Reviews
"...the very act of speaking and the structures and boundaries governing public expression have remained unexplored. Jane Kamensky movens into this space with skill and insight, navigating carefully the methodological problem of locating authentic, oral voices in old writtenrecords."--American Historical Review, December 2000, "'Speech history' is a topic scarcely imagined as recently as a few years ago. But now, with Jane Kamensky's pathbreaking new book in hand, scholars and students of the American past must take it very seriously indeed. With the utmost care, with great interpretive finesse, and in consistentlysparkling prose, Kamensky shows us a new side of that venerable target--colonial New England--and provides as well an excellent model for other studies of other places."--John Demos, Yale University, "'Speech history' is a topic scarcely imagined as recently as a few years ago. But now, with Jane Kamensky's pathbreaking new book in hand, scholars and students of the American past must take it very seriously indeed. With the utmost care, with great interpretive finesse, and in consistently sparkling prose, Kamensky shows us a new side of that venerable target--colonial New England--and provides as well an excellent model for other studies of other places."--John Demos, Yale University "Jane Kamensky'sGoverning the Tongueis a fascinating study of the spoken word in seventeenth-century New England. At once meticulously researched and elegantly argued, it combines trenchant analysis with writing so lively and fresh that it is a must read not only for early American scholars but for anyone interested in an absorbing account of the relationship between speech and power."--Carol Karlsen, Harvard Divinity School "Recovering the sounds in our silent sources is one of the most challenging tasks facing historians. Jane Kamensky has been enormously resourceful in her seeking and finding an astonishing range of ways to do this. Recreating the pervasive ranked-and-gendered hierarchisms of early America for our epistemically equalitarian world is another daunting task which Jane Kamensky has most persuasively accomplished. This is a highly original work that synthesizes of a vast body of historiographical and theoretical scholarship into a compelling narrative--for which readers will be immeasurably grateful."--Rhys Isaac, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia "Governing the Tongueis an orignal piece of scholarship. And the gravity of the discussion is leavened by Kamensky's occasional what-do-I-think-is-happening questions, which have the welcome effect of making the reader a participant in her historical quest."--Boston Globe "This intelligent book about the power of speech indeed provides a new perspective on some of the major events of the colonies' first decades."--Times Literary Supplement, "This intelligent book about the power of speech indeed provides a newperspective on some of the major events of the colonies' first decades."--TimesLiterary Supplement, "Jane Kamensky's Governing the Tongue is a fascinating study of the spoken word in seventeenth-century New England. At once meticulously researched and elegantly argued, it combines trenchant analysis with writing so lively and fresh that it is a must read not only for early American scholarsbut for anyone interested in an absorbing account of the relationship between speech and power."--Carol Karlsen, Harvard Divinity School, "Few books are this artful or elegant in their literary style....we are much in Kamensky's debt for demonstrating the social valences of speech."--Journal of American History, "'Speech history' is a topic scarcely imagined as recently as a few years ago. But now, with Jane Kamensky's pathbreaking new book in hand, scholars and students of the American past must take it very seriously indeed. With the utmost care, with great interpretive finesse, and in consistently sparkling prose, Kamensky shows us a new side of that venerable target--colonial New England--and provides as well an excellent model for other studies of other places."--John Demos, Yale University "Jane Kamensky's Governing the Tongue is a fascinating study of the spoken word in seventeenth-century New England. At once meticulously researched and elegantly argued, it combines trenchant analysis with writing so lively and fresh that it is a must read not only for early American scholars but for anyone interested in an absorbing account of the relationship between speech and power."--Carol Karlsen, Harvard Divinity School "Recovering the sounds in our silent sources is one of the most challenging tasks facing historians. Jane Kamensky has been enormously resourceful in her seeking and finding an astonishing range of ways to do this. Recreating the pervasive ranked-and-gendered hierarchisms of early America for our epistemically equalitarian world is another daunting task which Jane Kamensky has most persuasively accomplished. This is a highly original work that synthesizes of a vast body of historiographical and theoretical scholarship into a compelling narrative--for which readers will be immeasurably grateful."--Rhys Isaac, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia "Governing the Tongue is an orignal piece of scholarship. And the gravity of the discussion is leavened by Kamensky's occasional what-do-I-think-is-happening questions, which have the welcome effect of making the reader a participant in her historical quest."--Boston Globe "This intelligent book about the power of speech indeed provides a new perspective on some of the major events of the colonies' first decades."--Times Literary Supplement, "'Speech history' is a topic scarcely imagined as recently as a few yearsago. But now, with Jane Kamensky's pathbreaking new book in hand, scholars andstudents of the American past must take it very seriously indeed. With theutmost care, with great interpretive finesse, and in consistently sparklingprose, Kamensky shows us a new side of that venerable target--colonial NewEngland--and provides as well an excellent model for other studies of otherplaces."--John Demos, Yale University, "This intelligent book about the power of speech indeed provides a new perspective on some of the major events of the colonies' first decades."--Times Literary Supplement, "Kamensky's fascinating exploration of the power of language to shape Puritan society explains just how words acquired the weight of action in early New England....This is a brilliant book, beautifully written, about the palpable power of language in a 'hearful' society."