Eric Liddell

Men of Faith

by Catherine M. Swift

One of the greatest heroes of the Cross in this centuryEric Liddell, hero of the film Chariots of Fire, risked becoming a national disgrace at the 1924 Paris Olympics when he refused to run on a Sunday. Disqualifying himself from the finals, Britain's hope of a medal was sacrificed as well. But the thinly veiled criticism in the press turned to sensational acclaim when Eric entered—and won—a race for which he was completely untrained, finishing a full five meters ahead of the favorite.He was a celebrity, but the faith which had inspired his courageous stand stirred in him again, and at the height of his fame he announced that he was leaving athletics to return as a missionary to the land of his birth, China. This story of "God's Athlete" makes for exciting reading.From renowned Scottish athlete to missionary in China.

Genres: Biography, Christian, Nonfiction, School, History, Sports, Read For School

176 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 1990

Reviews

[Hann Palstring (Farmer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. and for some reason, I teared up when Eric died at the end.
Eric Henry Liddell was such an amazing man <3 A true inspiration

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already knew Eric Liddell was an amazing man of God, but this book showed that to me even more clearly. I highly recommend reading about this inspiring athlete and missionary.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading aloud to big kids. Begun April 2013.
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Wonderful little YA bio of "Chariots of Fire" Eric Liddell. Goes into more depth than the "Chariots" book--from before his birth to his death.

Never knew he died in a Japanese internment camp in China. Anyway, loved knowing more of the story and it will be a great one for the kids to read. Just a very good, faithful man.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually 3.5

Not bad. Lots of funny random tidbits on Eric's life. But...the writing style/skill was not so great. Lots of passive voice and it jumped around. Overall, an interesting book but not outstanding.

[Autumn Fortier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book about an Olympic gold medalist who became a missionary in China. I learned some things about China that I never knew. It is inspiring to know that God uses shy people to preach the gospel. He can use anyone, even me and you for his glory. we, like Eric Liddell, just need to be willing. And he was willing even to death in a Japanese internment camp for missionaries at the young age of 43.
May Jesus find us so willing.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Born in China to his missionary parents, Eric Liddell also became a missionary to his birth country. But, he also became an Olympic hero. His story is told in the movie, "Chariots of Fire." But, it is also wonderfully told in this book by Catherine Swift.

As usual, I love to read stories where I learn about history, too. This book starts with the Boxer Rebellion and leads into other times of turmoil in China.

It also tells the story of how the very shy Eric Liddell became a public speaker who spoke about God to thousands. And how he put God first, even skipping an Olympic event because it was being raced on a Sunday. Eventually, Liddell became a missionary where he ministered during difficult times.

[Joy E. Rancatore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book for the beauty of the man whose life it chronicles. Eric Liddell was an amazing man of God who lived a life that should be an example to all. He lived his faith in every action, every word and every smile. I want to know more about him and read some of his books. From what I have read about him, I believe he best exemplified how a Christian should live and work on this earth. This book follows his life from birth to death and shows him as a student, a friend, a son, a brother, an athlete, an evangelist, a preacher, a missionary, a husband, a father, a leader and...overall...a Christian.

[Roswitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I'm not giving this book five stars is the writing, which is just plain mediocre. (I think this is a YA series of biographies) But it was a good introduction to Eric Liddell's life. (After already being introduced to him through the movie Chariots of Fire, that is. But that only covers a short window of time and is as much about Jewish athlete Harold Abrahams) This book definitely leaves me with a desire for a bigger, better biography.

[Lanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a standard biography in this case, telling about Eric Liddell's life. I could tell you that if you are looking to find out about Eric Liddell, the famous athlete, this is the book to read. However, I read this book for a school assignment. I still enjoyed the book to some extent though.

[Kymberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juast finished this today!! AWESOME!!! Such a blessed book! I hope that some day I will be remotely remembered as well as he is. I'll see you in heaven man all because of Christ Jesus. PTL!

