The final days of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1945 make for powerful and painful reading. Imprisoned for two years as a conspirator in a plot against Hitler, Bonhoeffer left Buchenwald packed into a hellish wood-burning van with fifteen other prisoners in a surreal, disorganized drive to an uncertain destination. After a case of mistaken identity almost saved him, his journey sudden (...)
July 15, 2011
Books
It Wasn’t Cheap
BonhoefferPastor, Martyr, Prophet, SpyEric MetaxasThomas Nelson, $29.99, 608 pp.
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Though I enjoyed this book as a means of fleshing out the superficial knowledge I had of Bonhoeffer, I do agree with you that the book has a number of limitations (e.g., the "smart bomb" comment was particularly grating). In spite of the book's flaws, Bonhoeffer's intelligence, wit, courage, clairvoyance about the Nazi agenda, and Christian discipleship shine through and draw the reader to this remarkable man. When I finished the book, I decided that I should now turn to the "standard biography" by Eberhard Bethge (the book is about double the size of Metaxas's), the friend of Bonhoeffer's cited and quoted frequently by Metaxas and who played a large role in bringing Bonhoeffer to the world's attention. Your suggestion to read Bonhoeffer's books is of course an excellent one.
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