Biography

C.S. Lewis: A Life
by Alister McGrath

The recent Narnia films have inspired a resurgence of interest in C. S. Lewis, the Oxford academic, popular theologian and, most famously, creator of the magical world of Narnia.  This new biography, published to mark the 50th anniversary of Lewis's death in 1963, sets out to introduce him to a new generation of admirers. Completely up to date with scholarly studies of Lewis, it also focuses on how Lewis came to write the Narnia books, and why they have proved so consistently engaging. 
Published by Hodder & Stoughton.  Hardback.  448 pages.  £20.00

Escape from Camp 14
by Blaine Harden

Only one person born in a North Korean labour camp is known to have escaped to the West.  This is the story of Shin Dong-hyuk, written by a journalist who has carried out extensive interviews with Shin and other refugees from North Korea.  It paints a harrowing picture of life in these camps and underlines the need for North Korea's leaders to be called to account for their violation of human rights.
In March Shin was one of a number of people giving evidence to the United Nations Human Rights Council, following which the decision was taken to appoint a Special Commission to look into human rights abuses in North Korea.
This is an updated edition of the book first published in 2012.  It describes life inside Camp 14; Shin's escape through North Korea and China to South Korea and then America.  It also describes his subsequent struggles in adapting to life in the West.
Published by Pan Macmillan.  Paperback.  252 pages.  £8.99

Outrageous Courage
by Kris Vallotton & Jason Vallotton

Tracy Evans, a physician assistant, has treated rebel guerillas while captive on an Asian island, sipped tea in a Mozambican hut while bullets whistled through the grass walls and cared for 900 HIV-positive orphans.  The book is described as a gripping, unembellished account of Tracy's exploits around the globe and an even more amazing account of what God can do with, and through, one person's raw faith and obedience.
Published by Chosen. Paperback.  160 pages.  £8.99. 

Francis Schaeffer
Bitesize Biography
by Mostyn Roberts

Francis Shaeffer was one of the most influential Christians of the 20th Century – a man who interpreted contemporary trends in society, including art and music, in the light of Christian truth.  He was an apologist, philosopher, evangelist and pastor.  Mostyn Roberts seeks to capture Shaeffer’s contribution to Christian thinking for today’s Christians.
Published by Evangelical Press. Paperback. 112 pages. £6.99

David Livingstone
The Unexplored Story
by Stephen Tomkins
David Livingstone was born just 200 years ago this year.  Drawing on new evidence from his letters and journals, Stephen Tomkins paints a picture of an idealist who was bad at personal relationships and unsuccessful as a missionary but a remarkable explorer and campaigner against the slave trade.
Published by Lion Hudson.  Paperback.  224 pages.  £9.99

John Newton
Bitesize Biography
by John Crotts

A new biography of the former slaveship captain, John Newton, in the Evangelical Press ‘Bitesize Biography’ series, looks at his remarkable life, his dramatic conversion and his subsequent ministry.
Published by Evangelical Press. Paperback. 128 pages. £6.99

Woodbine Willie
by Bob Holman

A new biography of the Reverend Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, an Anglican priest who volunteered as a chaplain on the Western Front during the First World War. Renowned for offering both spiritual support and cigarettes to injured and dying soldiers, he won the Military Cross for his reckless courage, running into No Man’s Land to help the wounded in the middle of an attack. This biography is based on original interviews with those who knew and loved him and shows the vital role he played, in the trenches and then the slums. Bob Holman himself has made a mission of living alongside the disadvantaged of British society and contributes regularly to The Guardian.
Published by Lion Hudson.  Paperback.  224 pages.  £9.99. 

Stretcher Bearer
Fighting for life in the trenches
by Charles Horton and Dale le Vack

Charles Horton was a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps in World War I.  He went through the horrors of Passchendaele, Ypres and the Somme, fighting to get the injured away from the guns, to the safety of the field hospitals and beyond. In 1970, Horton wrote down his memories.   With the approval of Horton’s family, author Dale le Vack has edited Horton’s journals for clarity, and added more text to provide background information.
Published by Lion Hudson.  Paperback.  176 pages.  £7.99 

The Redemption of an African Warlord

Joshua Blahyi grew up in Africa, became a powerful pagan priest in a local tribe, and then one of the most feared warlords in Liberia. Under demonic influence he personally sacrificed men, women, and babies, and forced children to abandon their families and fight with him.  A ‘Damascus Road’ experience changed all this and today he seeks to reach out for Jesus Christ to his former soldiers and others under Satan’s influence.  His story has been told in documentaries on PBS, CNN, the BBC and other media including the New York Times.
Published by Destiny Image.  Paperback.  176 pages.  £9.99

John Sentamu's faith stories
20 True Life stories of Faith Changing Lives Today

The Archbishop of York introduces twenty 'ordinary' people with everyday lives, families and jobs, who are making a a difference in society as they live out their Christian faith.  Some have had to face their own crises, like the young widowed mother of two boys, or a former soldier who saw his fellow-soldiers killed in a terrible accident in the Balkans.  Others use their gifts to communicate the good news of the Gospel in this country and around the globe.
We may not be in positions of influence and power, but this book inspires and challenges us to make a difference by living out the Gospel as God intended, wherever he has placed us.
Published by Darton, Longman & Todd.  Paperback.  139 pages.  £8.99

Am I Missing Something?
by Ruth Roberts

Former News of the World journalist, Ruth Roberts, describes the challenges to her new-found faith.  Based on a column that ran for three years in Christianity magazine, she describes her bemusement at many of the things that happen in church; her struggles to reconcile her thinking on issues like homosexuality or Old Testament 'genocide' with the Gospel message of love; and the daily challenge of responding to the questions and cynical comments of colleagues at work.  Ruth spells out some of the doubts and anxieties felt by many new and, if we are honest, many established Christians. 
Am I missing something? helps us understand the struggles new converts may have in coming to terms with their new-found faith; it is also another witness to the power of God to transform lives. 
Published by Authentic.  Paperback.  176 pages.  £7.99 

John Bunyan - The People's Pilgrim
by Peter Morden

  An attractively-produced portrait of the village tinker who wrote the world's best-selling novel, A Pilgrim's Progress, while in prison for preaching.  The author is Tutor in Church History and spirituality at Spurgeon's College and author of C.H. Spurgeon - The People's Preacher.
Published by CWR.  Paperback.  176 pages.  £9.99

Fabrice Muamba - I'm Still Standing

On March 17 this year, during a televised FA cup match, Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed without warning.  For 78 minutes his heart stopped beating.  The message went out “Pray for Muamba.”  And miraculously he recovered.

I’m still standing tells his remarkable story, from the 11 year-old Congolese boy who was sent to England for his safety after the fall of President Mobutu, to his part in carrying the Olympic flame 13 years later.

He is open about his Christian faith.  In the second paragraph, he declares “First and foremost I’d like to thank God for giving me health, happiness and family and also for making sure I received the specialist care I needed to save my life.”

Talking about his retirement from football he says “As long as I can breathe and walk, what more do I want to be able to do?  God is with me and that’s what counts.   I have an inner strength that helps me deal with the disappointments in life.  That strength comes from my faith … Christianity for me is the biggest factor in my life in every way you can think of.”

Here is a book to give to any football fan.   It is published by a secular publisher, about a well-known sporting character.  But it says that faith is real and that prayer works.

Published by Trinity Mirror Sports Media.  254 pages, paperback.  £12.99

Running for my Life
by Lopez Lomong

J.R.R. Tolkien: The making of a legend
by Colin Duriez

Publication of a new biography of JRR Tolkien, creator of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, is well timed. The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey is scheduled to appear in cinemas on December 13 in time for Christmas.   This will be the first in a three-part series of movies based on JRR Tolkien’s classic fantasy adventure, The Hobbit.   It is directed, co-written and produced by Peter Jackson who also produced the blockbuster trilogy, Lord of the Rings.

Colin Duriez’ book JRR Tolkien: The making of a legend traces Tolkein’s life from his early childhood, when he was orphaned at the age of 12, through his formative years when his Guardian forbade him to see the girl he loved, his service in The Great War and his years at Oxford.  It describes his family life, his academic life and his writing.  His friendships with other literary giants, most notably CS Lewis, and the formation of the Inklings group are well documented.

Throughout the book one sees the strong faith which influenced much of Tolkien’s thinking and was to play a part in the conversion of CS Lewis.  But while Lewis’s fantasy writings were allegories with a clear Christian message, Tolkein’s were more symbolic of the battle between good and evil.
Duriez identifies the many locations, incidents and influences in Tolkein’s life which are reflected in his writings.  These are illustrated by six pages of colour photographs of some of the locations.
An ideal gift for any Tolkien fan!

