{"id":1481,"date":"2014-02-17T11:05:41","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T15:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/~reviewing\/?page_id=1481"},"modified":"2014-02-17T11:07:03","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T15:07:03","slug":"legacy-satisfies-if-not-surprises","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/?page_id=1481","title":{"rendered":"‘Legacy’ satisfies, if not surprises"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted Feb. 17, 2014<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“Ruth and Billy Graham: The Legacy of a Couple”
\nBy Hanspeter N\u00fcesch<\/p>\n

By VICTORIA HERNANDEZ<\/p>\n

There are dozens of books about Billy Graham. The world-renowned evangelist has written more than 30 books himself.<\/p>\n

\"Legacy\"<\/a>Hanspeter N\u00fcesch seeks to bring a fresh perspective into Graham\u2019s life with his book \u201cRuth and\u00a0Billy Graham: The Legacy of a Couple.\u201d It is evident that N\u00fcesch, director of Campus Crusade for Christ International in Switzerland, sees Graham as a true role model and dear friend. He\u00a0has grown from a fan to a fellow soldier in the battle to bring hope to the world. This work is a labor of love.<\/p>\n

The title is slightly deceiving because the book is not strictly a love story. Instead, the book is separated into 10 chapters that each describes a virtue that Ruth and Billy Graham exemplified.<\/p>\n

The first chapter introduces the couple. It describes how Ruth gave up her dream of becoming a missionary in Tibet so that she could support Billy\u2019s full-time ministry. N\u00fcesch uses many excerpts from Ruth\u2019s diary to give the reader insight into her world.<\/p>\n

Here, Ruth writes, \u201cHe will be increasingly burdened for lost souls and increasingly active in the Lord\u2019s work. I will slip into the background. In short, be a lost life. Lost in Bill\u2019s.\u201d That quote sets the tone for the rest of the book. Despite N\u00fcesch\u2019s best efforts to include Ruth in his analysis of Billy Graham\u2019s endeavors, his great influence can overshadow her humble life.<\/p>\n

Both fans of Billy Graham and people who are hearing his name for the first time will enjoy reading this work. It explores Billy and Ruth\u2019s childhoods. The reader is introduced to many people who were a part of the Grahams\u2019 life, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright. Readers learn about Billy and Ruth\u2019s public service as well as their personal relationships not only with each other, but also with members of Graham\u2019s team, with neighbors and with people society had given up on.<\/p>\n

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At times, the book feels repetitive and long. Some stories are reused for multiple virtues. For example, N\u00fcesch emphasizes multiple times how Billy and Ruth treated all people the same whether they were heads of state or waiters at a local restaurant. This is a good characteristic for all people to see and emulate, but it was brought up so many times, the reader might get bored.<\/p>\n

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N\u00fcesch gives personal anecdotes of how the Grahams made him a stronger believer. For example, he helps run an international conference and through the example of the Grahams, he has learned to trust in God, even when the link to the Budapest broadcast went live only 10 minutes before an event began.<\/p>\n

He and his wife were able to visit Billy, now in his 90s, when writing the book. Ruth passed away in 2007, so the author wasn\u2019t able to meet her personally. But through the stories of friends and family, he reveals her as a spunky, no-nonsense woman.<\/p>\n

N\u00fcesch uses testimonies from many people affected by the Grahams\u2019 work to build his story. He also utilizes many of Billy\u2019s publications, the works of those who influenced Billy, and his interviews and speeches. The couple\u2019s five children also contributed to this project,\u00a0especially Gigi Graham, who wrote the foreword and provided the cover photo.<\/p>\n

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Billy Graham never wanted to be the center of attention, and instead directed all the\u00a0glory back to God. Books like this can magnify the character of a person and further his worldly greatness. N\u00fcesch does not hold back in explaining Graham\u2019s influence across the globe. He went on hundreds of missions, sometimes to dangerous places including the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He mentored multiple U.S. presidents.<\/p>\n

However, the author balances all of these accomplishments with statements from Billy revealing his own weaknesses and total reliance on the Holy Spirit. N\u00fcesch references an interview on a talk show where Graham admits his temptations, including impure thoughts about women. Later in the book, N\u00fcesch recounts a trip Graham took with friend Charles \u201cChuck\u201d Templeton to Paris where prostitutes approached them. Trying to be gentlemen, they walked the women home. Billy ended up far away from the city and found his way back by sighting the Eiffel Tower. The friends were able to laugh about the incident many years later.<\/p>\n

Many elements of Billy and Ruth\u2019s life are fully detailed, including how Ruth kept her Bible open so she could glance at it throughout the day. However, the reader is left wanting more about the Graham children. N\u00fcesch references how the two sons, Ned and Franklin, fell away from faith and then returned. He describes how Ruth prayed faithfully for both of them. But the author does not explain what they did to cause their parents so much grief. Nor does he explain what finally brought them back into God\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

The target audience of this book is probably people who are practicing Christians. However, it would be a good read for anybody who studies leadership or current history. The book at times has a lecturing tone that gives advice on how to follow Billy Graham (and Ruth)\u2019s example. But ultimately, it is not the Grahams that N\u00fcesch wants his readers to follow: it is Jesus Christ, who the Grahams and N\u00fcesch model their own lives after.<\/p>\n