336 - Princeton Theological Seminary: A Narrative History, 1812-1992

Princeton Theological Seminary: A Narrative History, 1812-1992
By William K. Selden
Princeton University Press, 1992. 201 pp., $11.50.

William Selden's account of Princeton Seminary will be appreciated by anyone who values the complex history of this venerable institution. To be sure, the book is not a full-scale theological, intellectual, or contextual history. A culturally-informed history of Princeton Seminary that adequately takes the measure of its major teachers, its momentous controversies, and its incredibly broad influence remains to be written. Only Lefferts A. Loetscher's intellectual biography of Archibald Alexander even comes close to what is needed, and Loetscher's book focused only on the seminary's first decade.

While awaiting such studies, however, Selden's careful institutional

338 - Princeton Theological Seminary: A Narrative History, 1812-1992

history meets a real need. It traces the seminary through its various phases from Old School bastion to modern flagship of moderate, pluralistic Presbyterianism. It contains refreshingly evocative portraits of the seminary's major professors and presidents, from Alexander and Charles Hodge in the early years to John Mackay, James McCord, and Hugh Kerr of the recent past. The book describes fairly the main theological and ecclesiastical controversies in which Princeton's personnel have eagerly participated. And throughout, Selden pays exemplary heed to the donors whose gifts made it possible for the institution to develop as it did. For alumni and friends of the seminary, as well as for a larger circle interested more generally in Protestant theological education, this is a welcome book.

Mark A. Noll
Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL.