Born in 1829, right in the thick of the Industrial Revolution, William Booth saw hardship from the very beginning. After quitting school at age 13 to help support the family William went to work in a pawn shop and then at age 17 began his preaching career. The following account describes one of history's greatest evangelical figures. This book does a fantastic job of showing the early history of the Salvation Army and goes in depth in its portrayal of William's life. I literally had trouble putting the book down, it was so captivating. However, I found that the last chapter was slightly confusing and could probably have been left out of the book, although it did make for an interesting ending, albeit a befuddling one. As well, some of the descriptions of people in need or in trouble were disturbing and therefore I would recommend this book for Grades 7 and up. I would give it 4 out of 5.

I enjoy many titles in this series. But, I did not like this one as it tells of Catherine Booth teaching a sermon in church. That is against the Bible and I'm surprised the authors and publishers are okay with publishing a book like this. I had to remind my children that some of the things in the book are theologically incorrect and idolatrous in some ways.