Get It Now American Priestess: The Extraordinary Story Of Anna Spafford And The American Colony In Jerusalem Crafted By Jane Fletcher Geniesse Accessible Via Text

covered a very interesting subject, Here was a religious cult that actually did some good, But, like in all such groups, there was also lots of exploitation of the followers in the group and lots of weirdness involved.
The writing was wellresearched, but I felt like there were various places where the prose was not as clear as it could have been.
For instance, there was a collision of two ships midocean and it was not clear which boat hit which and which came to the rescue.
This was a very important event and it was frustrating not to know what the details were, To her credit, the author did have a list of names in the front of the book, telling who each person was, which was a help.
There were also two maps, both featuring the compound, but I would have liked at least one more, detailing the area of the mideast where it all took place.
There was plenty of food for thought in this recounting, so I was glad I read American Priestess, I think Geniesse was evenhanded in her treatment of the principals and the history she covers, This is a wellresearched biography of a complex and intriguing personality, As a Jerusalemite, I would have appreciated more references to contemporary Jerusalem, Obviously, my comment would not apply to most readers of this book! I read this book after returning from one of our trips to Jerusalem and it made the places we visited come to lifean incredible family history interwoven with profound world events.
American Priestess is an eyeopening biography of the family of Horatio Spafford, writer of the famous and beloved hymn It Is Well with My Soul.
This book is well written, well researched, and well documented, Beyond that it is a good read in the study of pride, selfishness, and deception, I found that Geniesse does a thorough job of providing historical accuracy but oversteps her bounds when she begins to attempt to editorialize and rationalize the actions of Anna and her group.
When I read a biography, I want the biographer to give me the facts, and I will put the dots together to find the truth in the story.
Geniesse attempts to excuse some behaviors with rationalizations, and that is not the biographers role, I would have enjoyed this read more, had the simple story been put forward,

For a full review visit sitelink com/american Religious fundamentalism run amok but at the same time catering and caring for many that the missionaries of the day just cast aside.
There is a whole cast of saints and sinners and a few are found to be both, Ms Geniesse has created a well researched book on the American Colony in Jerusalem and given a tide of history of the middle east an area of complexities to this day.
Truly a fascinating read!

The Spaffords created the American Colony as a place for the group to prepare for the end of the world.
The patriarch of this cult is Horatio Spafford but upon his death

and really just before his death Anna his wife who becomes known as "Mother" is the controlling figure.
The majority of the children are ill educated except for those who borrow books from Johanna Brooke who became a model "for escape from the loss of personality in a self deluded religious group such as ours.
" For many who stayed it was safer not to think at all,

"Anna was not the first, and certainly will not be the last, to use religion as a tool in the service of goals having more to do with Caesar than with God.
If there is a lesson to be learned from this small slice of history, surely it is the importance of thinking for oneself lest one be victimized.
Still the colony left a legacy of generosity to the people they served, and Bertha and her descendants have carried it on, And if anything is true of Americans, and fits their ideal of the American Dream, it is the inclination to think for themselves as ready and willing to help others in the service of making the world a better place.
" I enjoyed the historical perspective, but I'm not sure I agree with her take on the American Colony, An interesting story, no doubt, but the Colony did what the Church has done for years, use the Jews for selfish purposes without truly consulting the Word on their destiny.
I was disappointed with Geniesse's summary of the people directly involved in the afterword, also, fascinating book about the cult of Mother Spafford, a bunch of Swedish fundamentalists who ended up emigrating to Palestine at the turn of the century.
An excellent story of the Overcomers in Jerusalem, . . a group of Americans and Swedes who moved to Jerusalem in the lates to await the Second Coming, While their religious beliefs were odd, their impact on the city through thest World War and even to this day, as their colony buildings continue to operate as a hotel was largely beneficial.
They remained staunchly neutral in the Arab/Jewish conflict, and ran schools, soup kitchens, and hospitals,

It wasn't a riveting read, . . but still kept me reading, as I was curious what was going to happen to the group, If you have visited Jerusalem or even luckier, lived there, you'd enjoy this book,

An interesting story of the American Colony in Jerusalem, Loaded with lots of history and an amazing story of how a cult starts and morphs to suit its needs, This history of the American Colony in Jerusalem was made more interesting by the fact that I spent a weekend in this hotel inwhen I was a member of the Multinational Peacekeeping Force and Observers MFO in the Sinai.
Anyone planning to visit Jerusalem should stay at this fivestar hotel and definitely should read American Priestess before m aking the trip.
Fascinating story of The Overcomers, a religious cult from Chicago, who moved to Jerusalem to await the Second Coming of Christ in the late's.
Their interest was not prosleytizing in fact, they counted both Arabs and Jews among their staunchest supporters but only originally to place themselves at the foot of Christ and His return.
Their impact on the city remains today, in the form of the American Colony Hotel which continues to provide fourstar lodging to important visitors to the Holy City.
The author did a fine job of admiring their many positive contributions while never whitewashing the increasingly problematic behavior of Anna Spafford, who assumed leadership of the group on the death of her husband.
Besides all the issues with Anna and the Overcommers, I was interested in the end talking about the Jewish and Palestinian divide, It just reinforced what I recently read on the subject, The inequality that Palestinians are enduring is not really acceptable today when you know what the Jews endured during the Holocaust,
Read Susan Nathan's, The Other Side of Israel: My Journey Across the Arab Divide, herself a Jew, Another is Against our Better Judgement, by Allison Weir! Facinating reads, Not many people know of this history, but they should! I had heard of the American Colony previously but this was the first book I have read that covers the history of the Colony in detail.
Particularly, it is a look at the lives of Horatio Spafford, a native of Upstate New York who moved to Chicago and practiced law, and his Norwegianborn wife Anna, and the ways in which their lives turned upside down when they decided to leave the established Presbyterian church they were a part of to found a selfcontained Restorationist house church.
Moving to Jerusalem then part of the Ottoman Empire to escape debts, the house church they founded soon blossomed into a fullfledged "American Colony" despite the fact that it was international in character and its members gained a reputation for their generosity and willingness to engage with the local population.
However, after Horatio's death in, Anna largely took over governing the colony and it increasingly grew cultlike with Anna claiming direct revelation from God and threatening to blackmail members who did not follow her dictates.
The narrative of the book is riveting and well researchedwith one star being docked because I think Geniesse is too passive a narrator and not hard enough in her critique of Anna Spafford considering all the ways she exploited the members of the colony.
An amazing story of one woman and her capacity to lead and guide many under her wing not always for the betterment of those who followed.
Her reign began along with her husband, Horatio, during the Protestant evangelical wave after the Civil Warm when they convinced themselves and a handful of others that the Second Coming was imminent and that they were being called to Jerusalem.
Even though they were scorned by the American Consul and other missionaries, this small group were admired and appreciated by both Muslims and Jews as they cared for the sick and needy of all faiths.
How far will we go in the name of deity Well written and footnoted, Interesting insight into the allure of Jerusalem ad one sect's impact upon its society,

