Rodney Stark s \ fresh blunt and highly persuasive account of how the West was won--for Jesus\ (Newsweek)--a provocative report that challenges conventional wisdom and finds that Christianity s astounding dominance of the Western world arose from its offer of a better more secure way of life. \ Compelling reading\ (Library Journal) that is sure to \ generate spirited argument\ (Publishers Weekly) this account of Christianity s remarkable growth within the Roman Empire is the subject of much fanfare. \ Anyone who has puzzled over Christianity s rise to dominance ... must read it.\ says Yale University s Wayne A. Meeks for The Rise of Christianity makes a compelling case for startling conclusions. Combining his expertise in social science with historical evidence and his insight into contemporary religion s appeal Stark finds that early Christianity attracted the privileged rather than the poor that most early converts were women or marginalized Jews--and ultimately \ that Christianity was a success because it proved those who joined it with a more appealing more assuring happier and perhaps longer life\ (Andrew M. Greeley University of Chicago).