The Day of Doom, Michael Wigglesworth's epicpoem about the Last Judgement, might well becalled the most popular book ever written inAmerica. At least twelve editions sold out in thecentury after its original publication in 1662. Earlysettlers revered it, holding it second only to theBible, and school children memorized it from startto finish.However, The Day of Doom also bears the dubiousdistinction of being the most violently criticizedand willfully...