John Newton

Jonathan Aitken gives an authentic picture of the life and times of John Newton, best known as the creator of the timeless hymn "Amazing Grace." Newton was also a preacher, theologian, and serious influencer of abolitionist William Wilberforce, who instigated the successful campaign to ban the British slave trade. Aitken's dynamic range and effortless narration capture Newton's dramatic disregard for authority, including his escape attempt from the Navy, which demoted him to the lowest rank of seaman. His seamless narrative portrays Newton's rise to captain of his own slave ship, on which he sailed the Ivory Coast, where he was taken captive himself and experienced terrible brutality at hands of another slave-trader, an experience that transformed him. Aitken delivers a credible biography, which includes a foreword by Philip Yancey. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine