Seven Men - Eric Metaxas

We live in a culture starved of greatness. There are great people, for sure, but what is lacking is a consistent honoring and striving to be great. Men growing up don't have many examples to emulate. This is where Eric Metaxas' book steps in. Seven Men: and the secret of their greatness is his attempt to provide short biographies of great men of the past, as a guide to young men of today. It's an admirable effort, and the book covers everyone from George Washington to Chuck Colson.

First off, this is a book for the guys. Ladies, if you're a history buff and really interested in these people, you're probably better off looking at a more indepth biography anyways. This book covers seven men briefly, and specifically applies attributes of their lives to manliness, growing up, and responsibility. Metaxas wrote this for young men, full of examples from history.

The book covers seven great men: George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II, and Chuck Colson. It's a varied mix and Metaxas does an admirable job of picking various different professions and walks of life to include in the book: whether baseball player, president, pastor, missionary sprinter, social reformer, or even the pope, Metaxas has you covered. And because these seven biographies stand alone, you can read them in whatever order you choose — though I read them in order.

This book can't be judged as a biography, because it includes seven mini biographies. Because of this, they're not indepth or intensely detailed. But the book does do an excellent job at achieving Metaxas' mission: that is, providing a book that clearly and concisely points young men to great role models of history. These aren't the most detailed biographies out there. But they definitely do the job intended for them.

Seven Men is an excellent book, and I recommend it to any young men, specifically those just stepping out into adulthood, who are looking to live their own lives in a manner that is pleasing and honoring to God. It teaches a message more young men need to hear.

~ Andrew
Disclaimer: I received this book for free via Booksneeze, but was not required to give a positive review of it
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