Steve Penley
The Reconstruction Of America

Mercer University Press

Hardcover
128 pages
85 Color Images
Foreword by Neil Cavuto

$45.00

 
Please contact the gallery to purchase signed copies of
Steve Penley's The Reconstruction Of Amercia

Somewhere in America this Sunday, in a small wooden church, a meek and grateful congregation will hold their heads and worn songbooks high and proudly tell about the old, old story.

Somewhere in America this week, in an elementary school classroom, a teacher standing near an American flag will proudly tell her young students the story of our nation’s founding, how the many institutions and freedoms they know about today or will soon encounter were once mere ideas, the subjects of great debates, and then a declaration, and then a war.

Americans invented, and constantly reinvent, the unique aspects of our spiritual, government, and secular institutions. From the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence to the first amendment to the Constitution, our founders recognized the preeminent place our Creator and the free exercise of religion must hold in a nation that protects individual liberties.

We know that both inside and outside our great nation there are many consumed with the passions of jealousy, cynicism, pessimism, and evil, hard at work to tear down the institutions, culture, and freedoms that the great majority of Americans live, fight, and die for every day.

This book is an effort to reconstruct the great heroes, icons, and institutions of America, to tell a story of the people, places, and ideas that inspire us, make us smile, and make us cry, yet remind us of the inherent goodness of our country.

Our nation, like her citizens, is a living symbol of something bigger that itself. It is a nation and a people that project across the oceans the limitless potential of mankind, yet remains humbled by an innate spirit of thanksgiving.

 

T H E   R E C O N S T R U C T I ON   O F   A M E R I C A


We spend so much time looking toward the future, sometimes we forget about
the valuable lessons of the past, and the valuable images too.  Thank goodness my
friend Steve Penley does not.  

Steve sees what sometimes we do not, and honors what so many of our politicians will not:
our history, our greatness, our very heritage.  But unlike mere historians, Steve literally
paints the image and reinforces the moment.  It's a moment, actually many moments, we
should hold dear because our history is dear, and these images even more so.

NEIL CAVUTO, Fox News 
from the foreword to The Reconstruction Of America



Everyone should take the opportunity to view history through the eyes of a patriotic
painter- an artist who not only teaches us through his painting bout the facts but also
about the values and principles of American history and civics.  Steve Penley is that
artist.  He paints with optimism, respect and a true appreciation for the America that
came before him, the America he grew up in and the America he wants to help build
for his children and yours.

NEWT GINGRICH, Speaker Of The House 1995 - 1999



If I could do with words what Steve Penley does with a brush, I'd be Rush Limbaugh.

NEAL BOORTZ, National talk radio host



This important book is a timely reminder of the greatness of the American story.
From her beginnings to the present day, our nation and our people have faced and
met overwhelming challenges and have persevered with individual and collective
faith, courage, and hope.  America is the envy of the free world.  Our flag is looked at as
the symbol of freedom far and wide.  Steve Penley captures that symbol in a very
unique way.  This book is an inspiration.

SAXBY CHAMBLISS, United States Senator, Georgia



Penley's unique style captures the very essence of our long-lived Republic: the
greatness of America, whether in 1776 or 2008, has always been found in her people
and their willingness to devote their lives, fortunes, and scared honor to her success.
These works of art are a testament to the greatness of our country and to the
awesome talent of Steve Penley.

SONNY PERDUE, Governor of Georgia


Steve Penley received a 2000 Georgia Author of the Year Award for his first book, Penley.




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