Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Letters and Papers from Prison": A Biography Hardcover - 2011

From the rear cover

"Martin Marty's biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's widely acclaimed Letters and Papers from Prison is riveting. It was difficult to put it down. Under Marty's assured direction we are led on a fascinating journey from a Nazi prison cell to the then-East and West Germany, the rest of Europe, the United States, Latin America, Africa, and Asia to learn how this book meant so many and such different things to its varied audiences. We come away from Marty's opus thankful and exhilarated: deeply thankful that Bonhoeffer's brother-in-law Bethge preserved these 'letters and papers, ' and exhilarated to discover yet again how God's deep reverence for our creaturely autonomy and integrity allows for such different apprehensions of the irruption of the divine. We are therefore enormously indebted to Marty for this biography."--Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus, Cape Town

"There is nothing else like this history of Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison. Martin Marty writes with equal clarity and empathy of the Socialist, Catholic, Evangelical, and liberal Protestant receptions of the book. And Marty's book has an autobiographical dimension that others cannot match because he has been an informed observer--and sometimes participant--in many of the theological movements and controversies he describes."--Stephen Haynes, author of The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint

"This is a book with many unexpected discoveries. It is intriguing to read how Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison came into being and even more so to learn how it was interpreted and misinterpreted. In fact, it is mind-boggling to discover how the same book has been claimed by East German Marxists, Evangelicals, God-is-dead theologians, mainline Protestants and Catholics, and secularists. Martin Marty is a great scholar and has done us a great service."--Peter Frick, editor of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Meditation and Prayer

Media reviews

Citations

• Christian Century, 05/02/2012, Page 24
• Library Journal, 03/01/2011, Page 81