In this study of religion, urban life, and commercial culture, Diane Winston shows how a militant Protestant mission established a beachead in the modern city. When The Salvation Army, a British evangelical movement, landed in New York in 1880, local citizens called its eye-catching advertisements "vulgar" and dubbed its brass bands, female preachers, and overheated services "sensationalist". Yet a little more than a century later, this missionary movement had evolved into the nation's largest charitable fund-raiser - the very exemplar of America's most cherished values of social service and religious committment. Winston illustrates how the Army borrowed the forms and idioms of popular entertainment, commerical emporiums, and master marketers to deliver its message. In contrast to histories that relegate religion to the sidelines of urban society, this text shows that the Salvationists were at the centre of debates about social services for the urban poor, the changing position of women, and the evolution of a consumer culture. She also describes Salvationist influence on contemporary life - from the public's post-World War I love affair with the doughnut to the Salvationist lassie's career as a Hollywood icon to the institutionalization of religious ideals into non-sectarian social programmes.

Reviews

Many Americans know the Salvation Army primarily as a provider of social services for the poor and a convenient way to dispose of old furniture and to claim a tax deduction. Readers may be surprised to learn that over the last 120 years, America's largest charity has been bound up with such political and religious movements as the social gospel, progressivism and feminism, as well as with societal changes such as urbanization and the rise of mass culture. Winston (Research Fellow at NYU's Center for Media, Culture and History) charts the history of the Salvation Army from the late 19th century through the post-WWII era, focusing on the changing role of women and the rise of consumerism. Salvation Army womenÄ"Sallies"Äembodied the transition from the Victorian to Progressive conception of womanhood. They held top positions within the organization but still performed the traditional feminine roles of virtuous (and virginal) nurturers and healers. As evangelical fervor waned, the Army eschewed boisterous public rallies, preferring instead to inspire impoverished souls by the example of virtuous Christian living. Winston demonstrates a firm command of her material; her account is crammed with facts and her interpretative insights, while expressed in dry prose, are keen. (May)

How a small band of fiery street-corner evangelists--in the beginning derided as vulgar exhibitionists--evolved into a formidable charitable organization that raises more than $1 billion annually is the focus of Diane Winston's superb book...Winston combines intelligent insights, rich anecdotes and telling facts to chart the remarkable ascent of the Salvation Army from 1880, when it landed on U.S. shores, to 1950. The book's finest and most compelling moments come when Winston adroitly profiles the Army's evolution into a mighty charitable engine...As Winston skillfully shows, the Salvation Army was the first American religion not only to embrace but to appropriate popular culture to promote its message to a broad spectrum of society.--Diego Ribadeneira "Chicago Tribune "