Friday, March 12, 2010

John Bunyan Book Review

John Bunyan
Christian Encounter Series
by Kevin Belmonte

I enjoyed reading this biography of John Bunyan, part of the Christian Encounters series by Thomas Nelson publishers. This book gives a great overview of Bunyan’s life and the circumstances surrounding his writing of The Pilgrim’s Progress. I’m not a huge biography reader, and so this book was just the right size and had just the right combination of historical facts and storytelling to keep me engaged through the end. The book is 142 pages long, plus a few ending sections (appendix, notes, etc).
I loved reading about Bunyan’s conversion to Christianity, his endurance and dedication to preaching the Gospel even in the face of certain persecution, his young wife’s bravery and defense of his calling, and I especially appreciated the brief summary of both Part 1 and Part 2 of The Pilgrim’s Progress. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in The Pilgrim’s Progress or learning more about John Bunyan. It’s not a hugely in-depth look at Bunyan’s life, but just enough information to feel like you know who Bunyan was and what inspired him to write one of the most widely recognized pieces of English literature, The Pilgrim’s Progress.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

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