John Bunyan by Kevin Belmonte Book Review

I recently finished reading John Bunyan by Kevin Belmonte from the Christian Encounters series published by Thomas Nelson. John Bunyan is most well-known as the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, which I did not realize was written in the 1600s. I found it interesting that he was also a son, Tinker (occupation), soldier, husband, father, preacher, and a prisoner of conscience due to standing up for the right to preach. Mr. Bunyan’s background greatly influenced his writing and the lives of others even well after his death. The book also mentions other works by John Bunyan that I was not aware of, including Grace Abounding, an autobiography. The main point of the book is to answer how such a great work as Pilgrim’s Progress was written by a man of very modest beginnings.

This biography covers a lot of period history which I found very interesting. The author quotes numerous sources from previously written biographies, which at times can be a little distracting. There are numerous resources listed in the back of the book. A timeline of Bunyan’s life and historical events in the Appendix is very informative. Biographies are not usually my first choice for reading material. However, I found this book to be an interesting look at a writer I was not very familiar with. This book also made me want to read some of Mr. Bunyan's other works.

The greatest lesson I learned from reading this book is that the written word outlives the writer and the effort can affect people through several generations and hundreds of years later.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.