Metaxas calls Bonhoeffer’s story “the fascinating story of the man who because of his Christian faith stood up to the Nazis and ultimately gave his life” (577). Many Germans defended life and worked for good inside and outside of their nation during the terribly dark days of the Third Reich. As the years put more time between the present and the evils of the Nazi regime, more stories are being told which reveal that not all Germans were Nazis. Why did he write it? Metaxas recounts that ever since he first read Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship in 1988, he wanted to tell Bonhoeffer’s story: “As the son and grandson of Germans who had suffered through the period I was profoundly moved and thrilled and proud to hear it and immediately began telling the story to others” (577). Even if a person does not usually read biographies, this is one to read.
In so doing he also helps the reader to examine his own life. In this biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, Metaxas leads the reader through an examination of the life and work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. “The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates once said.
In addition to authoring a number of children’s books and poems, he co-wrote Lyle the Kindly Viking, and was the voice of the narrator on Esther, both of Veggie Tale fame (574). Those with children and a video player have most assuredly come into contact with Metaxas’ work. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and Christianity Today among others. His literary career began when he was editor of the Yale Record, “the nation’s oldest college humor magazine” (573). Before he authored this “New York Times Bestseller,” Metaxas authored the William Wilberforce biography, Amazing Grace, which was adapted for screen and released in theaters in 2006. The reader may be familiar with the work of Eric Metaxas, even without knowing so. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, by Eric Metaxas.
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