Southern Enterprize

"John Kuykendall has examined a neglected chapter in the chronicle of the [Evangelical] United Front: the fate of the five major voluntary societies in the South. ... Of the many merits of Kuykendall's well-written and thoroughly researched account, three are noteworthy. First he underscores the diversity of motivations that inspired the Benevolent Empire. ... Second, he makes clear that the evangelical crusades were not imposed by the societies' headquarters but resulted from a complex interaction between the national leadership and grassroots. Third, he provides an important perspective on the emergence of a religiously distinctive South."-The Journal of American History