Book Review – Ten Boys Who Made History by Irene Howat

Ten Boys Who Made History

Ten Boys Who Made History In by Irene Howat

Synopsis:

These Christian stalwarts were once young boys playing games, learning from mistakes and growing up in quite a different world. But was it that different? Irene Howat has researched the lives of these men of God and draws out lessons we can all relate to, especially youngsters today. These boys made history… Charles Spurgeon; Jonathan Edwards; Samuel Rutherford; D L Moody; Martyn Lloyd Jones; A W Tozer; John Owen; Robert Murray McCheyne; Billy Sunday; George Whitefield. (Taken from Goodreads page)

Review

The third entry into the series is similar to the first (Talents) book. These include probably some of the more popular people someone has heard of. It’s a very good inclusion in the series with a minor flaw.

In this volume, ten boys which include Charles Spurgeon; Jonathan Edwards; Samuel Rutherford; D.L. Moody; Martyn Lloyd Jones; A.W. Tozer; John Owen; Robert Murray McCheyne; Billy Sunday; George Whitefield follow a similar story pattern of about 15 pages each. The sections starts off with a childhood and family setting and move to either some early important events or through to teenage and college-age and then into adulthood of what they’re known for. The stories include mostly fictional conversations so as to give young readers more than just facts to remember. The conversation are in the spirit of learning about the person. Each person also has a focus on their Christian faith and it usually inspires the conclusion of the story as a way to glorify God. At the end there is a “FACT” of the story expanded upon, a “KEYNOTE” that focuses on the aspect of the story to think about God, a “THINK” area in which a challenge question is presented for discussion, and a “PRAYER” section.

This entry might have been a good first entry as it covers some really famous people. What they share in common is that they were really popular preachers or teachers of the Christian faith. It’s still really impressive that so much is covered in so few pages. While the stories cover important parts of each person’s life, it would have been good to cover more of how they “made history”. These men are famous but how they made history isn’t really that clear. For example, I didn’t know much about Billy Sunday. His story is pretty much that he played baseball then became a preacher; how he made history isn’t really clear unless the standard is that they’re well known.

The flaw of exactly how they made history not being as highlighted as they could be is minor to the important people covered in church history who rose to fame for good reason. This is a great introduction for those (students or adults) looking into studying church history or wondering why these people are well known for being faithful and blessed to inspire us even to today.

Final Grade

A-