Since his death in 1772, the life and work of John Woolman (1720-1772) has been interpreted and defined by subsequent writers in the context of abolitionists, social reformers, peace activists, mystics, and great spiritual thinkers; his on-going influence is part of the lasting power of a carefully crafted life story by both friends and admirers. Yet during his lifetime, Woolman's actions and message often confused and bewildered many of his contemporaries, in spite of his apparent sensitivities to the attitudes of his listeners. His life was his message and he carefully (and prayerfully) ordered it both to reflect his values and to provide object lessons. From refusing to wear dyed clothes, which he saw as a symbol of exploitation, luxury, and waste, through to avoiding sugar, manner of speech, and careful oversight of his diet, Woolman sought to make practical statements about implicit evils. Unfortunately much of his life proved incomprehensible to distant observers who did not have access to the inner thoughts that motivated him. Only with the posthumous publication (and editing on both sides of the Atlantic) of his journal were the two brought together. Even then, many American Friends initially admired his piety rather than his stance against slave holding, though both were clearly noted in his journal.

As with many reformers and visionaries, Woolman was as much a product of his age as a transformer of it. As Geoffrey Plank asserts in his introduction “we cannot understand Woolman's career without examining the community he was born into and the religious society that shaped him” (9). Working within the administrative structures of the Society of Friends, Woolman along with other reformers coordinated pastoral responses to the wider needs and perceived evils of both North American and Colonial society. Previous works on Woolman have sought to identify the uniqueness of his contribution, but Plank in a well referenced and clearly written narrative has placed him back in the context of his contemporaries, giving the reader a perceptive insight into the historical figure. He is able to do this by a careful revisiting of primary sources ranging from the journal, the extensive correspondence of Woolman and his acquaintances, and the records of local Friends Meetings. Through this mass of material (meticulously referenced) the reader is carefully guided into a very intimate encounter with Woolman the man and introduced afresh to the sheer humanity and visionary character of this inspirational, if “singular,” Quaker.

The volume works extremely well, because instead of marshalling the sources into a standard biography they are arranged thematically, introducing the reader in a loose chronological framework to the significant influences and the contemporary issues that animated Woolman. Each theme takes up a chapter and they include, Woolman's analysis of the course of history, his understanding of discernment, his lifelong fidelity to Quaker discipline, and chapters on his views on work, slavery, and warfare. The final three chapters explore the more complex issues of his “demonstrative behaviours,” travel and perception of Colonialism, and finally his time and death in England, which as a long-term adversary of smallpox inoculation (edited out of the journal), proved to be ironically of smallpox. Though each chapter stands on its own, there develops across them a unifying theme of discernment and witness. Even those familiar with Woolman and his sources will find some new perspectives on his life.

Plank's thematic approach to analyzing the life and ministry of John Woolman is not without problems. There is a degree of repetition across chapters as occasionally the same episodes are revisited to illustrate diverging themes. The reader sometimes has to flip between chapters to reconnect linking themes, such as those involving Woolman's view on trade and selling of goods (chapter 4) with his developing awareness of the impact of slave ownership (chapter 5), and to re-establish the chronology. The work, and the reader, would be well served with a timeline of key events in Woolman's life at the beginning of the book. Occasionally (though not without good effect) the reader comes across totally unexpected sub-themes within the thematic chapters, such as family life under business (73–76) and the treatment of animals under Past Ages (29–31). These manage to present a much more rounded and human picture of Woolman, his attitudes and his time, but might be missed by the casual reader who just dips into the book.

The major disappointment of the book, for both the scholar and student, is its failure to provide any sort of bibliography of primary or secondary sources. The chapters themselves are carefully referenced by footnotes, but as the book currently stands the reader has to work between the index and footnotes to identify material for further study. A work of this scholarly depth needs a full bibliography and it is disappointing that one is not provided. The volume concludes with an excellent epilogue, which identifies issues relating to the posthumous editing and publication of the journal and the divergence of approaches between British and American Friends. In many ways this reflects the difference between them in their relationship to the political arena and the impact of the Seven Years’ War. The book's conclusion leaves the reader with many new questions, especially as within four years of Woolman's death a Declaration of Independence was issued by the colonies and one wonders how he would have viewed this.

This is an excellent and new introduction to Woolman studies and adds further depth to our knowledge of colonial America and the impact of Friends there. It is also to be hoped that this well researched and enjoyable book will encourage many to revisit the journal and writings of John Woolman.