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A review by sophronisba
PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's Evangelical Empire by John Wigger
4.0
I thought this was a fascinating deep dive into the PTL story. The outlines of the saga were familiar to me--the peak of their influence was during my childhood; I remember watching their show at my grandmother's house, and I think one of my aunts even sent them money! I knew they were charlatans, of course, but I didn't realize the depth of their grifting until I read this book.
It's hard not to feel for Tammy Faye, who mostly seems childlike and desperate. She went on to become a gay icon (who would've guessed that?) and died fairly young. On the other hand, Bakker learned nothing from his disgrace and never changed--most recently he has been trying to sell magical cures for coronavirus--so it's much more difficult to work up sympathy for him.
It's hard not to feel for Tammy Faye, who mostly seems childlike and desperate. She went on to become a gay icon (who would've guessed that?) and died fairly young. On the other hand, Bakker learned nothing from his disgrace and never changed--most recently he has been trying to sell magical cures for coronavirus--so it's much more difficult to work up sympathy for him.