[CE · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I had just read Swift's Gladys Aylward biography and enjoyed it very much. This book was very different. It focuses way more on Liddell's life than on his missionary experience. It begins with information about China's history to set the stage and then his parents' lives before he was born and continues until his death. His education and sports achievements were described in minutiae. Not being a sports person, that got a little old. Also, it seems the author's attitude about Liddell is far more adoring. She frequently calls him "perfect" and in her descriptions, people appear to practically worship him. She must have sensed this, because she sometimes attempted to downplay or excuse it. I know people are obsessive about sports, and possibly Swift might've been overly-dramatic, but I didn't care for it. She describes Liddell as perfectly humble about it, but... Also, the author occasionally had a negative attitude about Chinese people and made Christianity out to be a very "civilizing" force, particularly among poorer people. Maybe I was being oversensitive, but I definitely didn't get this feeling in Gladys Aylward, despite his teacher/missionary time there, 1925-1945, overlapping with hers, 1930-1970, and her work being primarily as a missionary to poorer people. Is this just how people write about sports heroes or would a different biography be better?

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used in my children's homeschool curriculum for 9th grade (www.mfwbooks.com).

While I knew the basic storyline and had seen the movie Chariots of Fire, I enjoyed the background information on his parents before he was born as well as missionary life in China before communism.

"Once the news leaked out that their teacher had achieved great fame and success in his own land, the students were surprised. Why should he give it all up to come to China to tell them of Christ? They decided this Christian God must be truly wonderful." p126

[Robbie Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a remarkable man whose fervent love of God shone through in all he did. A marvellous example of the Christian life well lived.

A four star not because of the man but because of some of the questionable embellishments throughout the text that I felt possibly moved a bit beyond history and in to fiction.

Worth reading regardless…but do take some of the moments with a pinch of salt.

[Graceful Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredible book! Eric Liddell by Catherine M. Swift is an inspiring book about one man's faith-filled journey from a famous athlete, to a missionary in China. This book was very informative and enjoyable, a fun read.

[Violet Bleger · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspirational story. I absolutely loved reading about Eric’s astute devotion to God and desire to help people even as his Olympian fame grew. May we all aspire to live a life like Eric Liddell!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for a young audience. Very insightful and inspiring! He is much more than what is shown in Chariots of Fire.

[Hadassah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really neat book. Eric Liddell is such an inspirational man.

[Kesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and pleasant read, with good background information on China, the Olympics, and the time period. I learned quite a bit, and liked learning it. Eric comes across as a little flawless, but it's still a very real recounting of his story.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing!

[Laurie Wheeler]

Interesting biography about Scotland's famous missionary who ran in the Olympics (Chariots of Fire). We read this in our homeschool Dialectic history studies.

[Cat45 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for school, despite that I really enjoyed it. It was interesting though of course as a biography it was quite sad. It was a wonderful book that was easy to read.

[Jessie Mattis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud with my kids who are 15, 13, and 11. We all enjoyed it very much - extremely inspiring!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much more information than the Chariots of Fire movie! What an awesome man of God!

[Sam Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Liddell is a great example of faith and hard work. His story is very inspirational to me as an athlete.

[Christopher-James Neethling · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great story and a man full of courage. The writing style of this biography was a bit dull and towards the end I almost completely lost interest.

[Awjtf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Julia Hess · Rating 4 out of 5]

the man himself is incredibly fascinating and his life inspiring, the writing in this book was very lackluster and just a series of facts strung together sometimes in a very disjointed way.

[Percival Buncab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric Liddell, a Scotsman, is known as the fastest runner in his time. In his 20s, he won many championships on major British competitions, and once set a word record.

In 1924 Olympics, he refused to compete when the race fell on Sunday (Sabbath). This disqualified himself from finals, and Britain's hope for gold medal was sacrificed. He got a lot of criticisms especially from media, both locally and internationally. But he held to this conviction until his death.

I would recommend Eric Liddell's biography to Christian athletes and/or to those who once desired to work as a minister, but is now in the "secular" field.

[Ilze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a man that took a stand for his faith like few people do today: he refused to run an important race on a Sunday because he said that the Lord gave us Sundays as a day of rest ... guess he would turn in his grave if he knew what people were up to today!

[Jeremy Rios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, if hagiographical, biography of Liddell (meaning it was long on praise and short on depth). Despite these shortcomings, Liddell's genuine goodness does come through. Skip this one if you can't stand a little hero worship. Otherwise, read and enjoy.