It was with great reluctance that I purchased this book due to the negative reviews I encountered here at Amazon. Fortunately, Kindle offered a daily deal and I thought that for that price I had nothing to lose. This book is laborious and is not going to be easy to move through 500 pages unless you have a love for reading. However, after spending a month reading and pondering the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer I can say that I am absolutely astonished. The story and its narrator are extremely engaging and if you are unfamiliar with Bonhoeffer you will wonder why this is such a phenomenal hero that you know so little about. Mr. Metaxas is a spell-binding story teller who takes an already powerful account and writes it in such way as to leave the reader craving the next chapter. Since reading it I have, with no success, attempted to get almost everyone I know to read this work. It is a perfect blend of history and theology, which for me are the two most relevant subjects of study. Here are few reasons why this book is a must-read for anyone who knows little about Bonhoeffer.

Years ago I picked up a copy of Bonhoeffer's "The Cost of Discipleship." I was very young at the time and I really did not see why my best friend was making such an ado about it. I read a small section of it and like the immature boy that I was, laid it to the side to never retrieve it. In many ways that was an excellent decision on my part because without the story, Bonhoeffer is easy to misunderstand and misquote. It is the context of his life that give such shade and meaning to everything he thought and said. Bonhoeffer for example quotes Luther's "sin boldly" comment in his Cost of Discipleship. At the time I found this to be problematic and it is only when I understood the story of his life that this statement made sense. The story begins in the pre-WWI period and ends at a concentration camp in 1944. The book is a lesson about morality and the need to do what is right even if right is in fact still wrong. What if no action you could take would be completely and absolutely guilt-free? This is the dilemma that Bonhoeffer faces when Adolf Hitler rises to power, and Bonhoeffer must make a choice to do something right even though it means that he must do something wrong.

Metaxas gives a great introduction to the family life and proud ancestry that Bonhoeffer sprang from. All of his life it seems that God was beckoning Dietrich and from early childhood there was a growing interest in spiritual matters that grew brighter and brighter throughout his life. He was a man of great conviction and quite unafraid to stand alone on a topic if believed that it was right. He was not arrogant and would often examine his heart to make sure that it was not his vanity that motivated and informed his decisions. Even though he was an academic, Bonhoeffer was more interested in the church and its development. His interest in Pastoral ministry continues to grow throughout his time in Spain and in the U.S. This bright young German pastor was offered an opportunity to Pastor in England shortly after Hitler had assumed role of "Fuhrer." His clarity to see Hitler when others lagged is remarkable, and from the onset he finds himself opposed to the "Aryan Paragraph" being heavily enforced in the German church. He almost immediately sets himself up against Hitler's regime seeing him as a dangerous man who was accruing the kind of power that would ultimately prove destructive to his beloved Germany. He did everything within power to undermine Hitler in both Germany and England. Ultimately, he ends up in Germany working in a government position and becoming deeply entrenched in the plot to assassinate Hitler. It is no secret that the Valkyrie plot was a failure, and even though he was already in prison this involvement sealed his fate.

The brilliance of Metaxas is the method he used to tell the story. In fact, it is hard to understand how anyone could give him such low reviews even if the information was not entirely correct. His writing ability and style of narrative is commendable and in some ways resembles the entertainment that one might get from reading a fictional work. I love the way he moves across two planes at the same rate by tracking Bonhoeffer's intellectual development in the context of the wider German situation. This way keeps the reader thinking about how powerful events shape the way we think, act, and feel. We gain good solid insight in Bonhoeffer's train of thinking and then are caught up to speed with all the changes that happen around him. He offered interpretations of Bonhoeffer's comments that sheds light on his perspective. Metaxas also has a strong grasp on the history of WWII and really seems to have offered a reasonable understanding of the mysterious Adolf Hitler. While the book is not about Hitler it seems to me that he still hits him spot on. In fact, every character that is important in this story is well-developed with the exception of Bonhoeffer's first love interest. The relationship is not well explained and there is not much about what happened that ultimately soured the relationship. It was nice to see that there was a strong resistance movement in Germany and it was interesting to see Bonhoeffer's thoughts on Christianity in America. Let me say that things haven't changed much!

As a historian I appreciate that he interacts well with primary sources not only listening to what Bonhoeffer is saying but consulting sources of those around the man. He really helps the reader to gain a strong foothold on the man and his mission. His tragic fate is moving and told with candor and respect; I was moved to tears. He is not constructing Bonhoeffer so this means that his faults are there to see, but he is not deconstructing Bonhoeffer either trying to expose every issue that comes to light. He lets Bonhoeffer and those who knew him best tell as much of the story as possible. I simply cannot tell you how much I loved this book, and I give it two thumbs up only because I don't have more thumbs! Bonhoeffer's thoughts about God, life, the scripture, right, and wrong are as pertinent in our times as they were in the times that Bonhoeffer was born into. This is a book that I want my children to read when they are of age and it is something that I want my students to read some as well. While I cannot bring in the theological aspect to the classroom I can introduce them to a brave man who chose to stand-up and suffer for what was right when he could have remained seated and flew under the radar. When things started to go sour the German church sent him to America to keep him safe. He chose to go back to Hitler's Germany because he felt he had no right to help rebuild the German church after Hitler if he did not suffer along with his people. He exercises a clear conscience before God and man which should be the goal of every Christian. Buy this book! I give it Two thumbs way up!

Eric Metaxas has outdone himself with his latest work, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. The author sets the stage for Bonhoeffer's life and ministry by detailing his life as a child and the events that led to full-time Christian ministry.

Metaxas provides rich detail that helps deconstruct this enigmatic character we know as Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The formative years in Rome are explored, student life in Berlin, and his first pastorate in Barcelona. Bonhoeffer is painted as one who loved children and had a passion for equipping young men for the ministry.

His life as a university student in Berlin is a fascinating journey, especially the information that pertains to his friendship with the German theologian, Karl Barth. Also interesting is path chosen by Bonhoeffer as he studied with German liberals like Adolf von Harnack. These years taught Bonhoeffer to think for himself and carefully formulate his theological presuppositions and produce doctoral and post-doctoral dissertations (Sanctorum Communio and Act and Being respectively).

Shortly after Act and Being was published with little acclaim, Bonhoeffer make his way to America in 1930. He struggled with the lack of discipline that he saw demonstrated among the theological students. He was shocked at horrific way that some Caucasians treated African-Americans.

In 1931, Bonhoeffer journeyed back to Germany after his time in America. At this time, he struck up a friendship with Karl Barth. He also returned to the lectern and pulpit with renewed fervor. Metaxas observes Bonhoeffer's desire to nurture the life of the Christian mind in his students: "He wished to disciple them in the true life of the Christian. This ran the gamut, from understanding current events through a biblical lens to reading the Bible not just as a theology student but as a disciple of Jesus Christ. This approach was unique among German university theologians of that era."

One of Bonhoeffer's students commented, "Among the public, there spread the expectation that the salvation of the German people would now come from Hitler. But in the lectures we were told that salvation comes only from Jesus Christ." Bonhoeffer sought students who were biblical to the core. Another student noted, "He taught us that the Bible goes directly into your life, [to] where your problems are."

Bonhoeffer was a man of conviction. In 1933 he preached at Trinity church in Berlin and boldly proclaimed, "The church has only one altar, the altar of the Almighty ... Whoever seeks something other than this must keep away; he cannot join us in the house of God ... The church has only one pulpit, and from that pulpit, faith in God will be preached, and no other faith, and no other will then the will of God, however well-intentioned."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer not only took a stand for Christ; he stood on behalf of Jewish brothers and sisters. His essay, "The Church and the Jewish Question" helped bolster his case for the Jews. Metaxas rightly observes, "But Bonhoeffer knew that a church that did not stand with the Jews was not the church of Jesus Christ, and to evangelize people into a church that was not the church of Jesus Christ was foolishness and heresy."

