Author | David Wilkerson John and Elizabeth Sherrill |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Biography, Crime, Christianity |
Publisher | Bernard Geis Associates |
Publication date | January 1, 1963 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | |
OCLC | 317503776 |
258 | |
LC Class | BV4464.5 .W5 1963 |
The Cross and the Switchblade is a autobiographical book written by the Rev. David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, published by Bernard Geis Associates in 1963.
In 1958, Pentecostal pastor David Wilkerson of Assemblies of God read an article in Life about seven teenagers who were members of a criminal gang and felt the Holy Spirit move him with compassion and was drawn to go to New York, in order to preach to them. On his arrival, Wilkerson went to the court in which teenagers were being prosecuted. He entered the room and asked the judge for permission to tell them something, but the judge ejected him. Upon leaving, someone took a photo of Wilkerson, who then became known as the Bible preacher "who had interrupted the gang trial". Soon after this, he began a street ministry to young drug addicts and gang members, which he continued into the 1960s. He founded Teen Challenge in 1958, an evangelical Christian addiction recovery program in Brooklyn with a network of Christian social and evangelizing work centers.
The book became a bestseller, with more than 15 million copies distributed in over 30 languages. [1]
In 1970, a film adaptation was released, starring Pat Boone as David Wilkerson and Erik Estrada (in his screen debut) as Nicky Cruz, the teen gang member whose life was transformed by Wilkerson's ministry. [2]
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American coming-of-age romantic drama film, directed by Nicholas Ray. The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. It is also the film debut of Dennis Hopper, albeit in a minor role. It was filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format. Focusing on emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers, the film offers both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments.
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Mau Maus was the name of a 1950s street gang in New York City. The book and the adapted film The Cross and the Switchblade and biography Run Baby Run document the life of its most famous leader Nicky Cruz. Their name was derived from the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya.
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