A Treasury of Great Christian Stories

I believe this book is a sleeper. It has some fine stories in it, but did not receive rave reviews from several critics. One mark of a good compilation is the revelation of well-written pieces that are not widely known. This book contains such stories with titles such as A Man Called Norman, The Executioner, The Pineapple Story, and others. The volume also contains pieces from well known writers such as Dostoyevski, Hugo, France, O'Henry, C.S. Lewis, Tolstoy, and others. The Library Journal seemed to be looking for a volume compiled for one specific age group, but the editor purposely broke the book into categories for various age groups. It's a bit sad that one negative review by Publisher's Weekly can cripple the sales of a fine book. Check out this book for yourself, and I think you will consider it money very well spent.

In my humble opinion, Publisher's Weekly underrates this collection of Christian stories. They completely ignore the fact that the compiler includes stories by such luminaries as Hugo, Dostoevsky, O. Henry, and France. The Weekly also seems oblivious to the fact that Christian writers such as Walter Wangerin, Mark Littleton, Ruth Graham, and Joseph Bayly are either award-winning writers or are highly respected storytellers in the Christian world. Features such as the author's interesting introductions to each story were also well conceived. While it's true that more than one story from a particular author weakened the anthology a bit, the book is still a fine collection that will gain in recognition with time.