This German pastor was intensely practical and had little interest in academics as an end it itself. Bonhoeffer writes, "Theological work and real pastoral fellowship can only grow in a life which is governed by gathering round the Word morning and evening and by fixed times of prayer." Additionally, Bonhoeffer would have been grieved by the so-called postmodern emphasis on "making the Bible relevant." He adds, "Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic ... Do not defend God's Word, but testify to it ... Trust the Word."

Bonhoeffer placed a strong emphasis on preaching the written Word of God. Metaxas comments, "For him a sermon was nothing less than the very word of God, a place where God would speak to his people ... Like the incarnation, it was a place of revelation, where Christ came into this world from outside it."

Metaxas chronicles the fascinating account of Bonhoeffer's role as a spy and conspirator against the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer was a member of Military Intelligence but was in reality working to destroy Hitler's evil devices. The author speaks approvingly of this double agent pastor/spy: "Bonhoeffer was not telling little white lies. In Luther's famous phrase, he was 'sinning boldly.' He was involved in a high-stakes game 0f deception upon deception, and yet Bonhoeffer himself knew that in all of it, he was being utterly obedient to God."

Metaxas meticulously details the events that led to two assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler which ultimately sent him to prison (even though the Gestapo did not initially have any idea of Bonhoeffer's involvement in the conspiracy) and led him to the gallows.

Metaxas surveys the prison landscape that would serve as Bonhoeffer's home for the last eighteen months of his life. He explains how Bonhoeffer sought to keep the details of the conspiracy secret and hints at the Lutheran pastors' ability to play a skillful game of subterfuge: "He was not a 'worldly' or 'compromised' pastor, but a pastor whose very devotion to God depended on his deceiving the evil powers ranged against him. He was serving God by taking them all for a long ride."

Before Bonhoeffer made his way to the gallows, he uttered these final words: "This is the end. For me the beginning of life."

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy is a thoughtful and illuminating biographical account of a man who lived a faithful Christian life before God and the people of God. The author brilliantly weaves data from personal research and a voluminous set of letters to and from Bonhoeffer. The final product is an encouraging portrait of a courageous pastor who sought above all to obey God. Highly recommended!

5 stars

Lovers of history, biographies, theology and activism will find "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" one of the most intriguing books they have read in quite a while. Well documented and excellently written, it is both a book you can't wait to finish and yet will read slowly in order to digest the many layers of thought provoking truth within its pages.

History buffs will be enthralled with the intricate and thorough details Eric Metaxas provides behind the many landmark events of German history from pre-World War I through the last days of the Third Reich. Events such as the personal, material and economic devastation experienced during and after World War I, the social chasm that was created as Adolf Hitler maneuvered the Nazi party to a prominence and power and the horror he imposed on European Jews. All of this viewed through Dietrich Bonhoeffer's eyes.

Lovers of biographies will be amazed at the incredible insight into the life, heart and mind of Bonhoeffer based on extensive research and interviews of friends and relatives of the theologian. Books, journals, notes and film of interviews were exhaustively studied to gain an accurate, intimate, multi-dimensional perspective of the man. Comments from friends and foes alike are used to share just how remarkable Bonhoeffer actually was. Readers of biographies will measure all other biographies and their subjects based on this book and this man.

Case in point: The ultimate compliment to this aspect of Dietrich Bonhoeffer was written by H. Fischer-Hullstrung, the camp doctor at Flossenburg where he witnessed Dietrich's hanging. He said, "I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God."

Readers of theology will gain insight into the thought processes and strong moral and spiritual compass that guided Bonhoeffer to make very tough decisions - decisions to do what was morally, ethically and spiritually the right things to do. He demonstrated how to break out of the theoretical, detached academic mindset that overtakes many theologians and to "put walk to the talk". I can't think of another theologian who actually internalized and lived what they believed to the point of martyrdom. The theological perspective is presented in a way without coming across overly "preachy" or "churchy" and should be a captivating read for even the most atheistic, agnostic, or otherwise non-Christian reader.

