John Newton the Angry Sailor by Kay Marshall Strom was a very enjoyable book. John Newton’s father was a sailor and many times was gone from home for years at a time and because of this John spent all his time with his mother who bragged to friends that he would be a great preacher one day. John was reading when he was three, at four he had memorized entire chapters of the Bible, and at six he was studying Latin. A few days before John’s seventh birthday his mother died and he was cared for my neighbors. When his father finally came home he brought a new wife who cared nothing for John and convinced his father to send him to boarding school. John endured two years at the boarding school hating every minute and finally convinced his father that he should become a sailor.

John’s career as a sailor began in 1736 when he was eleven years old. He was initiated into the life of a sailor during a raging storm when he had to work the pump to keep the water off the deck of the ship. This terrible beginning was nothing compared to the trials that John would face for the next several years. He was the prisoner of a slave trader for quite a while and the outcome of that was that John himself became a slave trader and sailed his own ship filled with slaves. Even after being miraculously saved from death in a storm when he begged God for help, John did not give up being a slave trader. It took more interventions from God to finally get John to give up slave trading. At last John realized that slavery was wrong and that God had a plan for his life. Just as his mother had said so many years before, John became a great preacher. He also wrote one of the most beloved songs of all times, Amazing Grace.

The author did an excellent job writing this book for the characters and action scenes seemed to come to life on the pages of the book. The plot and dialogue was well thought out and held my interest so well that I read the book in one sitting. Even though the book was written mainly for adolescent boys I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book even though I am a woman and over seventy. I knew that John Newton was a slave trader, became a great preacher, and wrote Amazing Grace but that was the extent of my knowledge about the man. Thanks to the author, I now have an even greater respect for John Newton.

I recommend this book to anyone of any age who wants to know more about the life and times of John Newton.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from eChristian in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )