War and Grace

Don Stephens is a graduate of the University of London and for 32 years pursued a career in teaching. In the preface to this book he asserts that twentieth-century history has been dominated by two World Wars and although many books have been written about those times, ‘one topic is usually overlooked’, namely, ‘activities of Christians in those grim years’. This book is an effort to correct that imbalance and consists of 13 short biographies of people who lived through those times. Amongst those mentioned there is: the Japanese pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbour but who subsequently became a Christian and returned to the United States to preach the gospel; an American airman who was for some three years a Japanese prisoner of war but who later spent thirty years as a missionary in Japan; and an American chaplain who ministered to Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg Trials. The material has been well researched and at the end of each chapter there is a small section identifying resources where further information can be found. As with all books of this character, there are details with which we would not concur, such as several references to baptism by means of sprinkling. However, this book is well written, makes for compelling reading, is a witness to the power of the gospel to transform lives and a testimony to the grace of God towards guilty sinners.

[Our thanks to Richard Catchpole, South Norwood, for this review]