Cross and the Switchblade

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Summary: God In The Real World
Review: "The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." (NASB)
Here's a real life example of God picking a "nobody" from a tiny church in Pennsylvania to show how God's love can change anyone, even the toughest gangs from inner city New York. Talk about truth being stranger than fiction! You can't quit reading once you've started.

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Summary: Blew me away
Review: A powerful book that will send God-bumps down your spine! Even if you are not a fan of David Wilkerson's later writings, this book is truly a God send. Read this book if you want to learn of the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others.

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Summary: A significant message that makes compelling reading
Review: A truly inspirational story about the power of the Holy Spirit and the messenger it found in the person of an intrepid preacher from rural Pennsylvania. David Wilkerson, author and protagonist in this personal account, feels grabbed by a drawing in Life magazine of five teenage boys charged with the brutal murder of a disabled youth. His interest in the lot of the nefarious boys, who are part of NYC's notorious sub-culture of street gangs, is ignited. He senses a calling from God to help them. The early pages chronicle his unsuccessful attempts to contact them, which ironically are felled at the final hurdle by a fellow clergyman who (without a hint of verismilitude that belows his position) claims that Wilkerson in fact poses a threat to the boys' well-being. Wilkerson's account of his inspiration to help has nothing of the pharisee about it.

Through his unsuccessful attempts, Wilkerson was introduced to the turbulent underworld of NYC's youth gangs, to their lives of misery, despair, squalor and sense of hopelessness, and to the solace they found in gangs and that life of serious crime, violence, hard drugs and sexual promiscuity. Wilkerson would leave his tidy life in his rural parish and commit his his time to helping the gang members by introducing Christ to their lives. Teen Challenge was born, and the book describes its growth from loftily conceived idea to reality and the incredible efforts of its team of workers who, defenceless except for the carapace of their religition, would bring hope and divine redemption to literally hundreds of the city's most incorrigible youth. The charity is now a major orgnization working throughout the world.

The story ties particularly well with the best-selling book by Nicky Cruz, whose story parallels Wilkerson's own. Cruz, the renouned former leader of the notorious 'maw maws' gang, experiences a metamorphosis through the help of Teen Challenge, commits his life to the Lord, and evenutally becomes a preacher himself working with Wilkerson's team. There could be no greater volte face.

The book's theme of the enormous force of the Holy Spirit as an insrument for positive change might turn off those readers who have not been touched by its power. However, the story has a magnetism that will draw you in, page after page, giving comfort and hope that - with a little help from above - good can be extracted from the very nadir of our humanity. This significant message makes compelling reading for all. DO read it and your life will be touched.

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Summary: Very Powerful,Spiritual,Hair raising,educational,must read.
Review: At the very tender age of 15,I had read both books about the story of Nicky Cruz."The Cross and the Switchblade"as well as the Run Baby Run.Since then I have read both more than Ten times.This heart rinching story capture every little boy or teenager imagination of the Big cities like New York,gangs,etc.This book really confirms that the Cross is mightier than the switchblade.

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Summary: God's Grace meets New York City
Review: David Wilkerson listened to the voice of God and obeyed. When he did, the Lord grew a holy unction into an international ministry which has now touched millions of lives around the world. From Teen Challenge Centers around the world to Times Square Church, now representing a congregation from 135 countries, to European Crusdaes and worldwide missions, this ministry is centered on Jesus Christ.

It is the unique focus on the personality and power of the Holy Spirit which separates this work from so many others.

The call to action was spoken into his life, and into the lives of a New York City street gang, headed by Nicky Cruz, in the late sixties. The Cross and the Switchblade is a modern day classic of God's power and grace infusing the most dangerous and difficult layer of society; the violent gangs.

The message is life changing, then and now.

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Summary: "The best book I have ever read, and will ever read"
Review: I believe the book has a valuable moral which is: Even the roughest and toughest of gangs has a soft side, that can be shown. I have wriiten many reviews on this book, and they have always been good. Thankyou for listening to my thoughts, Cyrus Mistry 11/29/97

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Summary: Fantastic and awe inspiring
Review: I read both books, The Cross and the Switchblade and "Run Baby Run" when I was a teen. I had copies of both books and lost them. I now have teens of my own and would like to get copies of them. any ideas on where I can pick them up. at a retail store in Macon, Ga. I have no way way of paying for them online and as a single mother I sometimes have a hard time coming up with the money anyway.

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Summary: This book really said something to me. I loved it.
Review: I read this book for a high school English project. I loved it. It was so real. David Wilkerson's work was a God send. It's great to see that there are people who still care.

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Summary: An Inspiritional Book.....
Review: I read this book for an outside reading report for my high school. I thought it was an amazing book. It is awesome to know that some people still actually care about others. I thought it was a fantastic book and I recommend it to anyone who is or isn't a Christian. It is a great book for someone who doesn't understand the power of God.

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Summary: The Cross and the Switchblade
Review: I read this book when I was twelve and it deeply moved me. I love true stories and in a way this one did have a fairly happy ending even though the fight against drugs and children having to live on the streets will never be over. I wish everyone would have to read this book because I think it would change a lot of peoples minds about making choices and for those who doubt God.