"Spiritual Criminals beautifully illuminates not only one of the most contentious court cases of the Vietnam war era but the forgotten religious and political worlds beneath the trial. Radical priests, nuns, and Catholic laypeople emerge from these compelling pages as central to the anti-Vietnam war effort, and their successes and travails tell us much about the trajectory of 1960s era activism." 

John McGreevy, University of Notre Dame

"In Michelle Nickerson's often moving Spiritual Criminals, twenty-eight mostly lay Catholics confronted their Church and the US government to end the Vietnam War by destroying draft board records. Nickerson's story of faith, betrayal, theology, and a trial that shockingly acquitted the Camden 28 offers poignant testimony to the power of moral suasion in a compromised world—a deftly researched, powerfully written, deeply touching book." 

Jon Butler, author of 'God in Gotham: The Miracle of Religion in Modern Manhattan'

"Spiritual Criminals takes us into the lost but thrilling world of the Vietnam-era Catholic Left, where young people wrestled with great moral questions in dramatic and daring ways. The story of the Camden 28 is a political page-turner, wonderfully well told. It reminds us that the terms 'religious' and 'right' did not always go together. It also has much to teach today's antiwar activists, as both a model and a cautionary tale."

Beverly Gage, author of 'G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century'

"An authoritative text about a Vietnam-era protest and its aftermath, Spiritual Criminals covers a momentous historical event and demonstrates the power of social justice movements."

Kristen Rabe | Foreword Reviews

"Nickerson's detailed history, brimming with facts and concepts, reclaims a key chapter in the annals of American antiwar activism."

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