Billy: A Personal Look at the World's Best-Loved Evangelist - Hardcover

As a long-time member of Billy Graham's team, Wirt is able to give behind-the-scenes glimpses into the evangelist's life. His book is less a biography than a demonstration of Graham's sincerity and effectiveness. Wirt clearly holds Graham in highest esteem and portrays a man with an amazing lack of pretension and egotism. The author takes us through his career, from Graham's "anointing" in Wales to the present. Whether he is consorting with the great or the lowly in Berlin or Vietnam, receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, or visiting with old friends, we see a world figure who has retained his humility. Since this is the only book about Graham written by an American member of his entourage, it is certainly worthy of attention. It is refreshing to read an insider's memoir that is not an expose. Recommended for public libraries.?C. Robert Nixon, MLS, Lafayette, Ind.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Cynics awaiting a seamy tell-all on Billy Graham must wait longer. Wirt, a Graham associate of 40 years, presents an intimate perspective on one of the few men possessing a truly larger than life persona, one commensurate with the stature of the authorities Wirt draws on to help him and us grasp Graham: William Blake, C. S. Lewis, Robert Burns, and, of course and repeatedly, the Bible. In its way, Wirt's book is all sweetness and light, yet it takes us to Vietnam and Korea and the racial battlegrounds of the U.S. and South Africa as Graham brings his message of love and renewal to suffering seekers for help and light in a dangerous, dark world. It is positive and quite uplifting, yet not for believers only. Billy Graham, man of God, is a powerful force in contemporary culture. Wirt, his sincere admirer, limns his courage, dedication, and warmth very well. Mike Tribby