Religion Press Release Services
An RSS feed for press releases distributed through Religion Press Release ServicesLinks
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
THE JESUS MACHINE: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War
By Dan Gilgoff
For Immediate Release
For more information, to arrange an author interview, or to request an advance copy,
please contact:
Steve Troha
Associate Director of Publicity
T: 646.307.5569
Steve.Troha@stmartins.com
"A smart piece of investigative journalism" -- Publishers Weekly
Consider the passage of nearly two-dozen amendments to state constitutions to ban gay marriage. Or the reelection of George W. Bush by winning 80 percent of the white evangelical vote. The Terri Schiavo congressional intervention. The Christian Right has achieved more in the last few years than at any time in its history. Yet the story of the man and the organization that have orchestrated those successes -- James Dobson and his Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family -- has gone almost entirely untold.
Until now.
In THE JESUS MACHINE: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War (St. Martin's Press; March 6, 2007; $25.95), U.S. News & World Report Senior Editor Dan Gilgoff provides the first inside look at Dobson's vast national network, the most powerful web of organizations the Christian Right has ever known. From its origins as a Southern California radio show dispensing parenting advice, Dobson has turned Focus on the Family into the command center for an unrivaled grassroots army. Dobson's daily radio show reaches six to ten million Americans a week and elicits so much listener mail -- 173,000 pieces per month -- that Focus needs its own zip code.
Gilgoff, who wrote the first in-depth profile of Dobson after the 2004 election for U.S. News, was afforded wide access to Focus on the Family's Colorado Springs headquarters, its so-called Washington embassy, the Family Research Council, and its state-level affiliates. In addition to rare interviews with Dobson himself, THE JESUS MACHINE showcases interviews with Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed, Chuck Colson, the scandal-plagued Ted Haggard, and scores of others.
Besides discovering how Dobson became more powerful than Falwell, Reed, or Pat Robertson ever were, readers will learn:
* How Democrats applied the lessons of losing the "values" vote in 2004 to wage the congressional takeover of 2006.
* How a small handful of evangelical activists in Dobson's network coaxed Congress into intervening in the Schiavo case, even as most evangelical Americans opposed the effort.
* How Focus on the Family's Ohio affiliate organized the 2004 get-out-the-vote drive that sent Bush back to the White House.
* How Dobson overcame fierce resistance from within the Christian Right to the idea of amending the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage, turning the amendment effort into the movement's top priority -- and giving Republican candidates an issue to win on.
DAN GILGOFF is a senior editor at U.S. News & World Report. His writing has appeared in USA Today, The Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune. He appears regularly on CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, and C-SPAN. He lives in Washington, D.C.
More advance quotes:
"In a time of overheated discussion about religion and politics, U.S. News reporter Dan Gilgoff went out and got the facts... the definitive account of Dr. James Dobson..."
MICHAEL BARONE, COAUTHOR OF THE ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS
"Gilgoff is a writer and journalist of the first rank... This is a book that evangelicals, as well as the critics of our movement, should surely read."
RICHARD CIZIK, CHIEF LOBBYIST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS
"A fair, objective, and revealing book... deep insight into why Dobson seems threatening to some but appeals to so many others."
DAVID GERGEN, EDITOR AT LARGE, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
"Fair and factual, this book can be profitably read by allies and adversaries alike."
JOHN GREEN, DIRECTOR, BLISS INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF AKRON
*****
About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others.
The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
For Immediate Release
For more information, to arrange an author interview, or to request an advance copy,
please contact:
Steve Troha
Associate Director of Publicity
T: 646.307.5569
Steve.Troha@stmartins.com
"A smart piece of investigative journalism" -- Publishers Weekly
Consider the passage of nearly two-dozen amendments to state constitutions to ban gay marriage. Or the reelection of George W. Bush by winning 80 percent of the white evangelical vote. The Terri Schiavo congressional intervention. The Christian Right has achieved more in the last few years than at any time in its history. Yet the story of the man and the organization that have orchestrated those successes -- James Dobson and his Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family -- has gone almost entirely untold.
Until now.
In THE JESUS MACHINE: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War (St. Martin's Press; March 6, 2007; $25.95), U.S. News & World Report Senior Editor Dan Gilgoff provides the first inside look at Dobson's vast national network, the most powerful web of organizations the Christian Right has ever known. From its origins as a Southern California radio show dispensing parenting advice, Dobson has turned Focus on the Family into the command center for an unrivaled grassroots army. Dobson's daily radio show reaches six to ten million Americans a week and elicits so much listener mail -- 173,000 pieces per month -- that Focus needs its own zip code.
Gilgoff, who wrote the first in-depth profile of Dobson after the 2004 election for U.S. News, was afforded wide access to Focus on the Family's Colorado Springs headquarters, its so-called Washington embassy, the Family Research Council, and its state-level affiliates. In addition to rare interviews with Dobson himself, THE JESUS MACHINE showcases interviews with Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed, Chuck Colson, the scandal-plagued Ted Haggard, and scores of others.
Besides discovering how Dobson became more powerful than Falwell, Reed, or Pat Robertson ever were, readers will learn:
* How Democrats applied the lessons of losing the "values" vote in 2004 to wage the congressional takeover of 2006.
* How a small handful of evangelical activists in Dobson's network coaxed Congress into intervening in the Schiavo case, even as most evangelical Americans opposed the effort.
* How Focus on the Family's Ohio affiliate organized the 2004 get-out-the-vote drive that sent Bush back to the White House.
* How Dobson overcame fierce resistance from within the Christian Right to the idea of amending the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage, turning the amendment effort into the movement's top priority -- and giving Republican candidates an issue to win on.
DAN GILGOFF is a senior editor at U.S. News & World Report. His writing has appeared in USA Today, The Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune. He appears regularly on CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, and C-SPAN. He lives in Washington, D.C.
More advance quotes:
"In a time of overheated discussion about religion and politics, U.S. News reporter Dan Gilgoff went out and got the facts... the definitive account of Dr. James Dobson..."
MICHAEL BARONE, COAUTHOR OF THE ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS
"Gilgoff is a writer and journalist of the first rank... This is a book that evangelicals, as well as the critics of our movement, should surely read."
RICHARD CIZIK, CHIEF LOBBYIST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS
"A fair, objective, and revealing book... deep insight into why Dobson seems threatening to some but appeals to so many others."
DAVID GERGEN, EDITOR AT LARGE, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
"Fair and factual, this book can be profitably read by allies and adversaries alike."
JOHN GREEN, DIRECTOR, BLISS INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF AKRON
*****
About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others.
The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
Archives
March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 March 2008 April 2008
About Religion Press Release ServicesReligion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others. The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
