You Must Read

Have you ever wondered what influences have shaped the preachers, teachers and authors you respect? You Must Read brings together more than thirty well-known Christian leaders and gives them the opportunity to talk about a book that has made a lasting impact on their lives. Their personal narratives and recommendations of the literature that has moulded and matured them combine to produce a book full of interest from start to finish, but also one that can be ‘dipped into’ for occasional reading. Best of all, You Must Read will be an indispensable guide to some of the truly great books that have transformed, encouraged, instructed and challenged countless Christians’ lives. You Must Read is a ‘must read’ in itself, and a marvelous stimulus to read more.

You Must Read is an ambiguous title. As Christians ‘we are what we read’. God’s word is the instrument by which the Holy Spirit renews our minds and transforms our lives. The same is true, to a lesser extent, of Christian literature. The biographies of Christians whose lives have left a permanent mark on the church often disclose the influence of a particular book, or books, they themselves have read. So, You Must Read is a perennial maxim. You really must read!

But we also use these words when we are enthusiastic about a good book. We instinctively ask our friends, ‘Have you read …?’ And if the answer is ‘no’ we tend to say ‘Oh, you must read …’

But where do you begin? There are so many books from which to choose. Many of us want to ask, ‘Can somebody please tell me what books I should read?’ You Must Read provides some answers from the pens of a number of well-known Christian leaders, including Joel R. Beeke, Alistair Begg, Jerry Bridges, Mark Dever, J. Ligon Duncan, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., John MacArthur, Stuart Olyott, R. C. Sproul , Derek W. H. Thomas, Geoffrey Thomas, and many others.