This book was very readable. And, it brought out details that I'd forgotten as well as bringing new light to parts of church history that I was previously unaware. This would likely make a good bible study book for those interested in church history. Two notes that struck in particular were:
"Expecting people to unite by understanding it [the Bible] alike will simply ensure continued division in the Christian ranks.
In claiming to take the Bible alone... many believers fail to distinguish between the Bible and the Gospel.... The Gospel... consisted of the simple facts of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection."
C. Leonard Allen discussing Robert Richardson's thought on denominations. Richardson was Alexander Campbell's main biographer and family physician for 30 years. (Distant Voices, p 72)

Barton W. Stone spoke of 4 kinds of union among Christians. 1) Book Union - Union based upon creeds. Accept our creed and we'll be united. Only more division results though from this. 2) Head Union - Reject creeds and rely on the Bible alone. "Each one believes his opinion of the certain texts to be the very spirit and meaning of the texts-and that this opinion was absolutely essential to salvation." 3) Water Union - Unity based upon the doctrine of immersion of believers in water. He claims this to be easily dissolved. 4) Fire Union - The fire of the Holy Spirit by which hard and unloving hearts were sorted and filled with a supernatural love.
Stone put forth the claim that only Fire Union "will stand, no other union is worth the name." (C. Leonard Allen, Distant Voices) ( )