Book Description
The amazing beginnings and growth of the Salvation Army are told through the stories of its founders, William and Catherine Booth. Even when attacked by angry mobs, the Booths and their growing army preached "the power of the blood of Christ and the fire of the Holy Spirit" to the destitute, desperate people unwelcome in the churches of nineteenth-century England. This highly readable biography will introduce new readers to the worldwide ministry of the Salvation Army and the pioneers who selflessly dedicated their lives to God's service. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Salvation Army - How It All Began
This wonderful book, published in 2003, will answer all your questions about the Salvation Army.I always wondered how it all began and when, and how it has evolved. I hope Mr. Yaxley will consider a sequel and write about the Army as it exists today.This book ends just as Evangeline Booth begins her leadership in America in the last century

I recommend this biography by Trevor Yaxley because of all the information, the look inside England in the mid eighteen hundreds, the easy to read can't put this book down style, and the almost unbelievable accomplishments of these two beloved people, William and Catherine Booth.There is a timeline and family tree in back of the book as well as good pictures.

The epilogue, entitled The Challenge, consists of the last public address by Catherine Booth, to two thousand delegates of her "army" in London on June 21, 1888.It is remarkable, challenging, and inspired.

Quoting from the first chapter is a paragraph by Paul Smith - here it is:"On April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee met Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of a private home at AppomattoxCourt House.He surrendered his army, bringing to an end four long years of death and devastation called the American Civil War.In the same year, a thirty six year old Englishman by the name of William Booth declared war on the powers of darness by founding The Salvation Army."

The multitudes of people living in poverty and without dignity inspired the Booths to declare this spiritual War and with great love and compassion, they gave hope to the helpless by offering faith in God (salvation thru Christ) food (soup kitchens) clothing, and employment, and a purpose (serving in the Army to help others as they were helped and lifted up).

The story of the Booths is all about a couple in love and a passion for helping desperate destitute people and giving spiritual and physical help - so innovative was their work, that what began in England gradually spread throughout the world and they also raised many children who continued in the work of helping the poor.Today, the Salvation Army is first to appear when disasters occur anywhere in the world - want to join!

I loved the book and you will too.I never even imagined what this "Army" was all about until I came across this biography.

Outstanding
Sensitive, engaging, historical account of the lives of the two founders of the Salvation Army.Peronal letters between these two sweethearts, then husband and wife as well as life-long evangelists, detail the outstanding faith and human struggleit took to start an army in the slums and in opposition to the "old church hierarchy" which did not want to deal with the "riff-raff."The dedication of the first salvationists often meant placing themselves in harms way as angry mobs jeered and soldiers lost their lives.Still, the Army grew stronger and stronger.Every paragraph in this book is engaging...and I generally find historical accounts very boring.If you are looking for an exciting and sensitive historical account and wish to be enaged spiritually as well, this is a must read. ... Read more

Amazon.com
They preached in the streets of London accompanied by brass bands, appropriating the methods of ungodly popular entertainment to draw working-class sinners to righteousness. They founded soup kitchens and people's halls to feed the hungry and give them a place to congregate other than the tavern. William Booth (1829-1912) and his wife, Catherine (1829-90), outraged polite society with the establishment of their Christian Mission in 1865. Rechristened the Salvation Army in 1878, the organization challenged the smug Victorian status quo by insisting that sin sprang from unjust social conditions. British writer and Labour Party stalwart Roy Hattersley vividly conveys the political and religious context within which the Salvation Army operated without scanting the forceful (not to say peculiar) characters of its founders. William was authoritarian and self-righteous, yet he often deferred to intellectual, strong-minded Catherine, whose instinctive sympathy for the poor and belief in women's equality before God shaped their ministry. They were hardly warm people, yet their marital love was unshakable and absolute. The Salvation Army survived their autocratic leadership to flourish into the 21st century: "It is not necessary to believe in instant sanctification," writes Hattersley in a characteristically balanced summing-up, "to admire and applaud their work of social redemption." --Wendy Smith Book Description
Blood and Fire is a brilliant biography of two great social and religious figures whose inheritance lives on to this day.  William Booth (1829-1912) was one of the most extraordinary men of his age, a pawnbroker's clerk who would found the most successful religious movement of the nineteenth century--the Salvation Army. As a twenty-year-old, he developed the unshakable belief that God had ordained him to convert the world to Christianity.  Convinced that both churches of Victorian England were ignoring the needs of the poor, he founded the East London Christian Mission.  As the mission became the Salvation Army, it recruited thousands of members in battalions around the globe.  Its membership is now in the hundreds of thousands in virtually every country.

Catherine, his wife, was in many ways even more exceptional.  A chronic invalid and mother of eight children (within ten years), she inspired the social policy that was, and remains, an essential part of the Salvation Army's success.  Catherine held ideas on social equality that were ahead of her time, and she encouraged the Army to accept "women's ministry" and give female officers authority over men.  Her campaign against child prostitution resulted in the age of consent being raised from thirteen to sixteen.  And it was Catherine who, even while dying of cancer, urged William to develop his plans for clearing the Victorian slums.  Blood and Fire is a brilliant account of a fascinating period of social history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Well-written but overly political rather than spiritual
The Booths were certainly a very interesting social couple during the mid to late 1800's.The things that they did to reform the church were noteworthy, but not always positive.However, the legacy of the Salvation Army deserves the respectful and compassionate overview.The author does wax political and/or socialist at times, but mostly sticks to the fascinating lives of William and Catherine Booth.Written with heart and soul, this book is a rewarding read.This couple should be remembered more often than they are in secular circles for the enormous contribution they made to British society, and the continuing service the Salvation Army renders to the poor and jobless.A beautiful book!

Stick to Politics Roy!
William and Catherine Booth endured this kind of humanist gossip throughout their marvellous ministry. It is highly significant that no Salvation Army personel recommend this book. The author, being unsaved, and a senior British politician, concentrates on the radical social reforms the Booths and Salvation Army championed in Victorian Britain. Hattersley, sadly, hasn't a clue about salvation. It's akin to Scott of the Antarctic, frozen to death in his blizzard-bound tent, trying to commentate on a Barbados Test Match. Not only does this author not know his subject, but he has no idea of his subject's Subject. I suspect Roy's next book may portray Christ as a zealous Jewish Zionist with Marxist leanings. It's fluff. Dentist room reading only. Now Roy's even managed to write a book about John Wesley, characterising him as a lecherous toad. Don't waste your money.
For a far better biography of William and Catherine Booth, one written by a Christian, get Trevor Yaxley's (ISBN 0764227602). And for John Wesley, read John Pollock's biography.

A Remarkable Partnership
William and Catherine Booth were both remarkable. Many past biographers of one or the other have found it difficult to concentrate on their chosen subject, as the other keeps intruding. Roy Hattersley has solved that problem. He has written about the two of them.

The story is engrossing. William Booth, the pawnbroker's assistant, became a Methodist minister, then an itinerant evangelist, before founding the East London Mission, which eventually became The Salvation Army. Catherine, brought up by Methodist parents, met William in London in 1852, where they fell in love and soon became engaged. It was to be three more years before they were able to marry; at one time during that period they endured over 14 months of almost unbroken separation.

They formed a dynamic partnership, each complementing the other. William was an action man, a whirlwind who swept all before him. Though he was not unintelligent, he was anti-intellectual and repeatedly ignored Catherine's frequent urgings for him to study. Catherine by contrast had a powerful mind, wrote forcefully, argued convincingly, and, in spite of her shyness, became a powerful preacher. She had strongly held views about Christians abstaining from alcohol and women being allowed to preach. It is no coincidence that The Salvation Army has always taken a strong stand against alcohol, and women have been prominent in its ministry. Two of its Generals have been women.

One of the fascinating aspects of the Booths' story is the motley crowd of eccentrics they attracted to their flag. Many of their early soldiers were recruited literally from the streets, and then immediately put to work to win others to Christ. Some were illiterate, some had been drunks, others prostitutes. This particular volume, however, does not quite capture that diversity. Though The Salvation Army is probably most often thought of today as an organization engaged in social work, the Booths were first and foremost evangelists. To them the social work was secondary, both in terms of emphasis and chronology.

Roy Hattersley, the author of this book, was a cabinet minister in a British Labour Government, and his political background gives the book an interesting slant, particularly when he examines The Salvation Army's social work. The book does, however, have some problems. Hattersley seems out of sympathy with the Booths' religious convictions, and tends to sound rather condescending when discussing them. He also does not understand some basic Christian terms such as "sanctification", and frequently uses them inappropriately.In addition the book has too many avoidable errors, which suggests it may have been a rushed job. But it remains both very readable and enjoyable, and is a worthy tribute to two great Christians.

Stick to Politics Roy!
It is highly significant that no Salvation Army personel recommend this book. The author, being unsaved and a senior British politician, concentrates on the radical social reforms the Booths and Salvation Army championed in Victorian Britain. Hattersley, sadly,hasn't a clue about salvation. I suspect Roy's next book may portray Christ as a zealous Jewish Zionist with Marxist leanings. Well written fluff. Now Roy's managed to write a book about John Wesley characterising him as a lecherous toad. Don't waste your money.

For a far better biography of William and Catherine Booth, get Trevor Yaxley's. And for John Wesley, read John Pollock's.