Like readers of theology, activist readers will be inspired Bonhoeffer's calm, level headed commitment to his cause. They will be challenged by his willingness to see it through to the end. Whether or not the activist reader is a person of faith, their determination will be steeled by words such as these: "And we simply cannot be constant with the fact that God's cause is not always the successful one, that we really could be `unsuccessful': and yet be on the right road. But this is where we find out whether we have begun in faith or in a burst of enthusiasm."

I suppose the most intriguing aspect of "Bonhoeffer" was gaining insight into how a man of the cloth would be involved in a plot to murder his country's leader. Many of us might say that we would have no problem taking the life of someone trying to kill us or our family. Others may say that they would have no problem killing on the battlefield. Still others would have no problem executing a criminal deemed by law to be worthy of being put to death. Those scenarios can all be rationalized based on some generally accepted principles.

But how does one rationally, sanely, ethically and theologically be an objector to their country's war on one hand and be involved as a co-conspirator in plots to assassinate your leader on the other hand? Metaxas's insight into the mind of Bonhoeffer will show, in a matter-of-fact manner, not only how he rationalized his involvement in the conspiracy, but knew that Hitler must be killed in order to stop the madness.

Personally, I don't like reading books unless I can learn something meaningful from. In some way, a book must make me a better "me". A book must impact me in one or more of the following ways:

*As a lover of history, I must learn some golden nugget of history from a book so that I might better understand its impact on the present and allow the lessons learned to influence my future if not the future of society.

*As a voracious reader of many types of biographies, I must gain unique and valuable insight into the people I'm reading about. In doing so, I am personally enriched and impacted in most areas of my life.

*As reader of many books of faith (not only of my faith but of other belief systems), I must gain something that positively contributes to the building of my core beliefs and values or to gain understanding of the core beliefs and values of others.

*As one who sometimes finds themselves in a rut or at a crossroads, I must get something out of some books that inspire me to take whatever I do, believe or am involved in to the next level of excellence.

Eric Metaxas' "Bonhoeffer" has achieved the rare feat of checking all four of those boxes on my reading check list. Regardless of your view of history, people, religion, or life, "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" will definitely not be a waste of your time to read.

This is a thoroughly researched, well written and emotional biography of an exceptionally well born and magnificently talented German Pastor who, having dedicated himself to God, found himself tragically dedicated to the German Resistance and to deadly events in of a non-pastoral nature in the real world of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 - events which brought him to the gallows as a martyr two weeks before the collapse of Germany in 1945. And the tragedy of the whole story is not his death by hanging at age 38 but that a God which the theologian Karl Barth has defined as "wholly other" and whom Bonhoeffer worshipped with his whole being would and did permit his death plus the deaths of millions of others as well - all at the hands of those who were wholly evil.

Very frankly it was a tough but thoughtful read for me. It was not easy to be reminded again in depth of the details of the awful events of those twelve years. (I was a knowledgeable adolescent in 1933 when Hitler came to power in Germany.) Nor could I - nor can I - accept the asceticism of his firm and stringent brand of theological belief as set out in this book and more firmly detailed in his famous The Cost of Discipleship. (Simon & Schuster 1937) (More about this later).

However, I was carried away by the essential goodness, the affluence, the learning, the universal love and the lovely and continuing loyalties of and among the huge Bonhoeffer family in Berlin both before and after World War I - qualities which became Bonhoeffer as naturally as breathing and which, fueled by his huge intellect, made him a Pastor worthy to walk on any stage or be heard respectfully from any pulpit in any country at any time. But his time was the 1930s which saw the spread of Hitler's evil and the awful flames of hate consume a hitherto decent people and their Church, when the German Church rotted away as Nazi appointed Pastors preached heresies at the point of death and when one had to be a conspirator or a Pastor of the Confessing Church (a separate Church founded by Bonhoeffer and his friends) to preach the Gospel of Christ.

