John Bunyan by Kevin Belmonte

In this little book, Kevin Belmonte writes about the great Puritan, John Bunyan. Bunyan is famous for writing the classic piece of literature, Pilgrim’s Progress. Belmonte looks at the life of Bunyan from the angle of the events that shaped the man who wrote this great piece of literature. Bunyan is known as being uneducated, but that is due to lack of opportunity, not lack of desire. To overcome this deficiency, he studied each book he came across until the words lived in him – including the text of Scripture.

This book is a great, simple overview of the life of John Bunyan. It is small and succinct, so it doesn’t go into major details. Belmonte has seemingly read everything that was ever written about Bunyan and quotes those sources extensively, almost to a fault. He often examines briefly the life of those who wrote about Bunyan, which was a bit much to me. I wanted to know more about Bunyan, not about those who wrote about him.

That said, the book is easy and quick to read. For those who know noting about John Bunyan, it would be worth your time to pick up a copy of this book and read it. For those who are familiar with the life of Bunyan, you would be disappointed if you purchased it.

My rating:  3 out 5 stars.

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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”