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GRANTHAM, Pa. (March 28, 2008) – John Fea, associate professor of history at Messiah College, has written the first biography of Philip Vickers Fithian, a farmer, Presbyterian minister, patriot and one of the most prolific diarists in early American history. The book, “The Way of Improvement Leads Home,” published by University of Pennsylvania Press, traces Fithian’s experiences in the early American backcountry, his love affair with Elizabeth Beatty and his role as a Revolutionary War chaplain. Fea will talk about his book and sign copies at Borders, 3515 Gettysburg Road in Camp Hill, on April 19 at 2 p.m. For more information about the event, contact Borders at (717) 975-2132.

“The Way of Improvement Leads Home” is being hailed by historians for being the first full biography of Fithian. “Many historians of Revolutionary America have plundered the diaries of Philip Vickers Fithian, but until now no one has satisfactorily told the life story of this great diarist. John Fea’s insightful book does just that—and yet more,” says Mark Noll from the University of Notre Dame.

Fea has written about early American history, religion, and politics for a host of scholarly and popular publications, including “The Journal of American History,” the “Harrisburg Patriot-News,” the “Chicago Sun-Times,” History News Network, “Explorations in Early American History and Culture,” the “Miami Herald,” “The History Teacher” and “Common-Place.” He is a writer for the syndicated History News Network and blogs regularly at “Religion and American History.” This is his first book.

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.