--Law and HistoryReview, "Governing the Tongue is an original piece of scholarship. And the gravity of the discussion is leavened by Kamensky's occasional what-do-I-think-is-happening questions, which have the welcome effect of making the reader a participant in her historical quest."--Boston Globe, "Jane Kamensky's Governing the Tongue is a fascinating study of the spokenword in seventeenth-century New England. At once meticulously researched andelegantly argued, it combines trenchant analysis with writing so lively andfresh that it is a must read not only for early American scholars but for anyoneinterested in an absorbing account of the relationship between speech andpower."--Carol Karlsen, Harvard Divinity School, "Governing the Tongue is an original piece of scholarship. And the gravityof the discussion is leavened by Kamensky's occasionalwhat-do-I-think-is-happening questions, which have the welcome effect of makingthe reader a participant in her historical quest."--Boston Globe, "[This book] adds a useful new dimension to the discussion of gender andlanguage: not only the structure of our language but also the ways we areencouraged--or not--to use that language to contribute to our sense of who weare, who we should be, and the social world we live in....Some of the characterswill be familiar to students of American history, but the fresh lens of speechhistory sheds new light on their familiar stories."--The Women's Review ofBooks, "Recovering the sounds in our silent sources is one of the mostchallenging tasks facing historians. Jane Kamensky has been enormouslyresourceful in her seeking and finding an astonishing range of ways to do this.Recreating the pervasive ranked-and-gendered hierarchisms of early America forour epistemically equalitarian world is another daunting task which JaneKamensky has most persuasively accomplished. This is a highly original work thatsynthesizes of a vast body of historiographical and theoretical scholarship intoa compelling narrative--for which readers will be immeasurably grateful."--RhysIsaac, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia, "Governing the Tongue is an orignal piece of scholarship. And the gravityof the discussion is leavened by Kamensky's occasionalwhat-do-I-think-is-happening questions, which have the welcome effect of makingthe reader a participant in her historical guest."--Boston Globe, "Kamensky offers us a book impressive not only for its graceful writingand synthesis but also for its remarkable sensitivity to her subject'scomplexity."--Journal of Church and State, "Recovering the sounds in our silent sources is one of the most challenging tasks facing historians. Jane Kamensky has been enormously resourceful in her seeking and finding an astonishing range of ways to do this. Recreating the pervasive ranked-and-gendered hierarchisms of early America forour epistemically equalitarian world is another daunting task which Jane Kamensky has most persuasively accomplished. This is a highly original work that synthesizes of a vast body of historiographical and theoretical scholarship into a compelling narrative--for which readers will be immeasurablygrateful."--Rhys Isaac, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia, "'Speech history' is a topic scarcely imagined as recently as a few years ago. But now, with Jane Kamensky's pathbreaking new book in hand, scholars and students of the American past must take it very seriously indeed. With the utmost care, with great interpretive finesse, and in consistently sparkling prose, Kamensky shows us a new side of that venerable target--colonial New England--and provides as well an excellent model for other studies of other places."--John Demos, Yale University "Jane Kamensky's Governing the Tongue is a fascinating study of the spoken word in seventeenth-century New England. At once meticulously researched and elegantly argued, it combines trenchant analysis with writing so lively and fresh that it is a must read not only for early American scholars but for anyone interested in an absorbing account of the relationship between speech and power."--Carol Karlsen, Harvard Divinity School "Recovering the sounds in our silent sources is one of the most challenging tasks facing historians. Jane Kamensky has been enormously resourceful in her seeking and finding an astonishing range of ways to do this. Recreating the pervasive ranked-and-gendered hierarchisms of early America for our epistemically equalitarian world is another daunting task which Jane Kamensky has most persuasively accomplished. This is a highly original work that synthesizes of a vast body of historiographical and theoretical scholarship into a compelling narrative--for which readers will be immeasurably grateful."--Rhys Isaac, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia " Governing the Tongue is an orignal piece of scholarship. And the gravity of the discussion is leavened by Kamensky's occasional what-do-I-think-is-happening questions, which have the welcome effect of making the reader a participant in her historical quest."-- Boston Globe "This intelligent book about the power of speech indeed provides a new perspective on some of the major events of the colonies' first decades."-- Times Literary Supplement, "Governing the Tongue adds a useful new dimension to the discussion of gender and language: not only the structure of our language but also the ways we are encouraged--or not--to use that language contribute to our sense of who we are, who we should be, and the social world we live in."--The Women's review of Books, "In this work...a sensitivity to language in history complements theauthor's sensitivity to language in the writing of history....It is a mark ofthe grace and ambition of this artfully constructed book that its monographicrichness inspires synthetic desires....We will continue to keep talking aboutthose Puritans, but now we will do so with a humility born of a richappreciation of how they themselves talked, and listened. This is a linguisticturn we should all take."--Reviews in American History, "Jane Kamensky's Governing the Tongue is a civilized, delightful, and thoughtful study of the rise and fall of the Puritans' effort to control speech....good language, easy complexity of thought, and a fine ability to synthesize a huge volume of recent work on early New England."--Journal ofSocial History, "This innovative, well-argued, and exceptionally well written treatment of a neglected topic deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone who cares about the relationships among speech and gender, power and politics, language and society."--Language in Society
