This book marked a turning point in my intellectual life when I read it in 1977. Along with "The God Who is There" by Francis Schaeffer, it gave me the intellectual confidence to engage the world of ideas with passion and precision, for the glory of God. It is an exceptional piece of Christian social criticism, well thought-out and keenly written. Guinness thoroughly analyzes the historical and philosophical roots of the countercultural in a scholarly, but engaging manner. He meticulously documents his sources and is never condescending or unfair concerning views he opposes. Guinness philosophically analyzes the roots and fruits of the counterculture and finds them wanting logically and ethically. However, he does not endorse the American status quo. Instead, he calls us to follow "the third way" of Jesus Christ, in a radical community of love and truth.
The edition of the book contains some new material taken from Guinness later magisterial work, "The American Hour" (a book that never received the recognition it deserved). I recommend "The Dust of Death" for anyone desiring to understand the effect of the counterculture on American life. It is a model of how a Christian mind should engage contemporary culture.
Douglas Groothuis, Professor of Philosophy, Denver Seminary