"One might not expect a small religious sect to have a major impact on national identity. Yet a Shaker melody was, in fact, intimately tied to the inauguration of America's first black President, further cementing the association between the Shakers and American identity. Moore goes on to provide important information needed to understand how a small, esoteric religious sect became so closely associated with national identity. He convincingly argues that this process developed within the context of twentieth-century nationalism, artistic movements, and Cold War politics."-- Starlyn D'Angelo, New York History "Moore is a compelling historian of material culture and its relation to broader trends in the arts and society. [He] manages to do what only the best gallery lectures do by amplifying the significance of what is seen"-- James Hudnut-Beumler, The Journal of American History "An original, timely work of first-rate scholarship, impressive in scope, which examines one by one the principal manifestations of the twentieth-century interest in the Shakers, which have never before been explicated in this depth and with such rigorous interpretation."-- Robert P. Emlen , author of Shaker Village Views: Illustrated Maps and Landscape Drawings by Shaker Artists of the Nineteenth Century "Moore's comprehensive exploration of the various enthusiasms inspired by the Shakers is unparalleled.

Shaker Fever will appeal to those interested in issues of cultural representation as well as those who are fascinated by this religious group."-- Michael Ann Williams , author of Staging Tradition: John Lair and Sarah Gertrude Knott.