In a revision of his dissertation, Timothy Padgett seeks to correct a tendency he sees among historians of evangelicalism—a too facile assumption that white American evangelicals have been warmongers throughout the twentieth century. His goal in this rather lengthy book is to set that record straight and illuminate the contours of evangelical political and military thought between the run up to World War II (a “Good War,” as he describes American culture's impression of that conflict) and the Vietnam War (which Padgett conversely characterizes as a “Bad War” [4]). To that end, Padgett makes use of several evangelical periodicals, including Christian Herald, Christianity Today, Moody Monthly, Eternity, and Our Hope. The resulting monograph argues that evangelicals had a much more nuanced view of armed conflict and that they “offered consistent counsel” and took stands “in a devoted adherence to longstanding Christian principles” (14).

Padgett's book divides the period between the “Good” and “Bad” Wars into eight chapters and, in turn, each chapter in identical subsections: “Overview,” “Enemies,” “America,” “War,” “End Times,” and “Conclusion.” The years 1937 to 1949, for example, fall into three distinct periods: a run up to war, war itself, and finally a return to peace. In every chapter, Padgett provides an almost encyclopedic set of examples, quotations, and arguments from the various evangelical periodicals. This abundance of primary sources, combined with the lengthy footnotes, clearly demonstrates Padgett's dedication and perseverance to the topic at hand. He is quite comfortable parsing the differences between editorial writers who from a distance can seem identical, although his contention that their counsel was “consistent” does not always logically follow during each of the time periods.

While Padgett's primary source efforts deserve much praise, his book will leave those historians in search of context wanting something more than his narrative-driven scholarship. Secondary sources, such as those of secular historians who Padgett believes are too dismissive of evangelical intellectual ability, make only a brief appearance in the introductory chapter and vanish entirely until the bibliography. Such omissions do not help Padgett's contention that non-evangelicals fail to appreciate the varieties of evangelical political and social positions. He would be better served by reminding readers throughout the text of the strawmen (and women) to whom he objects and then demolishing them with both evidence and analysis. Too often the events and figures in the book appear to exist only in the vacuum of their periodicals and not in conversation with each other or fellow travelers like Billy Graham. Padgett might even have looked to “mainline” denominational publications, many of which were struggling with the same moral dilemmas dogging contributors to Moody Monthly. The topics of war and peace are central to virtually all Christians.

While non-evangelical scholars may well differ from Padgett's thesis, the book does compile in a single volume a multitude of evidence and pathways for future scholars to follow and more fully analyze their relationship to American society more broadly. We can thank Dr. Padgett for starting an important conversation.