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Blood Letters: The Untold Story of Lin Zhao, A Martyr in Mao's China. By Lian Xi. New York: Basic Books, 2018. vii + 331 pp. $30.00 hardcover; $19.99 e-book.

the 1930s fell to the wayside (117). Despite this national shift, the Millers maintained their commitment to participatory democracy. According to Edwards, Francis Miller’s (unsuccessful) efforts to unseat the Byrd machine and extend civil rights in Virginia reflected the Millers’ desire to bring participatory democracy to their home state as well as to staunch criticisms about U.S. hypocrisy in “preaching democracy” abroad while “practicing discrimination” at home (142). Ultimately, Edwards concludes that the long contest over American globalism “centered around the nature and scope of democracy,” yet entrenched racism ensured that “as much as the American century wanted to be something else, it remained entangled in its racial-religious roots of nineteenth-century missionary diplomacy” (147–148). This is a lucidly-argued and compelling book. It is creative in its approach and capacious in vision. Although his story traces the intellectual, political, and religious preoccupations of a group of elites, Edwards engages deeply with gender, race, and class, particularly as those dynamics intersect with Protestantism and globalized notions of U.S. civilization and democracy. The argument that Edwards makes is multifaceted and intricate—more suited for scholarly conversation and graduate seminars than for undergraduates, though it is a wonderful example of how blending multiple methodological and analytic approaches enlivens and elucidates complex concepts. Scholars of modern U.S. religion, politics, foreign relations, and intellectual history stand to benefit greatly from engaging with the core argument about Protestant secularism that Edwards advances.