The General Next to God: The Story of William Booth and the Salvation Army

by Richard Collier

This is a book

Genres: Biography, History, Religion

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1965

About the author

Richard Collier, was born in London, England in 1924. He joined the Royal Air Force at eighteen after that, as a war correspondent, he traveled throughout the Far East.

He worked on numerous British and American magazines and wrote more than half a dozen books about the Second World War.

Reviews

[Randy Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very richly written, detailed biography of William Booth and his founding of the Salvation Army. Collier has really done his homework and I felt as I was reading this that he had lived with this material for some time before writing down even one word. In fact the part of this book that I enjoyed the most was the detailed and colorful descriptions of 19th century London. The book was also filled with dozens of photos of some of the wonderfully eccentric characters that seemed to be involved in the early stages of The Salvation Army. Overall, it was another wonderful look at another whole group of individuals who, met the Lord, got fired up for the Lord, and decided to do something about it.

[Gerald Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many inspiring stories of men and women devoted to helping the suffering of society. William Booth was a man who saw a need and suffered to meet it

[Keith Warne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mullers matter-of-fact approach to faith, his single-minded determination to his goals and total absence of any social preference towards anyone (one set of manners) can not fail to inspire.

[Jonathan Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. If I have any love for the Salvation Army, it's because of this book. Powerful biography of a great man of God. What tremendous lives were lived way back in the Victorian age; such great men, towering figures. We don't see any towering figures in this age. We have Obama, Clinton and Jimmy Carter - all pigmies in their own right. Lacking in both moral and political stature. No one would use the word 'statesman' about them.

But coming to William Booth, yes, he was a General 'next to God'. I don't mean that he was a divine being, but he had a towering personality, he was a commanding figure, a champion for God. I am not a Salvation Army man, but Richard Collier by his stirring biography has captured the spirit of Christianity in that great Victorian age - an age that gave us Charles Spurgeon, J N Darby, David Livingstone, George Muller, Hudson Taylor and other great men of God.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about the SA and it's leaders. Mixed with unknown history of the times.