All of this - the whole terrible story - is laid out by Metaxas in great detail. Too much detail some might say; and, whether it was because of the great and incessant detail - serial quotations from letter after letter - or whether I was just not up to living through some or all of this again I confess to having put the book down at times and skipping to the next chapter - and then to the next. You may have the same trouble with detail unless you are determined to follow the convolution of church politics and Anti-Hitler plotting in the years leading up to the plot on Hitler's life and Bonhoeffeer's undoing

.

Metaxas minces no words. I don't know the brand of his particular orthodoxy but his treatment of Harry Emerson Fosdick, the famed preacher of Rockefeller's Riverside Presbyterian Church, the man who had trouble believing in the Virgin Birth, The Divinity of Christ, The Resurrection, The Life Everlasting of even that the Bible is the word f God, the man who was at one time the most revered preacher in America is almost hilarious. And he is no less savage in his treatment of Hitler and his cronies. You know absolutely where he stands No equivocation.

Bonhoeffer himself was much the same. In his Cost of Discipleship he scorned the "Cheap Grace" practiced by "those who believed their only duty as a Christian was to leave the world for an hour or on a Sunday morning and go to Church to be assured that all my sins are forgiven" and he went on to lay out tests for those of us who would measure up to his standards of Grace, standards which were so high to this writer that if I were to reach them I wouldn't have much time for work or play but would spend time 24/7 on reflection and study and prayer. He was a fundamental fundamentalist. And he stuck to it. It took him to the gallows, but he went with a Bible in his hand and a prayer on his lips. (As an aside - when Bonhoeffer studied at the Union theological Seminary in New York in the 1920s he found that Christ's Gospel was preached better by Adam Clayton Powell Sr. in the Abyssinian Baptist Churching Harlem than on Riverside Drive.)

Bottom line: The book is too long, too detailed for those of us who are general readers; and I am of the opinion that Metaxas must have whitewashed Bohnoeffer a bit. He is presented here as an almost Christ-like figure - moral beyond belief, worshiping continually. Didn't he ever have a few drinks too many or seek out a pretty wench - ever? If so we never know about it. No question but that he was an unusually gentle, well met, impressive man, but I doubt that anyone could be as good as Metaxas presents him here.`

If you are really into religious studies by all means read it. If not, skip through it and admire who Bonhoeffer was, what he stood for and how thoroughly Metaxas has written his story.

Do good books become mirrors?

When reading good books do we see a reflection of our character? By wondering and asking ourselves, “What would I have done in that situation; in those circumstances?” Do we confront ourselves and wonder, “How would I compare?”

“Bonhoeffer – Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy,” will make you think about your basic character, your soul. It is a most frightening tale of human nature, political nihilism, greed, and evil versus good. It describes how an advanced and sophisticated country can slide into tyranny and evil.

If you are religious, it will present profound questions about the true depth and sincerity of your faith. If you’re secular, you’ll confront questions about what is morality in the absence of religion. Is all “truth” relative, and why is that so? The central issues in this story point to a common denominator: does “might make right, or does “right make might.”

It’s interesting to read how Bonhoeffer’s intelligence and background led him to a career in the clergy, given that he had talents to be pretty much whatever he set his mind to becoming - accountant, lawyer, scientist, businessman, musician. He was an accomplished pianist and very easily, could have turned that skill into a successful livelihood. Nevertheless, he chose to follow the LORD.

His exceptional intellect is displayed throughout the book. He was one of those unique individuals blessed with the ability to analyze complex situations, organizations, or people, and strip away the superfluous to reveal the essence. His political, social and character analyses allowed him to see situations clearly where others were led astray by emotion, willful delusion, or greed.

Eric Metaxas writes this story with consummate skill. He weaves together aspects of history, political intrigue, morality, human courage and frailties to create a wonderfully interesting story about the success and failures of a Christian church, an exceptional nation, and a mighty man.

Metaxas uses Bonhoeffer’s writings as scaffolding upon which to build the story. Those references are worth reading by themselves. They are some of the best commentaries on Christianity from any age.

