Choice Review

Bartkowski (sociology, Mississippi State) scrutinizes Promise Keepers (PK), the evangelical men's movement prominent in the 1990s. He dispels notions that PK was rigidly patriarchal, showing that speakers at rallies and also the published literature offered a variety of images of the Christian man for adherents. Some were supportive of ideas that called for women to be subordinate to men; others were more fluid. Fieldwork took the author to stadium rallies (the focus of one chapter) and led to several intensive interviews with men involved. Bartkowski concludes that PK demonstrated paradox at every level. For example, he shows how calls for racial reconciliation fell short of tackling the structural racism within society and reinforced racial difference while building bridges between men of different ethnicities. Bartkowski draws on an array of sociological theories in his analysis, but his appraisal is jargon-free and fast-paced. He concludes with several hypotheses to explain the decline of interest in PK, demonstrating that PK was itself too wedded to the mass culture of the 1990s to have enduring influence. This book will interest all readers involved with contemporary American religious life, gender issues, and men's studies. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General readers; lower-level undergraduates and up. C. H. Lippy University of Tennessee at Chattanooga