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Each chapter is a biography of a Christian man and a few women. ( )

This is Warren's tour of his personal library. He introduces the reader to some exceptional Christians from about the 1600s on (mostly 1800s and 1900s) of whom he knows by their writings. He even visited the churches and homes of many of them. This is Warren's list of Christians to know, not a comprehensive list; realize this before you read this book. Warren leaves out some keystone Christians and includes some not so well known Christians. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I learned from it. If you want to read about the benchmark Christians through time, this is not the book to read. If you want to a personal account (a tour) of many of the benchmark Christians, then this is a good book to read. ( )

Besides gaining a glimpse into the lives of well-known and not-so-well-known saints, you also receive a tremendous suggested reading list for each person highlighted. The titles suggested by Wiersbe for further reading are absolute treasures. ( )

NCLA Review - Before purchasing this book, you should know that the 50 personalities covered are drawn largely from the conservative/evangelical wing of the faith, and are mostly western European. Further, they cover a somewhat, eclectic group—from Katherine von Bora, to persons such as R.W. Dale and F.B. Meyer (sorry, but who?). Each of the fifty chapters provides biographical information which is somewhat compacted, and is then supplemented with footnotes of limited value and with lists of books for further reading (of much greater value). If you are coming from a conservative/evangelical background and feel that previous anthologies have treated you less than well, or you are simply looking to supplement works in your library dealing with "the saints," then you might want to purchase this book. Otherwise, you may well want to give this one a pass. Rating: 2.5 —WS ( )