America's Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation

Short Review: This is probably a 4.5 star book, but I am rounding up because I wish we had more books like this. America's Pastor is not a biography of Billy Graham, but an honest appraisal of his life and ministry and a look at how Graham was a man of his time. I have read Graham's book Just as I Am and decided not to read another biography until a while after he died because I didn't think that Graham could really be talked about honestly right now. But after two good reviews and an offer of a review copy I picked it up and I am glad I did. It starts with a short biographical sketch, but then has 8 chapters of looking at Graham through different lenses, Preacher, Icon, Southerner, Entrepreneur, Architect, Pilgrim, Pastor and Patriarch.

The only negative is that the method necessarily requires a bit of repetition to make different points so it drags just a bit toward the end. But this is the best thing I have read on Graham. It is honest but extremely charitable. I think it hits a near perfect balance.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/americas-pastor/