"In this new work Gilbert Valentine turns his spotlight on the Pierson presidency of the Adventist church. The years 1966-1978 were tumultuous in American society and also for the church, as ingrained fundamentalism faced the progressive ideas that came with the recently established universities in Loma Linda and Berrien Springs. Pierson could only react to the changes all around by attempting to return to a comfortable past. Suspicion and witch hunts became the order of the day; many of Adventism's finest minds were purged. It was not the church's finest hour. I highly recommend this book: in important respects the struggles of the Pierson years are still with us. "William G. Johnsson, Editor, Adventist Review (1982-2006)