The Rise to Respectability documents the history of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and examines its cultural and religious impact on African Americans and on the history of the South. It explores the ways in which Charles Harrison Mason; the son of slaves and founder of COGIC; embraced a Pentecostal faith that celebrated the charismatic forms of religious expression that many blacks had come to view as outdated; unsophisticated; and embarrassing. While examining the intersection of race; religion; and class; The Rise to Respectability details how the denomination dealt with the stringent standard of bourgeois behavior imposed on churchgoers as they moved from southern rural areas into the urban centers in both the South and North. Rooted in the hardships of slavery and coming of age during Jim Crow; COGIC’s story is more than a religious debate. Rather; this book sees the history of the church as interwoven with the Great Migration; class tension; racial animosity; and the struggle for modernity—all representative parts of the African American experience.
#1990666 in Books James Butcher 2013-04-01 2013-04-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.40 x .90 x 5.50l; .80 #File Name: 1555717241314 pagesKorea Traces of a Forgotten War
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. The Forgotten War...By Bobby BritnellI once had a friend named Allison "Al" Worley; a retired US Marine. He fought in Korea and survived the battle of Chosin Reservoir; becoming one of the "Chosin Few" who survived that hellish battle. Before his 1969 retirement from the Marine Corps; Al also served in Vietnam. We talked about Korea; but Al was quite reticent when discussing details of his experiences. After his death; the Marine Corps League named a Detachment after him. Mr Butcher's book provides me with many details that my friend Al could not bring himself to discuss. This book chronicles the battles the author fought as an Army Infantryman - not just against the enemies; but also against the incredibly bitter Korean winter weather. It is also the story of Mr. Butcher's personal life - his rise from the poverty-stricken youth that he and his siblings survived while raising themselves after both parents had died. Mr. Butcher; who was a Sergeant First Class before he turned 20 years of age; served 3 years in the Army - almost a year of that time in Korea. He goes into detail about the people he served with; recalling names and details about them long after the war ended. James Butcher is an accomplished author; with 58 books and more than 250 articles to his credit. After his discharge from the Army; he attended College in North Carolina and was awarded a BA in Psychology in 1960; a MA in 1962; and a Ph.D. in clinical Psychology in 1964. He tells an incredibly interesting story; well worth the reader's time. I highly recommend this book; I plan to read it again shortly.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Review of James Butcher's novelBy larryI thought this was a very good description of what the latter stages of the Korean War were like. Because the fighting along the MLR was a very different proposition than the early stages of the war where there was so much back and forth. Butcher paints very good word pictures. I had the pleasure of meeting Dr Butcher some years ago (Long before he ever wrote this book) and found him to be an engaging; interesting man. I met him in the course of my academic studies at the University of Minnesota.Butcher's account is stark and realistic and without window dressing. It matches most of the accounts I have read or have heard from veterans who were there.Most accounts of war end with the authors personal recollections. Butcher does not stop there but goes into many of the whys of the war and the political aspects of it. But; and this is important; he never forgets that the main objective of the guy in the front line is to stay alive; not worry about what the politicians are doing. That is why this book is so good. He has a sense of perspective that is not often found.A very good book and I would recommend it to anyone; not just people who read military history.16 of 17 people found the following review helpful. An extraordinary personal historyBy David S. NicholsButcher was born to a West Virginia coal miner father who died when the author was eight; and a mother who died shortly before the close of WWII; when he was eleven; leaving him and his two younger brothers to be substantially raised by his 15 year-old sister. Korea: Traces of a Forgotten War; is not only a record of military service; but also one of the development of a good and talented man who entered the army as much to serve his remaining family as his country.He provides the reader with an amazing array of lenses to view both the war; in its military; political; strategic; tactical; and interpersonal aspects; but also in its features of stark realism of mud; fatigue; error; irony; miscalculation; death; and loss. Happily; it is full of wonderful; engaging stories. A plodding war need not engender a plodding memoir!And; along the way; a man grows to find a sense of orientation for the life to come as the war ends. It is that kind of story; too.
