They were Christians: A helpful overview of Noteworthy Christians in history

As a homeschooling Mama just starting out on her years to come journey of educating her children, I am ever on the lookout for good resources to add to our school room-even if they won't be used till years the future. I love the idea of "living books" and teaching my children, especially when it comes to history, from well written books about the real people of the past rather than school textbooks that mainly just list dates and important facts. I really think there is something to be said for getting "behind the eyes" of some of history's most well known characters, and even getting a feel for more of their mundane life and struggles versus just the  very briefest overviews of their accomplishments in a school text. When I saw I had the opportunity to review They were Christians by Cristobal Krusen, I thought that would be a great way to review a little history for myself and add a "school" book to the shelves.

Krusen covers the lives of some well known famous christian history makers, such as Abraham Lincoln and some lesser known, like Chiune Suhihara. He did an interesting job of choosing his subjects-including some who while they may have done much good for the world, it was not known to the general public that their main motivation was service to Christ. I enjoyed the brief though fairly through summaries of each characters' life, but I can't say it is one of the better biographies I've read. While I appreciate reading some back story on some of these people who changed the world in the process of expanding God's kingdom, I didn't think that Krusen's  notes on his personal life journey did much to tie the book together. I will probably keep this volume on the shelf for a light history primer and I suspect it will be a good launching point for my boys to get a feel for some noteworthy believers from past years. If they are particularly intrigued by one of the accounts included, we can track down a more through biography elsewhere.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Baker Books.