As for his “bias”… you can’t tell me that you would walk into any situation completely neutral and unbiased. I’m sure as the author of such a piece that defends Liberty, you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t go to the Berkeley campus in California completely unbiased. Of course you would be looking for ultra-liberal ideas to be pouring out of it. The same goes for Liberty. People come to Liberty looking for the ultra-conservative ideas to present themselves. If they didn’t, I would be afraid Liberty wasn’t doing what it does best, and that is standing up for what it believes. You know when people visit because they want to see what all the talk is about that you must be doing something right.

In his book, Roose doesn’t even really rip on LU that much. He really does show very even-handedly how it really is. He presents some things in a much better light than I would expect for someone coming from a school like Brown. Every LU student I know says the exact same thing.

Have you ever been to Liberty? As a student I found his book refreshing and a incredibly accurate representation of the school. Liberty University is not perfect! We have out flaws like any other school but like he said there is something special here. He said it himself that even after leaving Liberty, the school still affects him. Please try and get past your judgment and give Roose a second chance. I recommend the book to everyone including people who are considering enrolling in LU.

Just as the MM review pumped up the danger of a Muslim advocacy group (GASP!) advocating for Muslims into a crisis (OMG! We’re all going to have to adhere to Sharia if this goes on), this reviewer decides that simply calling the author bad names and slighting his journalistic integrity is a ‘review.’

Clearly, this author thought he had a slam dunk – judging from the response of former Liberty students, this review is just a dunk.

Roose did what journalists do–journal; and he did it well. He even succeeded in having his book published! He, in the spirit of the late Dr. Falwell, accomplished his very own BHAG. Roose had a vision, and he made it a reality; he COMPLETED his assignment.

Futhermore, Roose’s self-serving attempt to advance his career as a journalist was a pretty darn good one, if you ask me. In fact, regardless of how Wagner feels about him, he’s been experiencing a fair amount of publicity as a result of his endeavors, and, THAT, my friends, IS HOW IT’S DONE. The most risky, but at the same time, surefire way to make a name for oneself as a journalist is to write on something strikingly controversial on which no one has ere shed light. But to write on something so controversial is a monumental task that requires tact, discretion and skillful moderation. It creates greater demand for one’s work, time, energy, ideas, etc.

Yes, Mr. Wagner; perhaps his work has offended you because of his “unprofessionalism” or his crafty and deceptive tactics, but Roose effectively has done what very, very few students have ever done. He has written something definitively controversial; he gave people what they love to read! Oh, and, by the way…

…it’s sold right in our own campus bookstore (right up front, too!). How’s THAT for irony?!

@ robrichards — I think that contradicts with your assertion that “you will be hard pressed to find anyone here at Liberty University who does think Roose’s book a fair assessment by an outsider.”

There are some obvious problems, of course, one of which is the deceit which Mr. Roose practiced – but from a purely pragmatic viewpoint it is clearly the only way he could have obtained the insights he did – to have declared himelf openly would never have given him the uncensored view of Liberty Life that he received. I will in no way attempt to justify this deceit – but I will point out that it is hardly unique in the world of journalism. (And frankly, your attempt to contast this with infiltrating the Mafia is absurd – the “infilration” wasn’t for fear of his life, it was so that he could see people “being themselves” in their own environment.)

A second problem (in my mind probably the biggest criticism of all) is that too much of his anecdotal experience is reported as being representative of Liberty. A related issue are a few (likely less than a half dozen) instances in which some pronouncements by Jerry Falwell or other Liberty spokespeople are reported somewhat out of context (and which Liberty U has responded to while allowing the book to be sold on campus). In this area he does, IMHO, fall somewhat short of the best of journalistic standards.

However, the above reservations are minor compared to the lessons to be learned from this book. It is a gift to see ourselves as other see us, and Mr. Roose has given those who are involved with Liberty U (leadership, faculty, students, parents, supporters, etc.) the gift of seeing how someone from a completely non-evangelical / non-fundamentalist background sees us. The picture is not always pretty (and not always completely fair) but it includes much from which we can learn and grow. In some areas the picture is not very pleasant (which is probably an understatement) – and those may well be the areas in which the most growth and improvement can occur. There is not a doubt in my mind that as Liberty students and leadership see themselves portrayed in these pages the result will be growth and improvement in personal lives and in the life of Liberty U itself – and you can find any number of students and faculty who agree with this.

Finally, I believe you have provided an extremely unfair portrayal of Mr. Roose’s character in your review. The arrogant, close-minded, pre-judging young man you portray was not present in the book that I read. May I simply quote Mr. Roose himself and say that you would do well to consider his words “..but by experiencing your warmth, your vigorous generosity of spirit, and your deep complexity, I was ultimately convinced—not that you were right, necessarily, but that I was wrong..”

For those who may be interested, may I suggest checking out the review at christianitytoday.com written by a Liberty U faculty member as a far more balanced and perceptive overview of this book.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/columns/bookoftheweek/090323.html?start=1

The intellectual conservative website is a new one to me – for the moment I will choose to consider this review as anecdotal and not representative regarding the “intellectual” part of this website.