The Last Crusade : Religion and the Politics of Misdirection

by Barbara Victor

There are 80 million born again Christians of voting age in the United States, including George W. Bush. Jesus Christ is a personal friend of every one of them. They know that Jesus wants them to vote Republican. Since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the Evangelical Christians have constituted one of the most powerfu

Genres: Politics, Religion

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Barbara Victor, a former Middle East specialist for the U.S. State Department, has worked in television and radio for many years.
Currently a freelance journalist, she has interviewed such Middle Eastern leaders as Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Rabin, Colonel Muammaer Quaddafi and Abu Lyad (sic) of the PLO. She lives in Paris.
Penguin has published her novels Lovers and Enemies (later republished as Friends, Lovers, Enemies), Absence of Pain and Misplaced Lives.

Reviews

[Jill Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting analysis of the influence evangelical Christians have on American politics. Barbara Victor traces the history of this interaction from the 1950s to 2005, when she wrote the book. It is interesting to note that most presidents listened closely to these evangelicals until the time of the Clintons, However, with George W Bush, the influence was back again. The evangelicals believe that the restoration of Israel indicates that we are in the end times, and their influence on the various presidents has dictated America's policies towards Israel.
A lot more has happened in the 20 years following the publication of this book. It would be interesting to read an updated version.