Extremely well written, great character insight and location representation, Weird. I don't know what else to say, Fascinating tale of the Overcomers with a brief history of the zionist movement in Jerusalem, I also loved since this was a library editiona previous reader had editorialized some of the statements which made it even more interesting.
This was a very interesting story about something that I had no prevfious knowledge, It was a little dry, but overall a good read, Talk about a bittersweet, memorable read, The American Colony in Jerusalem, Now astar hotel which I'd often heard about, and in a rather positive light given its history of unusual neutrality in that most tense city.
But until now, few have known the true story of the house that became the American Colony Hotel or its bizarre history of tragedy, religious extremism, emotional blackmail, and peculiar sexual practices.
Enter the Norwegianborn Anna and American Horatio Spafford, residents of Chicago,

After a series of tragic losses following the Great Chicago Fire of, and a devastating shipwreck, Anna and Horatio Spafford led a small American contingent into Jerusalem to form a Christian utopian society.
Riding the wave of Protestant evangelicalism, they were eager to witness the Second Coming that was surely at hand, complete with a wish to see a Jewish return to the Holy Land views which are still shared by many today.


A thoroughly researched account, the range of abuse within the community was as disturbing to read as their dedication to charitable work, to people of all backgrounds, was commendable.
As such, in time its reputation grew, and hosted famous figures such as TE Lawrence, Gertrude Bell, and Peter Ustinov whose grandfather was a Russian nobleman.
I most definitely look forward to reading her other book, 'Passionate Nomad', about Freya Stark,

On a personal happier note, the place had recently garnered my attention while writing my book on our Russian grandfather Nicola, for that is where he met, and of course instantly, fell in love with our lovely Palestinian grandmother.
:ltA surprising account of The American Colony in Jerusalem founded by Horatio and Anna Spafford, Horatio Spafford wrote the classic hymn, It Is Well With My Soul, following the deaths of his four daughters in a tragic ship accident at sea.
His wife was saved from drowning, Spafford had highly questionable business practices and was deeply in debt, They went on to found a cult like group that believed in the imminent return of Christ and moved with others from this group to Jerusalem.
When Christ did not return the group continued to live in Jerusalem but their beliefs were very much outside traditional Christianity and their practices highly questionable and sexually immoral.
In spite of this, they established a well known and highly thought of hotel and other businesses, This was a story that I did not anticipate and I learned quite a bit of history surrounding both WWI and WWII and the part this group played in the activities of Jerusalem at that time.
Anyone who enjoys history would enjoy this book, Those who love the background stories on Christian hymns would find it interesting although sad, It is difficult to reconcile the hymn with the author and I will never look at it the same, It does show how God works in spite of the sinfulness of mankind, For generations in Jerusalem, a fabled mansion has been the retreat for foreign correspondents, diplomats, pilgrims and spiesbut until now, few have known the true story of the house that became the American Colony Hotel or its bizarre history of tragedy, religious extremism, emotional blackmail, and peculiar sexual practices.


During the boom years following the Civil War, in the countrys heartland capital, Chicago, a prominent lawyer Horatio Spafford and his blueeyed wife Anna rode the mighty wave of Protestant evangelicalism deluging the nation.
When suddenly tragedy struck, the charismatic Spaffords, grieving, attracted followers eager to believe their prophecy that the Second Coming was at hand and insailed with them to Jerusalem to see the Messiah alight on the Mount of Olives.


No sooner had they settled into the Holy City than the U, S. Consul and the established Christian missionaries declared them heretics and whispered of sexual deviance, Yet Muslims and Jews admired their unflagging care of the sick and the needy, and Jews were intrigued with their advocacy of a Jewish Return to Zion.
When Horatio died, Anna assumed leadership, shocking even her adherents by abolishing marriage and established a dictatorship that was not always benevolent, Ever dogged by controversy, she and her credulous followers lived through and closely participated in the titanic upheavals that eventually formed the modern Middle East.


Written with flair and insight, American Priestess provides a fascinating exploration of the seductive power of evangelicalism and raises questions about the manipulation of religion to serve personal goals.
A powerful narrative, the story sweeps through the dramatic collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the establishment of the British Mandate, and finally the founding of Israel where Annas house in East Jerusalem, now the American Colony Hotel, stands as an exemplar of beauty and comfort, despite its turbulent history.
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