Published by  Lion.  Paperback 240 pages.  £8.99 

A Heart for Freedom
by Chai Ling

Mud, Sweat and Tears
by Bear Grylls

The autobiography of Born Survivor adventurer and Chief Scout, Bear Grylls.  This is a book for the general reader but from time to time Grylls talks about his Christian faith.  It concentrates on his childhood scrapes, his training for the SAS and his ascent of Everest (The youngest person to make the ascent and survive.)
Random House.  Paperback.  472pages.  £7.99
Junior version also available.  341 pages.  £6.99
Click HERE for a more detailed review

The Monster Within
by Brian Greenaway

Books about dramatic conversion from a life of crime or drug addition are common.  But does it stick?
30 years ago, Brian Greenaway's story was told in Hell's Angel.  Since then Greenaway has been engaged in a prison ministry.  The Monster Within tells the story of his disturbed childhood, his gangland life, and his dramatic conversion in Dartmoor Prison but brings this up to date with his prison work and his continuing struggles with 'the Monster Within'.
Published by CWR.  Paperback.  175 pages.  £8.99.

A12 to Heaven
by Phil Stoddart

The early morning news reported that five people had been killed by a drunk driver on the A12.  Among the casualties were two teenage daughters from a Christian family.   In the days that followed, Phil kept an internet diary tracing his spiritual journey.   A12 to Heaven tells Phil's story and includes extracts from those diaries.
Published by Last Word Publications. Paperback.  £8.99

Son of the Underground
Isaac Liu, Son of 'The Heavenly Man'
by Albrecht Kaul

Isaac Liu's mother was forced into having an abortion because she was carrying the child of an enemy of the state but the night before she was due to go into hospital for the operation, she miraculously gave birth. Isaac's father, Brother Yun, was constantly on the run. The family finally managed to flee to Burma, Thailand and ultimately Germany.  Isaac's mother prayed that God would not call her son to be an evangelist - but his father had dedicated him to God. Isaac, now in his twenties, has embraced the call to be a pastor.
Published by Monarch. Paperback.  £6.99

God's Secret Listener
by John Butterworth

During the communist era, Captain Berti Dosti, one of the elite communications team monitoring Albania's borders for American incursions, was leaving his country unguarded for 15 minutes a week as he tuned into Trans World Radio's broadcasts, ultimately becoming a believer. Had he been discovered he would have probably been shot.  In post-Communist Albania he helped to lead the new wave of church planting.
Published by Monarch.  Paperback.  £7.99

Gangland to God
by Davey Falcus

From the age of sixteen Davey Falcus carried guns and machetes, mixing with some of the UK’s most dangerous criminals. In the eighties and nineties he was part of the North East of England’s leading crime cartel. And then an encounter with God brought a miraculous transformation! This is a true story of God’s love, forgiveness and life-changing power.
Published by Verité.  £9.99

Pure Gold
by David McCasland

Pure Gold is a new biography of Eric Liddell: his upbringing in China as the son of missionary parents, his deep love for his devoted wife Florence, his zealous and outspoken faith and his tragic death at a Japanese internment camp just months before the end of the Second World War.   Includes 16 pages of photographs and significant supplementary material.  First published in the US and not previously in a UK edition.
Published by Lion.  224 pages. Paperback. £9.99 

Complete Surrender
A biography of Eric Liddell
by Julian Wilson

This is a revised edition of Julian Wilson's 1996 biography of the athlete who's achievement at the 1924 Olympic Games inspired the Award-winning film Chariots of Fire.
Liddell refused to run in the final of the 100 metres because it was being held on a Sunday.  However, the sprinter then ran in the 400 metres on a Friday and won Gold.

Liddell went on to become a missionary in China, where he was interned in a Japanese prison camp in 1943.  He died in 1945, six months before the camp was liberated, but not before making a tremendous impact on his fellow prisoners.

Drawing upon interviews with Liddell's family and friends, Wilson traces his life from childhood in China (where his own parents were missionaries) through his childhood and athletic career to his missionary years in china.  The book includes anecdotes, reminiscences, extracts from his letters and a number of rare photographs.
Pubished by Authentic,  138 pages, Paperback.  £7.99 

A Song for Jenny
by Julie Nicholson  (Harper Collins)

Among the heartbreaking tragedies of the 7/7 London bombings, Julie Nicholson's stood out. The tragic loss of her daughter Jenny, 24, a gifted musician, left Julie questioning her role as a vicar, and she ultimately decided to step down, unable to forgive her daughter's killers.  With courage and honesty, Julie tells her story for the first time. This is her battle to reconcile her feelings with the faith that is the backbone of her life.

