Seven Men by Eric Metaxas (3-Apr-2013) Paperback

by Eric Metaxas

This book is brand new and sealed, never read or used in any way, PERFECT!!

Unknown Binding

About the author

In a decidedly eclectic career, Eric Metaxas has written for VeggieTales, Chuck Colson, Rabbit Ears Productions and the New York Times, four things not ordinarily in the same sentence. He is a best-selling author whose biographies, children’s books, and works of popular apologetics have been translated into more than 25 languages.

Reviews

[T. Ryan Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better subtitled, "And the Stories of Their Greatness," as Metaxas isn't really distilling recipies for greatness, per se; but rather giving vignettes of men who did great things. It's also worth noting that these are not "the 7 greatest men," just 7 men who achieved a measure of greatness. Shared aspects are that they A) sacrificed some incredible opportunity for a higher cause, B) showed impressive integrity when few would've even batted an eye had they abandoned their cause, and C) claimed their Christianity as their driving force. I'm embarrassed to admit that I couldn't have named over half of these men before reading this. Even the ones I thought I knew, I still didn't know their greatest moral moments. The men and their contributions are:

George Washington (also): Rejected being made a king of the new America as well as serving more than 2 terms (and really didn't even want to serve the 2nd). Had Washington fallen to the promise of power, the American Experiment would have failed in its 1st generation.

William Wilberforce: May have done more than any other single person in history to abolish the trade of slaves throughout the world.

Eric Liddell: Famously refused to run in the Olympics on his sabbath; but more importantly gave his life in service as a missionary to China. I haven't seen it, but the movie "Chariots of Fire" is about Liddell.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: German theologian who understood the implications of Nazism before most others, was involved in Operation Valkyrie (which later got the intense Tom Cruise treatment), and eventually hanged by direct order of Hitler.

Jackie Robinson: Multi-record-breaking all-star athlete was the first black Major League Baseball player. Much more interestingly than that, he was hand-picked for a strategic (and perfectly executed) operation remove baseball's racial barriers.

Pope John Paul II (real name: Karol Wojtyla): An unconventional and revolutionary Pope, Wojtyla helped refocus the Catholic Church toward ecuminism and caring for the imporverished.

Charles W. Colson: After his incarceration for Watergate, began ministries such as the highly successful, international Prison Fellowship and worked for U.S. prison reform.

Thanks to my parents for giving me this book as a Christmas present in 2015.

[Ella Appel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Washinton, Wilberforce, Bonhoeffer, Liddell, Robinson, Wojtyla, Colson: very interesting choices but I was delighted to read about all of them. Intro was the best part. The first four men were unbelievable--they certainly don't make them like that anymore.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I had read this author before and he knows how to bring a character to life through his words and prose. I encourage anyone with interest in real people accomplishing amazing things in their life, to read this book.