Whether you are faithful, agnostic, or atheist, there’s a lot to be gained by reading this book. If you are willing to reflect on the issues and questions it presents, you’ll be a better person for having spent time with Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

And if you want to compare the parallels of Bonhoeffer’s time with the present, you’d do well to read Eric Metaxas’ latest book, “Letter to the American Church.” It’s a short read, but will quickly challenge you spiritually and intellectually with some very sober and chilling revelations about the church and society in Germany of the 1930-40’s and the America church and society today.

When Eric Metaxas published Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, his lengthy biography of Bonhoeffer in 2010, I knew it was something I had to read. However, it fell to the bottom of the list of a bunch of other books I genuinely wanted to read, but never got around to. That is, until this year and my push to read a book each week.

I wish that I had not waited so long.

Bonhoeffer is a masterful work of both detailed non-fiction and artful storytelling. This is no mere collection of witty sayings by an obviously brilliant man. This is the epic of a man caught in a war with his own soul and the Third Reich.

What strikes me most about this book is that is so clear how taken with Bonhoeffer Metaxas has become, and yet it is not an attachment that is bothersome in the sense that he is some wide-eyed groupie. There is genuine respect, admiration, and an attempt to come to grips with life of man unlike we have seen in centuries. Metaxas doesn't oversell the point though. Bonhoeffer wasn't perfect and the attempt here is not to make him out to be a bastion of righteousness without fault or blemish. But he helps us to see Dietrich Bonhoeffer as he was, a man. Albeit, a man with extraordinary gifts and sight into a time where many were blinded.

One of Bonhoeffer's greatest contributions to the Church was his view of how the Church ought to respond in the midst of a suffering world. He criticized and tried to energize a German church who merely wanted to go on existing in the same sphere as the rising tide of National Socialism took root in the mid-1930s. He said that there had to be more than just existing or rule-following when it came to our religion. Metaxas says,

"He (Bonhoeffer) had theologically redefined the Christian life as something active, not reactive. It had nothing to do with avoiding sin or with merely talking or teaching or believing theological notions or principles or rules or tenets. It had everything to do with living one's whole life in obedience to God's call through action...It was God's call to be fully human" (pg. 446).

Bonhoeffer was a man completely fitted for his times, in that he saw what was becoming of his beloved Germany and his ever more dearly beloved church as Hitler and the Nazi party came to power. He had this amazing gift to be able to see things for how they truly were, not just how other people perceived them. He was altogether prophetic in every sense, both in the forth-telling of God's Word and the foretelling of what was likely to come upon the church in their troubling times.

But he was not only brutally honest but also he was kind and loving like a pastor. One of the men with which he was imprisoned in the weeks before his execution later recounted in a letter to Dietrich's parents, "He was, without exception, the finest and most lovable man I have ever met."

Metaxas' work on the life of this saint of the Church is really breathtaking. It is wondrously complete and it is worth the significant investment of time to discover this amazing man and to see through Him the even more amazing God that he died serving.

There is a pervasive temptation today to say that theology doesn't matter. Not just in culture and academy, but also even in church. As though right thinking about God isn't relevant to real life (you know, to "the rest of us"). Bonhoeffer speaks to that temptation with a powerful true story of a hero of history whose direction in life was shaped by his profoundly deep understanding of God. His was a theology that mattered; a theology whose understanding of God and church was disruptive. Revolutionary. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian turned Confessing Church leader, Nazi-resister and spy during World War II. In Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas capably walks the reader through the story of this bold (and at times confusing and complicated) leader.

Far from being a dry book about a theologian, Bonhoeffer truly introduces you to a fascinating person. You'll meet his family and mentors; his friends and colleagues, students and even his love interest. But of course (the part many of us are interested in): You'll also hear plenty about his involvement in the conspiracy against Adolf Hitler.