John Stott - A portrait by his friends
Edited by Christ Wright          

As the great Christian statesman reached his 90th birthday, 35 of his friends painted a picture of the man who more than any other influenced evangelical thinking in the second half of the 20th century.  Contributors include Michael Green, John Eddison, Myra Chave-jones, Oliver Barclay, Timothy Dudley-Smith, Dick Lucas, Frances Whitehead, Michael Baughen, Richard Bewes, Marcus Loane, and Michael Nazir-Ali.
John Stott died on July 27, 2011.

Come of Age
by Angus Buchan (Monarch)

Angus Buchan shot fame with the book and film Faith like Potatoes. He has filled the largest stadia in South Africa to capacity; he has spoken to large gatherings in Britain and Australia. But behind the scenes remains a South African farmer, still working with his sons to run the family farm, still seeking to remain obedient to God's voice.

More than Conquerors
by Simon Guillebaud (Monarch)

Life is not a dress rehearsal, we only get one shot at it. 
Most people are just trying to live safely but Jesus calls us to something different - radical discipleship. 
Writing as somebody who has observed Christians facing risks, death threats and close shaves in war-torn Central Africa, Simon Guillebaud challenges readers to a more radical lifestyle. 

Through the eyes of a Street Child
     by Angela Murray

Angela Murray went to Guatemala after completing her degree. What she discovered changed her life. She went to give, but stayed to receive. "I don't think anything can truly prepare you for the experience of working with street children," she explains. "It is so easy to think of 'street children' as one big group. Once you start working with them, they become individuals. Her book tells the stories of the children themselves. 

Baroness Cox
Eyewitness to a broken world

Baroness Cox of Queensbury, a former deputy speaker of the House of Lords, is a tireless advocate for international human rights. She visits the most forgotten people in the world to encourage them and carry back their stories of persecution and abuse. She has been under fire many times while taking aid to war victims in Armenia, Sudan and Indonesia.  

My Donkey Body
A Journey with Terminal Illness by Michael Wenham

It began with a slight unsteadiness; then slurred speech.  Michael had motor neurone disease (MND).
In My Donkey Body, published in 2008, he describes the progress of the disease with honesty and humour, touching on the issues like spiritual healing and life after death.  
This is an inspiring and challenging read for any who want to understand what it is to suffer from diseases like MND and MS.

After Shock
by Kent Annan

Written in the aftermath of last year's Haiti earthquake, this book is all too relevant to more recent events in New Zealand and Japan.   Kent Annan asks the question that so many people are asking - what is the place of faith  when your world is shaken.  Kent Annan is a director of Haiti Partners, an American charity working to improve conditions in Haiti. 

God's Adventurer
The story of Stuart Windsor and the persecuted church

The National Director of New Malden-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Stuart is described in Baroness Cox's biography as 'larger than life in every respect'  A former Barnardo's boy, RAF Intelligence officer and Assemblies of God Minister, Stuart has been involved in extraordinary adventures from delivering aid under shell fire in Nagorno Karabakh to redeeming slaves in Sudan. Along the way he has met and helped many of the heroes of today's persecuted church. His story is laced with examples of God's miraculous provision and protection.                             DW March 2011

Faith Under Fire
by Andrew White ("The Vicar of Baghdad")

Andrew White has seen the best and worst of humanity: articulate, agreeable imams and rabbis; Christian venality and dishonesty. What has kept him willing to see the best? Every time he returns to Iraq he may be saying goodbye to his family for the last time. What do they think? He suffers from MS. How does he remain cheerful despite his physical weakness, and its progression? What does he say to God, alone in his study?

Resistance Fighter
God's heart for the broken by Susie Howe

Susie Howe is the founder of The Bethany Children's Trust with first-hand experience of fighting injustice amongst the poorest of the world's poor: those with HIV, orphans, street children and persecuted 'child witches'. Her book takes us from a mud hut in remote Zimbabwe, down the back streets of Manila in the Philippines; from the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo to war-torn northern Uganda... and back to Putney!

Scars & Stilettos
The transformation of an exotic dancer
by Harmony Dust

Never write anybody off as beyond the grace of God. Abused as a child, exploited by men, heavily in debt, Harmony Dust discovered how much money she could make as a nude dancer in a strip club.  And yet today she has an MA in Social Welfare and heads up an organisation helping women in the sex trade to discover their true worth.  This is her story.

Stories from the Edge
A practical resource for youth workers by Dave Wiles

God's Generals
by Robert Liardon

Portraits of  men who revived nations - John & Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, William & Catherine Booth, Charles Finney, DL Moody, Billy Graham and others.

Father Forgive
by Robin Oake

On January 14 2003, Robin Oake received the news that no parent should ever have to hear - his son Steve had been murdered.  DC Stephen Oake, A Special Branch officer, had been stabbed during an anti-terrorist operation in Manchester.
  
