- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Harvard University Press; New edition edition (Oct 2 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0674003969
- ISBN-13: 978-0674003965
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.4 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 494 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,480,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
The first Salvation Army kettle, complete with attendant bell-ringer, appeared on the streets of San Francisco in 1891. The slogan, "Fill the Pot for the Poor--Free Dinner on Christmas Day," has changed, but the practice hasn't. Starting with the Army's arrival in the United States in 1880 and describing its activities through World War II, Diane Winston's Red-Hot and Righteous follows the Army's missions, methods, and spectacular growth.
William Booth, who founded the Army in Britain in 1878, believed he needed to take religion to the people and urged his followers to imagine a "cathedral of the open air." Salvation Army preachers became a common sight in the streets of New York. Conservative Christians were upset by the public spectacle; the Army, however, happily banged cymbals, beat drums, and sang--their goal was to attract attention. Using contemporary advertising techniques, pageants, and parades, the Salvation Army made a vibrant mark on the urban scene and the American consciousness. Over time the Army's focus shifted from proselytizing to practical religion: gaining converts through religiously motivated social programs. Soup kitchens, homeless shelters, coal in winter--the Army offered relief to all, regardless of race, religion, or creed. Its greatest success, however, came when it sent 250 workers, including a few dozen women, to Europe to provide a little bit of home to the boys fighting in the Great War. With their trays of doughnuts and pitchers of coffee, the "Sallies" boosted morale and earned the Salvation Army a tremendous amount of respect. Winston's book reveals that she, too, respects both the Army's mission and its theology, and she tells its story with graceful prose. Red-Hot and Righteous will interest scholars of religious movements and 19th-century urban life alike. --C.B. Delaney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
At Christmas, the red kettles and the clanging bells of the Salvation Army are ubiquitous. On urban street corners and in suburban strip malls, the Armys missions and thrift stores operate when the bells have stopped ringing. How did the Salvation Army weave its way into the cultural fabric of America? In her first-rate social and religious history, Winstona research fellow at the Center for Media, Culture and History at New York Universitytraces the development of the Army from 1880, when it first arrived in New York, to 1950. Through a close examination of primary sources, the author contends that the Army used the forces of urbanization and commercialization, including dramatic performances and street parades, to its advantage, shaping urban religion along the way. She demonstrates that the Salvation Army saw all space as sacred and attempted to religionize secular things through its many activities. Many of the Armys marches, for example, carried them through commercial and residential districts, rich and poor neighborhoods, thus emphasizing the Armys contention that every place belongs to God. The social vision of the Army expressed itself not only in its urban missions but also in the Sallies, an organization of Salvationist women who served American troops in France in World War I. Far from being street preachers of hellfire and damnation, the members of the Salvation Army sought to redeem the world by meeting its physical needs and thereby implicitly meeting its spiritual needs. Writes Winston: Redeeming the world, according to the Armys founder, William Booth, meant facing its challenges (poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, and prostitution) and turning its secular idioms (advertisements, music, theater) into spiritual texts. Marked by lively writing, sure-handed and balanced scholarship and incisive wit, Winstons study is a must-read for readers interested in the Salvation Army and in the interrelationship of religion and culture.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Gracefully written, but lacking in focus.,
By Baby Strange (Brock Marsh, New Crobuzon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of The Salvation Army (Paperback)
Is this book an organizational history of the Salvation Army? Is it about the Army as an urban religious phenomenon? Is it about the Army's use of the methods of popular entertainment in order to draw attention, converts, and public support? Is it about the power of women within the Salvation Army? Is it a discussion of how the public perception of the Army (and the women in it)changed between 1880 and 1940? "Red Hot and Righteous" tries to be all of these and more, but unfortunately it doesn't work. As a popular history, this is pleasant enough reading, but as a scholarly work it is maddeningly diffuse. Winston's thesis is ill-defined, she fails to address the existing literature on the Salvation Army, and she has no evident theoretical approach. While she addresses the power women had within the Salvation Army, as a feminist history "Red Hot and Righteous" lacks teeth because Winston turns her focus elsewhere rather than fully developing her discussion of women's roles. Winston also uses a very limited range of sources. When presenting the Army's side of the story she leans very heavily on the 'American War Cry'--the Army's own paper. The 'AWC' was