But still, none of this can be separated from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theological thinking. You'll read about Dietrich as a young academic interacting with the likes of Karl Barth and Adolf von Harnack. Of his frustration with American liberal theology in New York alongside his deep appreciation of the African American spirituality he engaged there. Of how he worked through his Barthian theology in a pastoral context, understanding that since God can't be known apart from revelation the preacher is entirely dependent upon God for results. He was a man who knew God, and sought after God for his own life's direction. Who cared more about following that direction than about his own safety.

The question at the forefront of much of Bonhoeffer's thinking: "What is Church?" Far from being theoretical, this reflection became very relevant when he was asked to "play along" with the newly Nazi-run "Reich Church." If the church is neither Jew nor Greek (as St Paul made clear), an institution which excludes Jews from leadership is no longer the church. He went through similar thinking as he moved from mere protest to action. Is it enough for the church to only speak out on behalf of the oppressed? Isn't action required also? This eventually led to Bonhoeffer's conspiratorial activities as a double agent for the Nazi Abwehr (where, among other things, he worked at freeing Jews and plotting to assassinate Hitler).

Metaxas is a thorough researcher and masterful storyteller. Bonhoeffer will introduce you to the big picture of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life, setting his famous works (such as Ethics and Discipleship) in context. Despite it's length (well over 600 pages), you'll find that the pages fly by through much of this edge-of-your-seat story. There are slow moments of course. Metaxas includes plenty of correspondence from Bonhoeffer's letters -- helpful to the story, but slow reading. Also, we know painfully little about Dietrich's last days, which was frustrating for me only because I became so invested in the story that I really wanted to know "exactly how it ends."

But then, what else do we expect when reading history?

This is a truly engrossing biography. Enjoy!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through theBookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

A must read. Bravery and pure manly heroisms.

Este es un gran libro, te enseña. En un momento en el que era fácil dejarse llevar por la corriente Nazi, como hizo la inmensa mayoría de la población alemana desde principios de los años treinta, Bonhoeffer se opone.¿por qué? ¿De que madera estaba hecho este hombre? ¿Que principios animaban sus actos? Aquí están las respuestas. Un gran libro de fácil lectura

This is a wonderfully well written biography of a key figure in 20th century Christianity. Eric Metaxas has done a masterful job of communicating the zeitgeist of early and mid-20th century Germany, the inter-relationships between church and state amidst the growing popularity of the National Socialist Party and the incongruity of being a Christian, and adhering to official NAZI party lines. Four points are particularly well made:

First, there can be no doubt that one of the key issues that Bonhoeffer must respond to throughout his early life is the way the German Church - the church of the reformation that has so highlighted the importance of scripture, salvation and reconciliation with God by grace through the redeeming work of Christ on the cross - the German Church had adopted habits, that made it vulnerable to collaborating with government abuse of different populations. The German church is portrayed as simply offering up all kinds of deep compromise to the NAZIs. This biography begs the question: how do you interpret scripture in a way that will make you stand in the face of evil, cover your neighbor's back, look after the poor and the rejected, even if it means your end? To what extent will you go?

Second, the question takes on even more depth when applied to each individual's personal life. The question is not how to live your life without sin, without making mistakes. The question is: How do you respond with your entire life to God's calling? This question is incredibly significant in the face of a modern day Christianity that is strong on cultural judgement and too often thin on judging the atrocities and calamities that go on all over the world. As image bearers, are we concerned with avoiding a "bad life" rather than fully living the life that God has redeemed and made new.

