My review of "Bonhoeffer Abridged - Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy"

This is the second book I've read on Dietrich Bonhoeffer in recent months.The last one was "Strange Glory," a very long book with a lot of detail, and for some people a little too much detail. My wife loves history and is from a German heritage, so I thought she would love "Strange Glory" - she didn't. She found herself getting bored with the details.  I have asked her to read "Bonhoeffer Abridged" and I think she'll really like it. One of the things I really like about this book is that it gives you a fast-moving account of Dietrich Bonnhoefer's life, yet being careful to cover most of the highlights of his life and ministry without dragging through little details. It is broken down into 12 chapters covering the years of his life from birth to death.  It's entire length is only 256 pages, but those pages  covers his life quite thoroughly. I never once found myself bored while reading this book - it is an excellent book. I believe it gave me good insight into the life and ministry of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I found it very easy to read and enjoyed it very much. If you want more details on his life and ministry, I would suggest getting the unabridged copy of this book "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" (624 pages) by the same author (Eric Metaxas).  I easily give this book 5 stars.

256 pages abridged 

or 624 unabridged.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and BookLook bloggers for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review; all opinions are my own.  I was not required to give a positive review.

My Review: Strange Glory - A life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have only known bits and pieces about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, so I really enjoyed the book from the very beginning. I also liked the way that the author, Marsh, shared about the life of Bonhoeffer making me feel like I was there with him on a personal level.

I have known about Bonhoeffer for years, but this is the first biography I have read on him. The author filled in a lot of unknowns for me about him from childhood to his death. Some of the minute details, while not necessary, did give a more complete picture of Bonhoeffer. I did find the beginning of the book a little slow because of these details, but I am still pleased that the author shared them to give a complete picture of who Bonhoeffer was.

The book also gave some historical insight into the German church in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as some insight into Hitler and the Nazis. The only thing I did not like about the book was the author's possible insinuation of Bonhoeffer's sexuality. I am not going to get into that in this review; see other reviews if you are curious or read the book for yourself. I did not think it necessary to mention in the book, especially since it is speculation.  I feel you will enjoy this read, especially to become familiar with Bonhoeffer's very unique character.

This book has peaked my interest in reading another biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  The other biography is: "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy."

I received this book for free from the publisher’s Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

The following are some famous Bonhoeffer quotes: