Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed

Evangelical leader Chuck Colson could hardly ask for a more friendly biographer—not only did Aitken write a sympathetic biography of Richard Nixon, whose downfall Colson shared in the wake of Watergate, but Aitken is himself a former politician (a British M.P.) who went to jail and then discovered evangelical Christian faith. Yet his theological and political affinities with his subject do not prevent him from delivering a largely candid assessment of a man whose early career was both brilliant and resolutely godless, and whose postconversion ministry to prisoners has vaulted him to the top rank of evangelical heavyweights. Given unfettered access to Colson's associates, family and papers (even his personal, heavily annotated study Bible), Aitken excels at retelling Colson's early years of political machinations. His portrait of Colson's process of religious conversion is gripping as well, though it overlaps with the story Colson himself told in Born Again . Aitken's prose, usually lively, sometimes turns breathless. At times Aitken's obvious admiration for his subject leads him to downplay Colson's critics, including the disaffected associates he has left behind in his ministry career. But if this falls short of the definitive critical biography, it is still a compelling portrait of a flawed but faithful man. (July 19)