Sister Aimee: The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson (Paperback)

by Daniel Mark Epstein (Author) "Someday must have seen her marching up Main Street from the direction of the bank and the barbershop, a very young woman in a white..." (more)
Key Phrases: Sister Aimee, Los Angeles, Angelus Temple (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A sensational biography of the celebrated early 20th-century evangelist.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Once considered the premier evangelist and faith healer of her day, Sister Aimee built a church in Los Angeles called The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. A mixture of evangelism and the cult of personality, the church is today valued at over $300 million. Upon her death in 1944, recounts her biographer, poet and novelist Epstein, "Eulogies in the world press were lengthy, impassioned and full of praise. In death people did not hesitate to compare her to John Knox, John Wesley, Martin Luther, or Dwight Moody." Yet modern histories of Christianity do not even mention her or her church. A sympathetic biographer who occasionally juxtaposes a personal and academic tone, Epstein is often reluctant to fault McPherson for poor judgment or zealotry. Still, his labor is exhaustive; the extensive notes, bibliography, and index he has produced should prove useful to students of early 20th-century Christianity, particularly as it flourished on the West Coast. Recommended for women's studies and religion collections.
- Sandra Collins, SLIS, Univ. of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books (June 27, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156000938
• ISBN-13: 978-0156000932
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #243,452 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favorites, April 8, 1999

By	John Cavanaugh (Worcester, MA) - See all my reviews

If a biography can have the beauty of a painting, this one does. It does not stand off from a safe academic distance from its subject, as if the author's heart could not possibly be touched or fascinated by the drama of his subject's story, but through its words the author conveys his own wonder at Sister Aimee's remarkable life. He does so with caution, since his own religious perspective differs from her, but nevertheless the heart of the author comes through, stirring the reader to greater amazement at one who in this often frightening century prayed for miracles, and received them in wondrous abundance. Epstein does not minimize the personal troubles of Sister Aimee's life, though he does defend her integrity re serious charges of scandal (in my view, persuasively). If you have ever contemplated writing a biography, this book provides a model of biography-writing at its finest.

I assume that Mr. Epstein is Jewish, and so am especially thankful for what his book may signify as a contribution to greater understanding between Christians and Jews (though that is not the focus of his book).

I look forward to future works by this author.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining biography, February 4, 2002

By	Stuck in the Past (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

If I could have given this 4 1/2 stars, I would have. While I, as a conservative Christian, may not agree with some aspects of the movement started by Aimee McPherson, I found this to be an incredibly entertaining book about an enigmatic woman. Epstein beautifully describes Aimee and her early tent revivals. He also provides an objective view of the woman and the events of which she was a part.

My only complaint about this book is that near the end, the writing just seems to slow down. It's almost as if Epstein put all this passion into the first part, and started to lose it as the book drew to a close. But that really does not take too much away from it all (as I said before, if I could have given it 4 1/2 stars, I would have). This is a wonderful book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Aimee You Never Knew..., September 20, 2000

By	Alan Ross (Paris, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those who are quick to dismiss Aimee Semple Mcpherson as the prototypical religious huckster this book will give you much pause to think. Although Epstein doesn't attempt to minimize her mortal weaknesses and often a naivete which frequently had her at odds with the more worldly he also shows the tirelessly devoted humanitarian who pushed herself to the point of breakdown. The book helps one to appreciate the multifacted, sometimes subtle and sometimes dominating personality she possessed, a woman who can command admiration for her spiritual gifts despite the feet of clay.