The next morning, Robin Oake attended a press conference where a television journalist asked "Mr Oake, what do you think about the man who killed your son?" to which he received the unexpected response " I am praying for the perpetrator of this killing and seeking God's forgiveness for him - praying also that he may now seek God himself and find peace and forgiveness with him." 

This is a book largely about fogiveness, not by an armchair theologian but by a former Chief Constable who knows what it is to forgive and be forgiven.  It is peppered with meaningful illustrations from his own police career and carries a powerful yet simple message about forgiving and knowing forgiveness.

The Vicar of Baghdad by Andrew White

"I live with a price on my head ... the kind of people I spend my time engaging with are not usually very nice.  On the whole nice people do not cause wars."

So writes Canon Andrew White, Vicar of St George's Church Baghdad.  His bome is in rural Hampshire but Canon White spends most of his time in a Portakabin in Baghdad's heavily fortified 'Green Zone'.   When he goes to the weekly services in St George's, a mile outside the Green Zone, he is accompanied by 20 armed guards.  But his main work is to communicate a message of hope and compassion.  He is respected by people on every side of the Middle Eastern conflict and has worked as a mediator in Iraq and beyond.

One Step Beyond by Gram Seed

Gram Seed was written off as a lost cause until a group of young people from a local church befriended him.  Shoplifting, football hooliganism, stabbings, beatings, alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness and jail had been his life experience.  The young people first befriended him when he was sleeping rough on a wooden bench in a Middlesborough street.  Later as he lay close to death in a hospital bed they gathered round to pray for him.  Then they invited him to an Alpha course where he found Christ. 

One step beyond traces Gram Seed's story from the depths of despair to the founding of a charity to bring the love of Christ to prisoners and ex-offenders.

Once an Addict by Barry Woodward

If you want evidence that God can heal people from addictions, this is it.  Barry Woodhead was not only addicted to hard drugs, he was also dealing.  He was shoplifting to help feed his habit.  But God intervened and turned him round.  

Two thirds of this book is about his background, and paints a vivid and disturbing picture of life for somebody who has no knowledge whatsoever of God, and could not care if he did.  But it does not glory in Barry Woodward's life without God as do some books of this type.  The book ends with a simple,  succinct summary of the Gospel, a call to commitment, a prayer and an explanation of what to do next - get a Bible and read it, start to pray, and find a good Christian church.

This is an ideal book to take on holiday and leave behind for somebody else to read (The book includes contact details for Proclaim Trust, the evangelistic organisation set up by Barry Woodward.)

John Calvin - A Pilgrim's Life by Herman J Selderhuis July 10th marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, the great protestant reformer. There are many biographies of John Calvin, the theologian - some vilifying him and others extolling his virtues - but few that reveal John Calvin, the man. Herman Selderhuis, a respected Reformation Historian, has written a book to bring Calvin near to the reader, showing him as a man who had an impressive impact on the development of the Western world, but who was first of all a believer struggling with God and with the way God governed both the world and his own life. Selderhuis draws on Calvin's own writings to describe his theology in the context of his personal development. Throughout we see a person who found himself alone at many of the decisive moments of his life - a fact that echoed through Calvin's subsequent sermons and commentaries. Selderhuis's unique and compelling look at John Calvin, with all of his merits and foibles, ultimately discloses a man who could not find himself at home in the world in which he lived. Published by IVP, this is remarkably good value at £9.99 for nearly 300 pages.

 Journey into God's Heart by Jennifer Rees Larcombe - £7.99

Journey into God’s Heart is an epic saga of one woman’s journey through fire.

Jennifer made national news headlines when she was miraculously healed from a virus that had left her wheel chair bound and in great pain for eight years.

But what of life after a miracle? The consequences are wide – and often unforeseen – some have been heart warming and joyous but others have led to pain and distress themselves.  Jennifer reveals how her faith has been tested over the years.  For the first time she talks about the tragedy of the death of her baby granddaughter – why, she reflects, did she receive a miracle but not this tiny infant they prayed so hard for?  She also speaks of the shock and grief at the disintegration of her marriage and her recent divorce.

With What Remains  by Lesley Belinda  - £7.99

In 1994, Lesley lost her Rwandan husband in the Rwandan genocide. In this book she describes with great honesty her return to Rwanda ten years later to search for the truth of what had happened to her husband, and what she eventually discovered. She shares her fears and memories, as well as the traumatic truth that emerged…..and  alongside this is the story of her journey of faith and forgiveness. 

An inspirational book.