"In this little volume Gaustad has provided us with fine primary source material on a little-known Baptist of the 17th century. [Obadiah Holmes's] document itself is of considerable interest, since we have so few personal accounts from early Baptists, besides the outstanding men like Roger Williams. Reading Holmes, one recognizes the deep roots of evangelical piety in America. . . . Valuable as the text is, the editor's introduction makes the book far more significant. . . . Gaustad provides a fine account of the events that were the context for Holmes's life and action, [and] abundant and well-chosen excerpts from debates and trials provide the reader with a powerful sense of the desires and hopes of the men who struggled to bring various brands of holiness to New England."--New England Quarterly