The Revolutionary War encompassed at least two struggles: one for freedom from British rule, and another, quieter but no less significant fight for the liberty of African Americans, thousands of whom fought in the Continental Army. Because these veterans left few letters or diaries, their story has remained largely untold, and the significance of their service largely unappreciated. Standing in Their Own Light restores these African American patriots to their rightful place in the historical struggle for independence and the end of racial oppression. Revolutionary era African Americans began their lives in a world that hardly questioned slavery; they finished their days in a world that increasingly contested the existence of the institution. Judith L. Van Buskirk traces this shift to the wartime experiences of African Americans. Mining firsthand sources that include black veterans’ pension files, Van Buskirk examines how the struggle for independence moved from the battlefield to the courthouse—and how personal conflicts contributed to the larger struggle against slavery and legal inequality. Black veterans claimed an American identity based on their willing sacrifice on behalf of American independence. And abolitionists, citing the contributions of black soldiers, adopted the tactics and rhetoric of revolution, personal autonomy, and freedom. Van Buskirk deftly places her findings in the changing context of the time. She notes the varied conditions of slavery before the war, the different degrees of racial integration across the Continental Army, and the war’s divergent effects on both northern and southern states. Her efforts retrieve black patriots’ experiences from historical obscurity and reveal their importance in the fight for equal rights—even though it would take another war to end slavery in the United States.

This newly typeset and modernized work, one of Howe’s most popular which was originally published in 1674, is taken from Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine Heart.” Howe demonstrates the object to be delighted in (God), the access sinful men have to God (through Christ), and how God is to be considered man’s delight. He shows that the soul must delight in God, and that proper instrument of conformity arises from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, he gives a number of directions for improving in religion, of motives and principles of a religious life, and directions on having a sole dependence on God. This points the sinner to a holy, consistent practice of delighting in God. This is not a scan or facsimile, and contains an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Among the major publications of IQRA Publications is the popular Islamic monthly in English, the Young Muslim Digest, arguably among the foremost in this type of publishing in India. This magazine is being brought out regularly by IQRA Publications since the past 36 years. The magazine carries authentic Islamic material for the Western-educated and/or West-influenced youth, presented in a creative manner, while yet highlighting the beliefs of the earliest predecessors and an understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah on the pattern of the great majority of Islamic scholars of the past, and of those prominent down to the present age. In view of the authentic nature of its contents, the magazine has been awarded license for distribution in Saudi Arabia. Besides the regular, monthly, production of the Young Muslim Digest, IQRA Publications has quite a few other Islamic titles to its credit. Each one of these books offer authentic material and cover topics that are not normally covered by other publishers. It is, perhaps, for this reason that they are popular even outside the country. Malaysia, for instance, imports many of IQRA’s titles regularly.