John Fanestil

In ONE LIFE TO GIVE: Martyrdom and the Making of the American Revolution (Fortress Press 2021), John Fanestil unearths the motivations of ordinary soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. Countless young men like Nathan Hale -- who was added only after the fact to the pantheon of revolutionary heroes -- felt compelled to fight because they were steeped in a tradition of English Protestant martyrdom that had been appropriated and adapted to the American context. In MRS. HUNTER'S HAPPY DEATH (Doubleday 2006), he profiled people who died with unexpected grace, casting their stories against the surprising backdrop of "happy deaths" that were celebrated in the 18th century. Fanestil is a graduate of Dartmouth College, Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and the Claremont School of Theology. He earned the Ph.D. in History from the University of Southern California, specializing in early American religion and the history. He lives in La Mesa, California.