This site is called The American Plutarch as a paean to the writer, philosopher, historian of ancient Greece, Plutarch, whose lives of ancient heroes drew me, many years ago, into the world of the classical past, made me yearn to resurrect past lives, to find in the past the clues to contentment in the present and ways to meet the future. Plutarch’s ability to empathize with past lives became my goal as a writer, philosopher, and historian: to empathize with human lives, those of the past and present. As the years have passed, I have come to realize that empathy to past and present lives should not be limited to human lives, but should be expanded to all lives: all that lives, has lived, will live, on this Earth. Plutarch, too, believed in respecting all life on the Earth–he continues to be a model for what I believe.

The bits and pieces of writing and thinking at this site, The American Plutarch, represents a variety of turns of mind I have experienced during my previous scores of years living on Earth. You will find a bit of the skeptic, a bit of the humanist, a bit of the naturalist, a bit of the existentialist, and a bit of the theist. Life has taught me that what we think we know is more of a shadow of reality than reality. These shadows can be haunting, darkening, hiding the true light of reality. I am unprepared to say that something does not exist just because I have not seen it. I have experienced the presence of the supernatural in my life that discounts all of the pretenses of the skeptical humanist and atheist, who appear downright arrogant and misguided to me. I believe in keeping an open mind about everything. How can anyone, living moment to moment in time, actually know very much? I’ve learned this lesson over the years, and feel content in thinking, listening, learning, seeking wisdom with the perspective of a child, which, after all, is what we all are, no matter our respective age.

Please read my thoughts, ponder them, respond to them if you will, and help me to engage in a dialogue with the past (and the present)!

I have written quite a few books!

The categories for my books are:

Christianity and Its History

History of Science

Biography

Local History

Fiction

Reference/Encyclopedia

Christianity and Its History

A book I have working on for about three years to be published this summer is American Catholics: An Encyclopedic History, which examines primarily the hundreds of Catholic missionaries who came to America spreading the Great Commission from the time of Columbus to today. Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/American-Catholics-Encyclopedic-Russell-Lawson/dp/B0FPDCD57G

Also in the history of Christianity is

A biography of the explorer and missionary Daniel Little, who repeatedly journeyed to the eastern Maine frontier before and after the American Revolution: Apostle of the East: The Life and Journeys of Daniel Little. Find it here: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532694745/apostle-of-the-east/

My study of the Life of Christ is  Metamorphosis: How Jesus of Nazareth Vanquished the Legion of Fear. Why does fear continue to overwhelm humans, even today, in the 21^st century, with our many labor-saving, health-generating, information-gathering, and technological savvy devices? Why should not happiness and contentment be the dominant feelings rather than fear and foreboding?

Like so many today, I believe that ancient wisdom has something to say about this perplexing question. Ancient philosophy and religion provide so many answers to the questions that face us.

And yet … As I have spent many years studying Eastern and Western Scriptures and books—the Taoists, Buddhists, Hebrews, Platonists, Stoics, and Skeptics—I never really quite arrived at the answer.

Then I discovered, largely by happenstance, and unexpectedly, that one ancient source summarizes, even is based on, the knowledge and wisdom of the ancients: the New Testament and its great teacher, Jesus of Nazareth.

Seeking to understand how the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus reflect ancient thought, I wrote this book: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532694738/metamorphosis/

My argument is that the New Testament writers, following the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, represent a culmination of ancient thought and provide a solution to vanquishing the legions of fear that still plague humanity today.

For religious reflection check out my God is Love: Reflections on the Psalms, which is an ecumenical, spiritual, meditative, historical reflection on the 150 Psalms of David. The book is meant to inspire reflection on the historical and existential purpose of the Psalms, an active search for and communication with God, a meditative dialogue with God’s words that links the meditative person with so many like seekers and thinkers over the centuries. The book can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/God-Love-Reflections-Russell-Lawson-ebook/dp/B09TBM6MWK

My history of Baptist missionaries in Oklahoma is recounted in Marking the Jesus Road: Bacone College through the Years, found here: https://www.amazon.com/Marking-Jesus-Road-College-through/dp/0977244806

 

History of Science

Science in the Ancient World: From Antiquity through the Middle Ages is a full narrative account of ancient thought.

A book on the history of science that is also a narrative biography of a 19th century scientist is Frontier Naturalist: Jean Louis Berlandier and the Exploration of Northern Mexico and Texas, available here: https://www.unmpress.com/9780826352170/frontier-naturalist/

Also in the history of science is an account of the historical journeys undertaken from the 1600s to the 1800s of New England’s highest peak, Mount Washington: Passaconaway’s Realm: Captain John Evans and the Exploration of Mount Washington,

 

Biography

Besides my book on Berlandier, I have written a biographical portrait of the voyage of Captain John Smith to New England in 1614: The Sea Mark: Captain John Smith’s Voyage to New England. Find it here: https://brandeisuniversitypress.com/title/the-sea-mark-captain-john-smiths-voyage-to-new-england/

I have written two biographical portraits of 18th century thinkers, one a book exploring the correspondence of Ebenezer Hazard and Jeremy Belknap before, during, and after the American Revolution. Ebenezer Hazard, Jeremy Belknap, and the American Revolution

The other is my portrait of Jeremy Belknap: The American Plutarch: Jeremy Belknap and the Historian’s Dialogue with the Past,

 

In biography and local history, check out my history of The Lawsons of the American Southern Hill Country

Also my portrait of Van Sorrels: The Woodcutting Musician

The Memories of Katie Perkins is a book about a woman growing up, living, and dying during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Rhode Island. The book relies on postcards, letters, photographs, and more to recreate life during this time. It is a family history, telling the story of the Perkins family of New England.

Another local history and biography focusing on a Maine woman from the late 19th to the 20th centuries is The Memories of Lida Newcomb,

I have written quite a bit on the local history of New England. For example, Portsmouth: An Old Town by the Sea

Also, New Hampshire

In addition, The Isles of Shoals in the Age of Sail

Also, The Piscataqua Valley in the Age of Sail

Finally, sort of local history, a study of indentured servitude in America: Servants and Servitude in Colonial America

Fiction

Religious Fiction, check out The Christmas Miracle

Historical-Fantasy-Fiction set in 18th century New England: The Search for the Bronze Amulet

Both of my novels can be found at Amazon.

Reference/Encyclopedia

Poverty in America: An Encyclopedia

Race and Ethnicity in America

Encyclopedia of American Indian Issues Today

Science in the Ancient World: An Encyclopedia

Research and Discovery: Landmarks and Discoveries in American Science

There are more to come!

I am an obsessive writer!

All of my books can be found at my author site: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001H6IKNA?ccs_id=32762726-18bc-4300-94ab-a0e699a75780

If you would like a signed paperback or hardcover of one of my books, contact me at rustylawsonad1998@gmail.com

All of the blog posts found at this site are copyright Russell M. Lawson. If you use words and ideas from any post please site them accordingly.