Awards for “Soul Winners” and “Gangsters to Governors”:

“Soul Winners”: Category finalist for the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Award, a distinction granted to less than 10 percent of nominees. (See list of finalists.)

“Gangsters to Governors”: Winner of 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards bronze medal in Current Events (Political/Economic/Foreign Affairs). Also known as the IPPY Awards, the worldwide competition is open to independent, university and self-published titles. The contest yielded 410 medalists out of 4,500 entries. (Scroll down to #48 to see my category.)

“Gangsters to Governors”: Winner of 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards gold medal in Current Events/Social Change category. Competition is open to independent authors and publishers worldwide. (See list of 2018 winners here.)

Endorsements for “Soul Winners”:

Soul Winners succeeds admirably on several levels. Clary shows that the history of evangelicalism in American life is braided with entrepreneurial innovation and marketing savvy, resulting in a dynamism and vitality unmatched by any other religious tradition. In so doing, he also provides a succinct and lively history of evangelicalism itself. This is an excellent book.
—Randall Balmer, author of many books on evangelicalism and politics and the John Phillips Professor in Religion, Dartmouth College

With exceptional skill, David Clary has brought together the stories of America’s most successful evangelical entrepreneurs—from Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson to Franklin Graham and Paula White—providing us with a vivid and fair-minded, if sometimes frightening, portrayal of their outsized cultural, economic, and political influence. Valuable and eminently readable.
—Robert Wuthnow, author of Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy and professor of sociology emeritus at Princeton University

Clary provides a smart, accessible overview of the history of modern evangelicalism and helps us understand how Christians who claim to represent the Prince of Peace became shills for Donald J. Trump.
—Matthew Avery Sutton, author of Double Crossed: The Missionaries Who Spied for the United States during the Second World War and professor of history at Washington State University

David Clary’s Soul Winners is an extraordinarily rich and entertaining history of the outsized, highly driven, and innovative Protestant preachers who have forged American society—for better or worse—into its current religious and political condition.
—Dan Barker, copresident of the Freedom from Religion Foundation

Billy Graham, the first religious figure allowed, on his death, to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda of the United States, Americanized heaven by saying it is where yellow Cadillac convertibles drive on golden streets. That way, as David Clary shows, lie Donald Trump and golden toilets.
—Garry Wills, acclaimed historian at Northwestern University and author of Under God

Clary brings an objective journalistic approach to his research and writing. … [Soul Winners is] that rare book that adeptly lays out how laissez-faire economic systems and religious fervor are often symbiotic, with both thriving because of the other.
—Seth Combs, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Clary brings clarity to the current debate about what the Founding Fathers believed and how conservative politics became entwined with evangelical fervor.
—Ken Stone, Times of San Diego

The book is a fascinating (and extremely well-written) account.
—Corey Nathan, host of the podcast Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other

Thank you for this book that really does provide a sweeping view of the ways that evangelicals have aligned with big business.
—Bradley Onishi, professor, author, and host of the podcast Straight White American Jesus

Endorsements for “Gangsters to Governors”:

“This timely inquiry raises important questions about the relationship of Americans to gambling and is essential reading for those interested in the politics and policy behind gambling.”
—David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gambling Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and author of several acclaimed books about gambling

“David Clary delivers an encompassing look at the fascinating, ongoing evolution of American gambling. He touched on all the right topics — the mob, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, fantasy sports — to tell the story of where we’ve been, how we got here, and where we’re headed.”
—David Purdum, ESPN Chalk

“An inherently fascinating and impressively informative study, Gangsters to Governors will prove especially appealing for anyone who has ever placed a sports bet, sat in a friendly card game, pulled a slot machine lever, spent time in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, visited a local community casino, or watched a professional No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker game on television.”
—Carl Logan, Midwest Book Review

“It’s a great read … well-researched … eye-opening book.”
—Scott Jones, host of Give and Take podcast

“Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America serves as a well-written, tidbit-laden reference book about gambling in the U.S. from its beginnings to 2017. … I learned from reading it, and laughed along the way.”
—Jane Ann Morrison, Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist

“Journalist David Clary’s book, Gangsters to Governors, is a fascinating read, chronicling gaming from the time of the mobsters forward to the relationships of politicians and state legalized gambling.”
—Howard Hian, travel/gaming writer for PokerResorts.net and managing editor of Travel Savvy News

“Among the most compelling issues Clary raises is how states and their governors have become leading advocates of gambling because they’re ever more dependent on the revenue it provides.”
—Michael Shapiro, San Francisco Chronicle gambling columnist

“Deeply researched, easily readable and highly engaging, Gangsters to Governors is an excellent read for fans of gambling and of American business and political history.”
—Claire Fitzgerald, Casino City Times

“Compulsively readable from its first pages, ‘Gangsters to Governors’ is a compelling look at the past and future of gambling in America. It spans the boardwalk in Atlantic City to the borderless world of online gambling and everything in between.”
—Next Generation Indie Book Awards, 2018 winner in Current Events/Social Change category

“The narrative is smooth and entertaining. A breezy overview of policy change in the American states. … Recommended.”
—E. Terrence Jones, Choice Reviews