The Cross and the Switchblade
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The true story of pastor David Wilkerson's first five years in New York is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored with John and Elizabeth Sherrill in 1963. The book tells of Wilkerson's move from rural Pennsylvania to the violence of gang warfare in the ghettos of New York. In the city, he witnesses to the disillusioned youth of the area, encouraging them to turn away from drugs and gang violence. The book became a best seller, with more than 15 million copies distributed in over 30 languages.
In 1970, a motion picture of The Cross and the Switchblade was released, starring Pat Boone as David Wilkerson and Erik Estrada as Nicky Cruz, the teen gang member whose life was transformed by David Wilkerson's ministry. The movie was dismissed by secular critics as uninteresting. However, it has been viewed by an estimated 50 million people in over 30 languages in 150 countries, according to World Film Crusade.
In 1968 the book Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz with Jamie Buckingham was released, which tells of his life including coming to New York and being in the gang, and subsequently meeting David Wilkerson and thereafter becoming a Christian.