Third, this biography is masterfully written by someone who has really done much careful historical work. I have read many works on the rise of the NAZI Party and the conditions that provided the context for the atrocities of WWII. I have learned much in this book about the intricate plans by the NAZIs to co-opt the German Church and, in an Orwellian fashion reminiscent of more explicit Stalinian tactics, allow the church to survive as an institution while removing completely all of its power and significance. There is much in this book that expresses NAZI thinking about Christianity and God and the role of believing Christians in the German resistance.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the specifics of the Bonhoeffer story are remarkable. His uneasy beginnings in theology, his experience of the American church, his work with the Confessing German Church and his early stands against some of the troublesome actions of the more traditional German Church, his work with the community of ordinands and his devotion to people, to service, even in prison, even at the dawn of his own execution. His desire to marry, start a family, to keep friends and to cherish them, to enjoy them, his bouts of depression. His struggle with the great issues that he faced and the choices that he made, especially as he engaged in a plot to assassinate Hitler. Above all, his refusal to live a life where the easy decisions are made that take you away from responding to God's calling. Metaxas makes a wonderful point, drawn from Bonhoeffer's thoughts on Ethics, about three quarters of the way through the book where he claims that not wanting to make mistakes will take you away from action that reflects God's presence. But deciding to take action will almost certainly confront you with different other dilemmas and force you to make other decisions. Being an image bearer is not an easy path.

This biography, like few other books, leaves the reader with the same question that haunted Bonhoeffer: How do you respond with your entire life to God's call? A question for the ages.

This is my first exposure to Bonhoeffer and I was not disappointed. This book has peaked my interests about him even more. I would very much like to read his written works too. And I wouldn't mind reading other biographical accounts written about him too.

Höchst eindrückliche Geschichte

The grand story of one of the great Christians who gave his life resisting Hitler is told in a masterful way here. What makes this biography especially good is the attention to background detail. And some, seemingly small at the time, come to leave their own picture in our minds. Take for example Bonhoeffer's first visit to New York in 1930. Metaxas carefully explains how rich John Rockefellow was trying to expel the fundamentalists from New York and had built a splendid church called Riverside for the liberal Harry Fosdick to preach his secular Gospel from. The liberalism leaves Bonhoeffer cold, and this brilliant aloof German, student of scholar Adolf von Harnack and friend of Karl Barth, finds his spiritual home at the black Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem where a hot heaven and hell Gospel was preached by Dr Adam Clayton Powell Sr. Metaxas could have left it there. But quite rightly he tells us more about Powell; that he had been converted from a life of hard drinking and gambling; that he had built a huge church in Harlem which by the 1930's had a congregation of fourteen thousand members; and something very moving. He was the son of slaves. Metaxas then shows through a letter that Bonhoeffer wrote to a close friend about his this time `...something happened, something that has changed and transformed my life to the present day', and he admits that before, `I had not yet become a Christian'. So, because of Metaxas digging to get the detail we have this fitting jewel of a detail about Bonhoeffer: the man who died fighting anti Semitism in Germany, almost certainly became a Christian through the preaching of a son of slaves.

There are many other examples of details that enrich and fascinate. One I will never forget is that Bonheoffer shared his last two months with Dr Sigmund Rascher, who as Himmler's chief `medical officer' had designed gas chambers, and experimented on human beings for science. Metaxas gives a full account of this, and the good impression Rascher made on one of his fellow prisoners. Payne Best, an imprisoned English spy, wrote: `Rascher was such a good comrade to us all...he was the life and soul of our party, and although he well knew the risks, never hesitated to stand up to the brutal set of guards who had us in their power'. Metaxas gives us a detail here that makes little sense, but still we can't shake it out of our minds: that a saint like Bonhoeffer ended up with such a sinner as Rascher. Strange world.

With all this detail Bonhoeffer is always firmly centre stage and his message to us today is still clear. Preach `costly grace', a radical following of the living Christ to keep church and country safe. For if the church is allowed to sail away into the grey waters of theological liberalism and formalism, as happened to the Lutheran church in the early 20th C, she becomes easy meat for the waiting sharks.

The prose on the whole was great: easy flowing, with plenty of colourful phrases like, `charging into the white jaws of the notorious Russian winter.' Or `Goebbels...erected a veritable Chartres of trickery and fraud.' As a British reader the many `wrote Mr Whoever' instead of `wrote to Mr Whoever' jarred a little; there were too many exclamation marks; and very occasionally a word seemed a little informal like, `goofball', `bent themselves into pretzels', and `fussbudget', which I assume means a spoil sport.