The recording and teaching of history is always a challenge. The dream of the historian to write a multi-volume comprehensive history on a subject is often replaced with word or page limits that force the writer to edit information that s/he would otherwise include. Once the work is produced the historian teaching the subject must distill from the author's writings the most important facts contained within the work to communicate and emphasise to their students.

The history of Baptists in Rhode Island is a good example of how these limitations of both space and time have impacted upon how historians see the importance of Baptists in the birthplace of the denomination in America. As a result, most theological students believe that the impact of Rhode Island Baptists is limited to Roger Williams, John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes, the Warren Association and Brown University. J. Stanley Lemons's excellent work reminds the reader that the Baptists of Rhode Island were more than just a few men, a handful of churches and a university. I often joke with my students that the reason Rhode Island was established as a state was so that reporters could easily reference the size of natural disasters. In the United States it is not uncommon to hear a forest fire described in size as ‘about the size of Rhode Island’. Maybe it is the size of Rhode Island that has caused historians to deemphasise its role in the development of Baptist history over time.

Lemons reminds the reader of the pivotal role that the inhabitants of Rhode Island played in the establishment of the Baptist faith in America by examining the well-known stories of Roger Williams and John Clarke and the tension some Baptists have had in identifying the true father of American Baptists. Part iii of his work is entitled ‘Division’, but the fact is his entire work highlights that Baptists are a people of division. Whether it is how the denomination began or developed, division plays a prominent role in the history of Rhode Island Baptists.

When one reads a work highlighting a geographic area it is tempting to see the events, personalities and conflicts as being limited to that area. Lemons does an excellent job of showing the reader that Rhode Island Baptists are a microcosm for Baptists in America and even around the world. His section on the Dorr rebellion shows the tension in the Church between change and the status quo. Although Baptists have long considered themselves a faith founded on freedom, in the Dorr rebellion Lemons shows the struggle that Rhode Island Baptists had in defining what freedom should look like.

Lemons's chapter on slavery, race and anti-slavery seems particularly timely as he highlights Rhode Island Baptists' struggle with white privilege in the 1800s. The denomination, founded on religious liberty and soul freedom, struggled with what that should look like for people who did not look like them.

While much of Lemons's work highlights the development of Baptists in Rhode Island and the impact it had on Baptists outside their state borders, he also examines how Baptist conflicts outside the state have impacted upon Baptists in Rhode Island. Issues such as the separation of Church and State, homosexuality, women in ministry and even the internal conflict within the Southern Baptist Convention have shaped the development of Baptists in Rhode Island in recent decades. It is clear that Lemons believes that these conflicts have helped to stunt the growth of Baptists in Rhode Island in recent years and yet he remains hopeful for the future.

Besides the enlightening text Lemons does an excellent job of providing resources for further study in his work. His endnotes are invaluable. The content endnote is quickly becoming a lost art. However, Lemons shows that he is a master of it. The parallel discussions and information contained in the endnotes are as insightful as the text. His comprehensive bibliography is also invaluable.

This work helps to remind historians that Baptists in Rhode Island did more than help found the faith in America and that they need to communicate that to their students.