Brown: The History of an Idea [Hardcover]

Founded in 1636, essentially as a refuge for outcasts from Massachusetts, the colony of Rhode Island was unusually open-minded, leading Massachusetts Puritan Cotton Mather to refer to it as the latrina [or sewer] of New England. The sixth of the Ivy League universities to be founded, in 1764, Brown accepted students early on regardless of religious affiliation, and in 1969 adopted a student-proposed New Curriculum, allowing students to structure their education with relative freedom.An eloquent illustrated history of one of America's greatest universities [A] sleek, photo-rich volume. . . . Widmer writes with grace and verve. . . . Perhaps Widmers greatest success is to link Brown to its Baptist, anti-authoritarian roots, firmly established in Rhode Island by Roger Williams.