Who really founded the Army?
For those of us who have grown up in the UK Roy Hattersley's wit and intellect has long been well known.For those of us who are also Salvationists the prospect of Hattersley writing about the founders of the movement we love and serve filled our minds with a sense of forboding.

We needed not worry. Hattersley writes well, every word being closely considered, and brings what is for me the best biography I have yet read about these icons of The Salvation Army.In a "no punches pulled" account, which propels one forward with a real idea of the Booths' enthusiasm and obsession, one reads about how the movement began, survived and ultimately prospered.Unlike many in-house accounts there is no glossing over of the shortcomings of these very human beings, rather we learn how, fired by what the Booths would consider Divine Inspiration, they "pressed forward to the mark of their high calling".

Hattersley concludes "It is not necessary to believe in instant sanctification to admire and applaud their work of social redemption."To those of us who do believe we not only admire and applaud but also see the hand of God in all that the Booths did.Hattersley notes that the Army is the only breakaway group from schismatic 19th century Methodism which survives into the twenty-first century.Many of us who believe know the reason - "Blood and Fire" gives enough evidence for every reader to reach his or her own conclusions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Five Star General!
A powerful and insightful look at the be beginnings of the Salvation Army.In the 1800's, the Army was a truly radical Christian organization (as radical as any that has existed).These amazing soldiers of the Cross donned military-like uniforms, invaded the inner cities of the world, and declared holy war on sin.And not only were they sold-out and innovative in their approach to evangelism, they also pioneered numerous social justice issues (including sex trafficing) as well.

Richard Collier's book takes the reader on a journey of faith, passion and adventure that will challenge and encourage all Christians. ... Read more

Book Description
Take a man who grew up in the New York City metropolitan area, whose family has been totally immersed in the life and passion of The Salvation Army for generations, put him with a young lady from a small town in the Deep South who has no idea what a Salvationist is, and what do you get?In the case of Paul and Kay Rader you get one of the most incredible powerhouses of energy, innovation, and enthusiam in Salvation Army history.Author Carroll Ferguson Hunt tells the fascinating story of how God brought these two dedicated servants together at Asbury College and melded them into a compelling team who served in the Army for over 35 years.From 1994-1999, General Paul A. Rader and Commissioner Kay Rader led The Salvation Army to new heights of vision, ministry, and growth.See how God leads a surrendered believer to accomplish great things for Him.Follow along on the journey from General Rader’s earliest memories of his parents’ innovative ministry in Times Square, New York to his eventual election to the highest office in The Salvation Army and then as president of his alma mater, Asbury College.Combined with his wife Kay’s vision for greater ministry of women in The Salvation Army, one can easily see the power and far-reaching influence possible in a couple serving together as one in the name of Christ. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Catherine Booth Was A Humane Saint !
Until I read this wondrous book, I had no idea that Catherine Booth, the conservative Co-Founder of the Slavation Army, embraced women's rights, animal rights and vegetarianism. The author provides many documented instances when Catherine would intervene and stop people from being cruel to dogs, horses, donkeys and oxen. He also mentions the Booth's and their Children loving an array of pets. I always knew that Catherine Booth was a groundbreaking Christian and Humanitarian, but Roger Green surprisingly informed me about Catherine Booth being an animal-loving vegetarian. Too bad today's Christian leaders have failed to emulate her reverence for all God's creatures' creed !

Great Read
I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Catherine Booth. I had known she was a vital part of the team, but I didn't realize the extent of her influence on her husband. This is a book I'm keeping in my library. It's well worththe space ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1889 edition by the Salvation Army, London. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Church & State, published by Americans United for Separation of Church and State on December 1, 2001. The length of the article is 848 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Salvation Army drops partners provision after religious right blitz. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
Publication: Church & State (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2001
Publisher: Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Volume: 54Issue: 11Page: 16(2)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from APS Diplomat Recorder, published by Pam Stein/Input Solutions on January 8, 2000. The length of the article is 1919 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: ALGERIA - Jan. 6 - Army, Rebels Negotiate To Beat Deadline On Peace Offer.(Islamic Salvation Army; Armed Islamic Group)(Brief Article)
Publication: APS Diplomat Recorder (Newsletter)
Date: January 8, 2000
Publisher: Pam Stein/Input Solutions
Volume: 52Issue: 1Page: NA

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Church & State, published by Americans United for Separation of Church and State on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 453 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: AROUND THE WORLD.(Mexican president, Salvation Army in Russia)
Publication: Church & State (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Volume: 54Issue: 1Page: 21

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The General Next to God
Excellent Book! The Salvation Army was on the cutting edge of women's rights, social justice, awareness and action regarding human trafficing/slavery at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. Their positive work is continued and felt all over the world today. ... Read more