Billy Graham: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies) PDF
Preview Billy Graham: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
BILLY GRAHAM: A Biography Roger Bruns GREENWOOD PRESS BILLY GRAHAM Recent Titles in Greenwood Biographies J.K. Rowling: A Biography Connie Ann Kirk The Dalai Lama: A Biography Patricia Cronin Marcello Margaret Mead: A Biography Mary Bowman-Kruhm J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Leslie Ellen Jones Colin Powell: A Biography Richard Steins Pope John Paul II: A Biography Meg Greene Al Capone: A Biography Luciano Iorizzo George S. Patton: A Biography David A. Smith Gloria Steinem: A Biography Patricia Cronin Marcello BILLY GRAHAM A Biography Roger Bruns GREENWOOD BIOGRAPHIES GREENWOOD PRESS , . WESTPORT CONNECTICUT LONDON Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bruns, Roger. Billy Graham : a biography / by Roger Bruns. p. cm.—(Greenwood biographies, ISSN 1540–4900) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–313–32718–1 (alk. paper) 1. Graham, Billy, 1918– 2. Evangelists—United States—Biography. I. Title. II. Series. BV3785.G69B78 2004 269(cid:1).2(cid:1)092—dc22 [B] 2003060417 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2004 by Roger Bruns All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003060417 ISBN: 0–313–32718–1 ISSN: 1540–4900 First published in 2004 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Series Foreword vii Introduction ix Timeline of Events in the Life of Billy Graham xiii Chapter 1 From Tampa to New York 1 Chapter 2 A Farm Boy Becomes a Preacher 5 Chapter 3 Wheaton and Ruth 15 Chapter 4 On the Road to Los Angeles 23 Chapter 5 A Revivalist Heritage: The Great Awakening to Billy Sunday 35 Chapter 6 The Lure of Power and Politics 41 Chapter 7 The Fifties: The Message and the Media 55 Chapter 8 The London Crusade of 1954 67 Chapter 9 The Graham Phenomenon in New York 75 Chapter 10 A Careful Crusade for Equality 85 Chapter 11 Amidst the Tumult: Billy in the Sixties 99 Chapter 12 Mixing Politics with Evangelism 119 Chapter 13 A World of Souls to Save 135 Selected Bibliography 147 Index 153 Photo essay follows page 74. SERIES FOREWORD In response to high school and public library needs, Greenwood devel- oped this distinguished series of full-length biographies specifically for stu- dent use. Prepared by field experts and professionals, these engaging biographies are tailored for high school students who need challenging yet accessible biographies. Ideal for secondary school assignments, the length, format, and subject areas are designed to meet educators’ requirements and students’ interests. Greenwood offers an extensive selection of biographies spanning all curriculum related subject areas including social studies, the sciences, literature and the arts, and history and politics, as well as popular cul- ture, covering public figures and famous personalities from all time peri- ods and backgrounds, both historic and contemporary, who have made an impact on American and/or world culture. Greenwood biographies were chosen based on comprehensive feedback from librarians and edu- cators. Consideration was given to both curriculum relevance and in- herent interest. The result is an intriguing mix of the well known and the unexpected, the saints and the sinners from long-ago history and contemporary pop culture. Readers will find a wide array of subject choices, from fascinating crime figures like Al Capone to inspiring pio- neers like Margaret Mead, from the greatest minds of our time like Stephen Hawking to the most amazing success stories of our day like J.K. Rowling. While the emphasis is on fact, not glorification, the books are meant to be fun to read. Each volume provides in-depth information about the sub- ject’s life from birth through childhood, the teen years and adulthood. A viii SERIES FOREWORD thorough account relates family background and education, traces per- sonal and professional influences, and explores struggles, accomplish- ments, and contributions. A timeline highlights the most significant life events against a historical perspective. Bibliographies supplement the ref- erence value of each volume. INTRODUCTION He was a dairy farmer’s son from North Carolina who dreamed of becom- ing a baseball player. Although his talents on the baseball field were mid- dling, he managed in his career to fill stadiums across the country and the world. He was Billy Graham and he was an evangelist. The magnitude of his accomplishments is unquestioned. In 1957, 100,000 people jammed Yankee Stadium for the closing night of Gra- ham’s New York crusade. For 12 weeks, Graham drew an astonishing 2 million listeners in New York City and broke all attendance records for consecutive appearances at historic Madison Square Garden. Wherever he preached, from Chicago to Los Angeles to Washington, the story was the same. He drew the largest crowds ever recorded. He preached in nearly 200 countries around the world. In London’s Wembley Stadium in 1954, Graham spoke to 185,000 individuals who braced themselves against a driving rain to hear the celebrated American evangelist. Attendance at this event topped the crowd at the 1948 Olympics in the same stadium and was the largest religious gathering in British history. In Seoul, Korea, Graham’s 1973 crusade drew over one million, the largest recorded religious gathering in history. With the advent of satellite-link television, the numbers were even more impossible to fathom. In 1990, on his 72nd birthday, Graham preached in Hong Kong. His sermon was broadcast to over 100 million viewers through a network strung across the Asian continent. Graham and his organization, the Billy Graham Evangelical Associa- tion (BGEA), have been a major influence on significant international twentieth-century religious events, especially the International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974.
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