Preview of The Origin of the Brunists Summary:

As the title implies, The Origin of the Brunists treats "the origin" of a religious-apocalyptic cult named after coal mine survivor Giovanni Bruno.

Coover emphasizes the evolution, from a mining disaster in which ninetyseven miners died, of a religious faction finding its inspiration and figurehead in the taciturn survivor and his family. Thus primary social concerns addressed in The Origin of the Brunists include how hysterical and apocalyptic movements...