God's Man for the Gilded Age: D.L. Moody and the Rise of Modern Mass Evangelism

Evensen does not provide an introduction (or even an acknowledgment page) for his book, so the casual reader might assume that this is simply an academic biography. Actually, with hardly a nod toward Moody's early years, Evensen proceeds to tell only the story of Moody's early revivals, those that made his reputation--from the 1873-75 campaign in Great Britain through the 1877 meetings in Boston--and how these evangelistic campaigns were puffed by local newspapers for both material gain and civic pride. As Evensen well says, "Moody made a business of saving souls and went about it in a businesslike manner. That was why organization and lots of it, with a premium placed on media relations, was a centerpiece in his strategy." (177) Evensen writes well enough and makes many thoughtful comments about both Moody's style of evangelism and the nature of the late nineteenth-century press. Still, Evensen often quotes his newspaper sources excessively, and one is left with the feeling that his portrait of Moody does not capture the essence of the man. The finest public relations would never have brought in the crowds unless Moody had had more than good business sense.