He was Nixon's hatchet man. A jailed felon. And now, one of the most significant Christian leaders of our time. Here is his life story.Charles Colson has become one of the most revered leaders of our time. His ministry outreach, Prison Fellowship, has swelled to 40,000 volunteers working in 100 countries. His Angel Tree Christmas program provides presents to more than half a million children of prison inmates every year. His daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint, airs daily on more than 1,000 radio outlets across the country. And his twenty books have sold more than five million copies in the U.S.But God had to work some mighty miracles to bring this unusual servant to this prominent place of service. After all, Colson was known as President Nixon's "hatchet man." His involvement in the Watergate conspiracy led him to prison-and then to a life-changing encounter with God. Now, noted author Jonathan Aitken has written the first biography that compellingly presents a first-rate understanding of the political, historical, and spiritual journeys of Charles W. Colson... a life redeemed.Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers WeeklyEvangelical 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) Copyright ® Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From BooklistAitken, a disgraced former member of the British parliament, calls this a "warts and all" portrait of political-henchman-turned--evangelist Colson, whose own tarnished past he cites to substantiate unblinking scrutiny of his character. Well, that may have been Aitken's intention. His chronicle of Colson's life shows him as no more or less human than Colson has shown himself in his published confessions. Nor does Aitken break any new ground seeking the rationalization for Colson's sins by examining his parents, teachers, and mentors. What does stand out is the portrayal of what can happen when one decides to turn prodigious talents away from the dark side of politics in the Nixon administration and toward the service of goodness, only to rejoin politics as an advisor to President George W. Bush. Colson seeks through his Prison Fellowship to redeem not only himself but others who have fallen from grace. Therein lies the reason to read this book: the story of helping others to help themselves perhaps cannot be told often enough. Donna ChavezCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.