Of course it goes without saying that Penton's Apocalypse Delayed is the best history of Jehovah's Witnesses we have (though Timothy White's would be the best apart from its age), but I am continually frustrated by his lack of references for key claims. Here is an example where he is talking about reports of drinking in Bethel:
Drinking, then, almost became part of the cult of machismo into which the new workers were quickly inducted. Old Bible Students such as Clayton Woodworth and Olin Moyle objected, and Nathan Knorr refused to go along with rum-running from Canada. (page 225)
Penton cites oral testimony for the Knorr claim in the endnote, which is fair enough, and the obvious reference is given for Moyle, but instead of backing up the claim of differences between Woodworth and Rutherford on prohibition, Penton simply makes this further assertion in the endnote:
Woodworth, like Russell, was a teetottaler and resented some of the illegal activities of his Brethren. (Penton, page 380)
Where is the evidence for this claim? What Penton says certainly sounds plausible. In fact I have found some evidence to back it up in the Golden Age magazine that Woodworth edited - but it would be nice if Penton would reveal the sources for his assertions.
A similar problem arises when he borrows key thoughts from Timothy White without giving due credit. Concerning Russell, Penton offers the character assessment:
To him God was always a father in a pre-eminent sense, and because he had always had such a warm, loving relationship with his human father, Joseph Russell, it seems he could never conceive of the Lord Jehovah as anything but a merciful deity. (Penton, page 14)
This is an impressive psychological insight - but one that Penton does not reveal has been borrowed straight from Timothy White's text:
It is possible, though ironical, that it was the good-naturedness of his father that later made it so difficult for Charles to accept the austere and strict Presbyterian Heavenly Father. (Timothy White, A People For His Name page 14)
Maybe this theory predates White's text, I don't know, though Timothy White's other insights certainly demonstrate that he is capable of producing such flashes of brilliance without relying on others.But the point is we will never know for sure where this thought originated because Penton's history is so poorly referenced. I wonder when someone is going to write a better history of the Witnesses than Penton with a better critical apparatus and transparent form of scholarship.
Slim