Vignettes of Victory

by Paul A. Marshall

Portrays the heroism, holiness, and humor of Salvation Army officers and soldiers through snapshots of their lives. From The Salvation Army's founders to soldiers working today, each story offers a look into the personal experiences of those who dedicated their lives to God and their service to His world.

252 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1997

About the author

Paul Marshall is senior fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom House. He has lectured worldwide and is general editor of Religious Freedom in the World: A Global Report on Freedom and Persecution. He is the author and editor of 15 other books on religion and politics, including the best-selling and award-winning Their Blood Cries Out, and Islam at the Crossroads and God and the Constitution, both published in 2002. Dr. Marshall has published many scholarly and popular articles and his writings have been translated into Russian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Malay, Korean, Arabic, and Chinese. He currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Larry Hostetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've decided I like books that are compilations of articles. This book, a compilations of articles written for Salvation Army magazines (or maybe just one) is primarily a collection of historical stories, most from the organization's founding through the 1940s. There are some that are later, and even one that mentions the current century.

Those who know The Salvation Army and its history know there are colorful characters and interesting stories. It is not a direct, linear development. And while I've had more than a little familiarity with its history there were still many stories of which I was unaware and some familiar stories with aspects that added to my knowledge.

The book covers more of the characters in the United States than most SA histories do, and quotes readily from other authors' historical works to the advantage of the reader.

I wavered on how many stars to give to my rating. In places it was well-written and very interesting, but other places duplicated what had already been written. In the context of serial articles some of that is necessary but should have been excised and edited in book form. And in choosing articles for inclusion it must be difficult to decide what stays and what doesn't fit.

A good example of the latter dilemma are the articles on the writing of Mark's gospel. It wasn't about The Salvation Army at all, and was interesting, but didn't quite fit the overall theme of the book. Yet while a shorter article on Luke's gospel suffers from the same diversion from the theme I found it very insightful and instructive. So much so that my preference would have been to compile what might be a shorter collection of some of Marshall's writings and notes from teaching on theology. It might be more work but the knowledge and information would be worth the effort.

So how many stars? I initially gave three, but with a knowledge that the book winds down with decreasing historical and increased theological writing I think it merits four stars. Actually, 3.5 stars fits, four if it were solidly historical and four for a solidly theological book. But putting the two together drops it some in my estimation. Sorry, Paul.

But a good read, and one that is ideal for different reading styles, whether in one sitting or in short bursts a page at a time. Another reason for four stars.

[Jamie Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairy good read. I learned more than a few interesting tidbits I did not know.