William Willimon's "Remember Who You Are" is foremost a devotional reading for Christians desiring a deeper spiritual understanding of their baptisms. However, the relaxed style does not betray the author's excellent work in presenting the historical and traditional understanding of baptism. This understanding is in contrast with the reductive and overly emphasized Enlightenment and Pietist perspectives of the modern American church. As the historical and confessional viewpoint of baptism is presented by the author, it gently refreshes one from the stifling heat of the self-help and human-conditioned theology held in many of today's churches. "Remember Who You Are" helps the reader rediscover the beautiful and sacred truth about the baptism rite. The book's first printing precedes almost by a decade the church's current growing realization that it needs to examine its historical formation in order to be relevant and transforming to the world. Willimon aids this trend by providing a very honest and non-sectarian look at the baptism sacrament. He makes evident that an excellent starting place to define Christians is the baptismal sacrament, and thus they will be able to remember who they are.

A group educational guide is included in the back of "Remember Who You Are". This creative and interactive guide helps provide practical applications of the material in a communal setting.

Being twelve, and the man of the house, Sam naturally knows what Mom Jo needs. She needs a husband. A handsome husband, (because Mom Jo is pretty) a rich husband, (because she deserves nice things) and a husband who likes kids, (since she has four.) But for some reason, all of the handsome, rich men Sam finds are scared away. What is it that Mom Jo says to make them leave? Why does she have to say it at all? And why doesn't it scare away that other man, Jill's Dad? He isn't handsome, and he must be really poor, 'cause he drives a beat up van. His kids (he has four too) are kind of fun, and he doesn't mind messy stuff, like fishing, and toad races, but he isn't rich, and besides, Sam isn't sure he want's to give up his place as right hand man. He had better take the bull by the horns before this gets out of hand!

Both Mohegan and Christian, Occom dazzled Euramerican contemporaries with his intellectual sermons, calm demeanor, and impassioned requests for educational support for Indian students. Crucially instrumental to the founding of Dartmouth College, which was to be "Fro the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land in reading, writing, and all parts of Learning which shall appear necessary and expedient for civilizing and christianizing children of pagans as well as in all liberal Arts and Sciences; and also for English Youth and any Others," he nevertheless became disillusioned when his fundraising efforts were used by his partner Mr. Wheelock to be subverted for a college that served English rather than Indian students. This was to be but one of many betrayals in the life of Samson Occom.

Szasz concludes that Love, in his biography of Samson Occom "in some instances...belied his times by demonstrating a degree of understanding about Occom's world view that moved beyond mainstream attitudes toward American Indians (p. xxv)." The biography contains a valuable impetus to contrast to the present day ethnographic biographer who would theoretically present Occam more from a native viewpoint for analysis. An example would be Occam's conflicted role in 18th century Modegan society. In this and other areas, Love's Samson Occom highlights further truths to be mined for. It is a mirror of our Western emergence from Eurocentrism.

There is much to be gained from further study of Samson Occom. One additional resource suggested is The Sprit Of The New England Tribes (1986) by William Simmons. The search for cultural continuity is a valuable theme for today's ethno-historian/biographer. Samson Occom And The Christian Indians Of New England is a challenge and a piece of the puzzle that remains tantalizingly uncompleted. May it teach us to examine, question, or perhaps recraft entirely our cultural assumptions today as well.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer