Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography

Good detail and enlightening spiritual guide.

Exhaustive & exhausting to read. Too much detail to make it a book that is interesting, except for the beginning & the end. Does not move right along.

This is absolutely the best biography of Bonhoeffer on the market! Yes, it is terribly long and a very difficult read. I'm a fairly fast reader of technical biblical and theological books but it took me about a month to get to its end. Bethge gets into Bonhoeffer's head as no other person could. He was a seminary student of Bonhoeffer's and his dearest friend and confidant even during Dietrich's darkest hours. Dietrich told him his thoughts as he shared them with no one else. It is the remarkable story of Bonhoeffer's transformation from a "secular Lutheran" to a person of deep faith and eventually one whose faith cost him his life. Remarkable.It is also a must read for anyone who reads Bonhoeffer's "Cost of Discipleship" and "Letters and Papers from Prison." Chapter 13 of the biography is the only source that will make any sense of "Letters and Papers from Prison" because most of the letters to his family sound optomistic but they were written in code so they'd pass through the Nazi censors, and they're really saying something quite different. His family knew full well the scope and hopelessness of Bonhoeffer's fate. So read Ch 13 before you read "Letters."Unless you've read this biography you will never understand the depth of the man who lived it.

This is well worth the time to read. Perhaps, the best biography written about Bonhoeffer. Bethge is intellectually honest in his assessment, considering that he was very close and knew Bonhoeffer personally. Bethge doesn’t have a political bent that sways in favor of either a conservative or liberal approach. Rather, this biographical account of Bonhoeffer is balanced and objective. It’s a great read and certainly deserves five stars.

Book ordered Tue-delivered Fri with normal shipping. Rated "very good" but appeared to be new with no physical appearance of ever having been opened. Their description of condition noted this near perfect condition. Honest shipper. Will definitely look at their other items and would be repeat customer!

This is not a book for the faint of heart or for someone who just wants a little information about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Eberhard Bethge was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's dearest friend. He knows the adult Dietrich Bonhoeffer perhaps better than anyone else. This book is deeply personal and revealing of the author and of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is an amazing Biography and I really must say that I really appreciated and liked this book. If he left something out it was because he did not know something. If you want to know Bonhoeffer from his dear friend who was with him through his ups and downs and knows the struggles of being incarcerated with the cloud of death hanging over one's head then this book is book is a must.

It is a big book and makes a big impression. It was somewhat difficult reading at times because of the long discussions on theology. A glossary at the end with definitions of religious terms and background on some of the theologians would be helpful to readers not versed in theology. But a book well worth reading.

Bonhoeffer is/was a master at a minister's twin callings: Comfort the Afflicted and Afflict the Comfortable. I remain convicted and leaning even more on Grace after reading this classic work. His insights and exposition of Scripture exposé the reader to serious heart and mind reflection. Don't bother to buy or read if you simply desire to expand your knowledge but prefer to live as you do now. I'm still laboring to delve further into this Adventure with a man whose heart was HIS.

Book as advertised. I am using it to prepare a talk I am giving on Bonhoeffer and his influence and finding it very helpful; plenty detail but not losing sight of the bigger picture.

This huge tome is defiantly a challenge to get through, but worth the effort. Eberhard Bethge had knowledge that is unsurpassed by any other person who has written on the subject. If you just want a brief outline of the subject, this book is not the one you want, for that I would recommend Mextas. If you truly want to understand Bonhoeffer and gain insights to his theology then this is the answer.

This is THE Bonhoeffer biography. But be prepared to have to invest many hours! It's worth it's weight if you are after a biography of Bonhoeffer from one who knew him. Bon hoeffer isn't painted to be a saint, and it's of a length useful for academic work.

Indispensável para se compreender Bonhoeffer porque sua vida, reflexão teológica e livros estão inter-relacionados. Bonhoeffer viveu na conturbada Alemanha entre a 1a e 2a Grandes Guerras, justamente a época da ascensão do Nazismo. Seus escritos tem este pano de fundo. Bethge conheceu Bonhoeffer no seminário (ilegal) da Igreja Confessante, um movimento de oposição à Igreja oficial que havia capitulado ao Estado nazista. Após a morte de Bonhoeffer, condenado ao enforcamento por sua atuação num atentado contra Adolf Hitler, Bethge organizou e editou seus escritos remancentes, em especial o livro Ética e Resistência e Submissão: cartas e escritos da prisão. E Bethge escreveu esta magnífica biografia, muito superior à biografia de Bonhoeffer escrita por Metaxas. A biografia por Bethge tem mais de 1000 páginas, completa e complexa de um período histórico complicado. É, entretanto, a melhor fonte para se conhecer a vida de Bonhoeffer e para melhor interpretar a sua teologia. Bethge, além de ser aluno e amigo pessoal de Bonhoeffer, casou com uma de suas sobrinhas Renate.

A mais conhecida e completa biografia de Bonhoeffer. Bethge era amigo pessoal e cunhado. Também teólogo.