Roose goes to Liberty College as a "study abroad" experience hoping to see how others religious experiences differ from his. He states that these people are in his time zone and vote in the same elections as he does but he knows little about the extreme conservative Christian movement.
I liked that the book was not a this way is right / this way is wrong type of book, but explored the culture and beliefs of the conservative movement. It also brought up examples of people within the extreme conservative movement disagreeing with each other over politics, interpretations of the Bible, breaking rules enforced at the school and students coming to Liberty College for a variety of reasons (from its Christian background to being close to home to it providing an opportunity to play sports). Yes there is Friday night Bible Study and hand holding not hooking up, but there is still dating drama and intermural sports. ( )

Kevin Roose starts out his book with a fairly solid idea - spend a semester at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia to find out what it really is like to attend a fundamentalist Bible College. His subtitle claiming it to be America's Holiest University may be a bit of hyperbole, as events in the book lead students to compare the Liberty Way rules to the rules of other biblical colleges where they learn that they're downright liberal compared to other institutions. At the same time, what Liberty allows in relative social freedoms, it makes up for in a strict curriculum that still follows the 6,000 year-old earth theory and the leadership of the controversial Jerry Falwell.

The easy book to write today would have been one very critical of Falwell and one that would have mercilessly mocked the students at Liberty. After all, this seems to be the way to a larger audience today - make fun of the crazy religious nuts, claim they're going to be the end of us all and make fun some more. It's an odd argument and one that is about as effective as, say, claiming everyone that attends Brown is part of some massive east-coast liberal conspiracy.

Thankfully, Brown doesn't write the easy book. He goes in and simply writes what he experiences as a student at Liberty. Not as a student from Brown who chose to spend a semester at Liberty. And in it, he finds a diverse student body with a number of different reasons for attending Liberty. While he frets over the teaching of the strict 6,000-year-old earth creationism, he also finds that a good percentage of students won't leave Liberty sharing that same view. Not that all is well at Liberty and Roose delves into this as well.

All in all, this is an even-handed view of a dividing issue. And we could use more discussions like this. You know, less calling of names and more humanizing of the views. Less scary sound bites, more reasonable discussion, that kind of stuff. ( )

Think Blue Like Jazz if Don Miller wasn’t a Christian. Roose has so much heart. He’s gracious and vulnerable, which makes him so enduring. But his transparency is coupled with wisdom beyond his years (or a phenomenal editor). This book is great reading for anyone with a connection with fundamentalist Christians. It’s also great for “Bible believing Christians” to read to help them empathize with the target of their evangelism. Roose’s story is a great testimony to the blessings that can arise when we get beyond labels and make an honest effort to treat people with real respect and open arms.

As someone who has attended a fundamentalist church for the past five years (think Liberty University) as well as liberal churches with gay pastors (think Brown University), I am in awe of Roose's even-handedness. Although I don't agree with him on every point, he made a phenomenal effort of good will and open mindedness and should be commended. ( )

Kevin Roose was a journalist at Brown University when he decided to transfer to Liberty University, a very conservative Christian college founded by Rev. Jerry Falwell. Kevin was raised Quaker by pretty liberal parents, has a lesbian aunt and fit right in at Brown, so it was culture shock when he transferred. But Kevin figured out that students at Liberty aren't that different than the students at Brown. In fact, the students at Liberty seem happier, even with the strict rules enforced by the RAs. Nothing beyond short-term hand-holding. No revealing clothes, etc. Kevin leaps into the evangelical college with an open mind and doesn't spend the book bashing conservatives, which I appreciated. Instead, he pretty fairly notes the positives and the negatives of the college and the people who go there. In the end, he interviews Jerry Falwell (the last interview before Falwell's death) and he is greatly impacted by the Rev.'s death. Falwell was "complicated, " Kevin tells his father. Even back at Brown, Kevin still prays occasionally, so the semester at the holy university definitely influenced him. And even though I really enjoyed the first third of the book, the middle and end took me forever to read. I just couldn't breeze through it and I found myself putting the book aside to find something else to read. ( )

You know, I read this expecting to find a writer critical of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, but was surprised to find a writer very thoughtful both about his craft and fellow students. I am not a fan of Jerry Falwell, and expected to dislike the students and faculty at Liberty University very much, but, instead, found a different view of this school through the author's eyes. Although he came from a liberal background and left Brown University for a semester at Liberty, the author is even handed and thoughtful about his new classmates. ( )