Hoffman is a lively writer who sets a brisk pace ... Hoffman gives us an incisive and devastating exploration of early 20th-century fame ... Wonderful.
Hoffman has written her own ballad, resurrecting much of the glory and tragedy of McPherson’s ministry ... So gripping ... Nuanced ... Her book is wonderfully thorough, the type of biography in which you learn just the right amount about everything, from the idiosyncrasies of American religious history to the idiocy of modern celebrity culture.
Engrossing ... There’s no shortage of eye-opening details on display here ... If navigating source material was tricky, the book’s strength comes from Hoffman’s vivid storytelling ... Could have gone further in helping us understand why McPherson, who died from an overdose of sedatives in 1944, still matters today.
Hoffman uses church archives, court documents, extensive historical research, and McPherson’s prolific writing to give her subject her due as an innovative and important part of the evangelical movement while also showing the toll celebrity took on her personal life.
Drawing on deep archival research, Hoffman skillfully sketches the contours of the life of a woman whose personality dazzled thousands and whose preaching and healing elevated her to the level of a Hollywood personality ... Thoroughly detailed and captivating.