sold to the general public to raise funds, and it was thus intended to present the Army and its activities in the best possible light. For an outsider's view of the Salvation Army she relies overwhelmingly on one newspaper--the 'New York Times.' What about ethnic newspapers? What about papers that found their audience primarily among the poor and working class? What did the people the Army aimed its evangelical and charitable activities at think of these predominantly middle-class do-gooders? Winston writes very well, and she gives the Salvation Army the respectful treatment it deserves. But as an academic work, "Red Hot and Righteous" fails to gel. By narrowing her argument and focusing on a specific issue--women's roles and leadership within the Army, the use of popular culture as an evangelical tool, changing depictions of Salvation Army women in books and popular entertainment--and expanding the types of sources used, Winston could have broken new ground. Unfortunately, she keeps stabbing her spade with too little force in too many different places, and as a result she only raises a bit of dust. While I would still recommend this book for a general readership, as a scholar I found it unfocused and ultimately unsatisfying.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where do I sign up?,
By "furious@w-link.net" (Kent, WA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of The Salvation Army (Paperback)
I thought this back was very interesting. It presents the history of the Salvation Army from its inception in England in the nineteenth century through a good part of the twentieth century. Its focus is on the female leadership. It is interesting to note that though men are mentioned in the text, they are only briefly so. You learn a lot about the Booth women and their role in the Army but little about what their husbands where doing. It is a positive perspective of the movement and the ways in which it has helped Americans both here and abroad during the World Wars.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where do I sign up?,
By "furious@w-link.net" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of The Salvation Army (Paperback)
I thought this back was very interesting. It presents the history of the Salvation Army from its inception in England in the nineteenth century through a good part of the twentieth century. Its focus is on the female leadership. It is interesting to note that though men are mentioned in the text, they are only briefly so. You learn a lot about the Booth women and their role in the Army but little about what their husbands where doing. It is a positive perspective of the movement and the ways in which it has helped Americans both here and abroad during the World Wars.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Gracefully written, but lacking in focus.,
By Baby Strange - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of The Salvation Army (Paperback)
Is this book an organizational history of the Salvation Army? Is it about the Army as an urban religious phenomenon? Is it about the Army's use of the methods of popular entertainment in order to draw attention, converts, and public support? Is it about the power of women within the Salvation Army? Is it a discussion of how the public perception of the Army (and the women in it)changed between 1880 and 1940? "Red Hot and Righteous" tries to be all of these and more, but unfortunately it doesn't work. As a popular history, this is pleasant enough reading, but as a scholarly work it is maddeningly diffuse. Winston's thesis is ill-defined, she fails to address the existing literature on the Salvation Army, and she has no evident theoretical approach. While she addresses the power women had within the Salvation Army, as a feminist history "Red Hot and Righteous" lacks teeth because Winston turns her focus elsewhere rather than fully developing her discussion of women's roles. Winston also uses a very limited range of sources. When presenting the Army's side of the story she leans very heavily on the 'American War Cry'--the Army's own paper. The 'AWC' was sold to the general public to raise funds, and it was thus intended to present the Army and its activities in the best possible light. For an outsider's view of the Salvation Army she relies overwhelmingly on one newspaper--the 'New York Times.' What about ethnic newspapers? What about papers that found their audience primarily among the poor and working class? What did the people the Army aimed its evangelical and charitable activities at think of these predominantly middle-class do-gooders? Winston writes very well, and she gives the Salvation Army the respectful treatment it deserves. But as an academic work, "Red Hot and Righteous" fails to gel. By narrowing her argument and focusing on a specific issue--women's roles and leadership within the Army, the use of popular culture as an evangelical tool, changing depictions of Salvation Army women in books and popular entertainment--and expanding the types of sources used, Winston could have broken new ground. Unfortunately, she keeps stabbing her spade with too little force in too many different places, and as a result she only raises a bit of dust. While I would still recommend this book for a general readership, as a scholar I found it unfocused and ultimately unsatisfying. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Required but fun,
By A. M. Wagner "monmoth" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of The Salvation Army (Paperback)
Required for a history class years ago. One of the better social histories out there.
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