Biography

The Daring Heart of David Livingstone by Jay Milbrandt

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What do you really know about David Livingstone? Would you love a volume that in giving wonderful biographical narrative emphasized one of Livingstone’s greatest, yet seldom-discussed accomplishments? How about if the volume was gripping to the point it you did not want to put down? You should, then, check out the new release The Daring Heart of David Livingstone by Jay Milbrandt and published by Thomas Nelson.

The subtitle “Exile, African Slavery, and the Publicity Stunt That Saved Millions” clues you in his angle. I must confess that at first I was a little skeptical about that angle. Livingstone was a missionary, not a political crusader, right?

Fortunately, the book was not obsessed with its angle, but only developed it naturally as it went along. What you had instead was the famous story marvelously condensed and thrilling as ever. All the big events were there woven seamlessly into the story of the man and the author’s conclusions. Mr. Milbrandt can tell a story well.

The author showed Mr. Livingstone warts and all, yet you never lost your great respect for him. He had his struggles and he felt a failure on several occasions. Results were unpleasant actually at times too. Yet, Livingstone never failed to keep pressing on.

What the author demonstrated well was that Livingstone, though he died without knowing it, was one of the main reasons the slave trade in Africa stopped. He proved too that became ever more a goal for Livingstone. He was horrified at the tragic events he witnessed in the abuse, enslavement, and,even, slaughter of Africans.

The irony of so much of Livingstone’s goals being accomplished without him knowing it, and his lonely, humble life in Africa as he became a worldwide celebrity, is a most compelling story. In my view, it is a story of God at work in our world as well.

My only complaint is the missionary work of Livingstone was rarely discussed and portrayed as a minor thing. For the man who died praying by his bed in Africa, the evidence easily proves he was a servant of the Lord.

This book is a home run, and short enough for those readers who shy away from biographies that are a little too thick. You will enjoy this book!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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C. S. Lewis & Mere Christianity: The Crisis That Created A Classic by Paul McCusker

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Have you, as I have, been blessed by the classic Mere Christianity? Probably the greatest apologetic book I know of, and certainly grist for the mill for your deepest thoughts, the story of the series of events that precipitated this volume is fascinating.

Can you imagine what this book proposal must have looked like laying on the publisher’s desk? A book not about the whole of C. S. Lewis’s life, but just the the particular years when this classic was birthed, as well as the horrors of war in the blitz on London. The background of the BBC is heavily worked into the story too. Believe it or not, this improbable volume works.

In short, Lewis gave several sets of talks on the BBC during the worst of the war in England that captured the attention of listeners at a time when religious broadcasting as a whole fell on bad times. In no time at all, Lewis had more correspondence than he could handle. Here were writings (broadcasts) that went beyond the trivial or any of the hokum that was simply insufficient in the carnage of war. It resonated in a time of great need.

Beyond the confluence of factors that made Mere Christianity so influential, this volume works on the level of biography as well. There is the war, its agonies, and impact on lives that is well described. Then there is C.S. Lewis the man: his industrious output, his tenderness, his family issues, and his humility. You like him better, even if, as me, he has a few beliefs you could not follow.

This book is a pleasant, worthwhile read!

em>I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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Tyndale by David Teems

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You always assumed, I’m sure, that William Tyndale was an important man in Christian history. This book shows just how amazingly important he was. You knew about his first English translation of the New Testament, perhaps you even knew he died as a martyr. Did you know, though, that he had a great effect on our English language? He is credited with many words in our language coming from his pen. If you are a lover of the KJV as I am, you will be shocked as I was to learn that many of the most memorable lines of the KJV came over unchanged from Tyndale. Consider:

Let not your hearts be troubled..
The Lord bless thee and keep thee.
The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be merciful unto thee.
…for whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou dwellest, there I will dwell.

There are many others that Mr. Teems shares with us. You leave this book convinced that Tyndale has had the greatest influence of all on the Word of God in English. There really is no close second.

You are impressed too as you read of Tyndale’s simple faith and dogged determination to translate the Bible into English. It was his driving passion from which he never wavered. Mr. Teems quotes Tyndale in regards to his translation work:

…that I never altered one syllable of God’s word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in the earth, whether it be honour, pleasure, or riches, might be given me.

Though Mr. Teems didn’t exactly word it this way, it is obvious that Tyndale was especially gifted by God for his great work. It was his life’s work, one that cost him greatly, living and running as a fugitive with loneliness and danger always staring him in the face.

Mr. Teems has done us great service in this volume. He is handy with a pen. His own literary skill makes him able to demonstrate how deep Tyndale’s talents really go. He holds Tyndale up beside the great literary figures and even mentions where Shakespeare used Tyndale. I finished this book thinking that more than a heroic man, Tyndale was one of the really great ones. Perhaps he hasn’t had his due, but Mr. Teems while fairly showing his faults, accurately presents us with “Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice.”

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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