A People
for His name was an honest attempt to write Watchtower history. It is useful. I
own a copy. White had limited resources, drawing almost entirely from The Watchtower,
which is a primary source, but does not present the entire picture. While a
researcher shouldn’t discount it, the passage of time and the greater
availability of original documents marks his book as dated. It is occasionally
wrong, usually in minor points.
History books since Schnell? Schnell’s “Thirty Years” is the
personal narrative of an angry man who resented being counseled over selling books to fellow Witnesses. He admits to a reputation as a womanizer. He
contradicts letters he wrote to Rutherford. Personal narratives have a place in
research. I own a copy of this book. We don’t quote from it because we’re
writing about an earlier era. Remember personal narratives tell the story as
the writer would have it, not exactly as it happened.
Desolations of the Sanctuary is another publication one
cannot ignore. Some writers rely totally on polemics and controversial
literature. They don’t have access to or are too lazy to find original
documents. Contemporary though controversial literature is an original source
document. Given its nature, use it with caution and verify any claims made.
E. Gruss’s Apostles of Denial and subsequent books cannot be ignored, but often
enough they are misleading or fanciful. We quote once from AoD in volume 2, but
only to refute an off the wall claim. Gruss is unreliable as are most books and
dissertations that are refutations.
Beckford’s book is still worth a read, but severely dated
and not a history but a sociologist’s treatment. Beckford told me last year
that he did not understand the Russell era at all. This shows in his book, but
if you research Jehovah’s Witnesses, you should read it.
Another sociologist, Norman Long, wrote Social Change and
the Individual which considers Watchtower adherents in Zambia. This is not my
era of specialty, but it seems accurate.
Herman Hesse’s book, Am mtigsten waren immer wieder die
Zeugen Jehovahs, covers the Nazi era. It is interesting, accurate,
enlightening, but it is in German.
Not really a history, but a personal narrative, Liebster’s
Facing the Lion is a must read if you research Witnesses in the Nazi era.
George Chryssides, a colleague, has written several books
and papers. The best of his work is Jehovah’s Witnesses: Continuity and Change.
I wrote a review. It’s on our history blog. There are places where he errs. But
this is a stellar generalist book. It is, unfortunately, very expensive. One of
the reasons we publish through lulu is cost to readers. Our moderately priced
book would be nearly 150.00 if Reutlage published it.
Emily Baran’s Dissent on the Margins is an excellent book
dealing with the Communist era and drawn from official documents. You need to
read this one. Aside from the quality of her book, I should say that Emily is
just a really nice person.
M. Cole’s books are dated, but in their own way they’re
original source material for the era in which they were published.
Penton’s Apocalypse Delayed must be read. Ignore the first
two editions. The third edition corrects errors of fact and approach. It is by
far the best edition. I should disclose that Penton said nice things about us
in the third edition. His history of Witnesses in Canada is good.
V. V. Blackwell’s O’re the Ramparts they Watched is a
personal and historical narrative from a long-time Watchtower lawyer. Good.
L. A. Stevens’ Salute! The Case of the Bible vs. the Flag is
so-so.
Manwaring’s Render unto Caesar is stellar.
The Watchtower’s product, Jehovah’s Witnesses: Proclaimers
of God’s Word, is good. It suffers from organizational dysfunction and it is
one-sided. It’s main fault is lack of balance in some select areas. You can’t
ignore the book, but it’s not really a history book; it’s a paean.
