who is able to inspire reformers, moralists, and consumers alike. There is no other study of Francis like this one.” — David Morgan, author of The Embodied Eye: Religious Visual Culture and the Social Life of Feeling