John Newton: The Angry Sailor (Preteen Biography) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kay Marshall Strom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 1984 | Series: Preteen Biography

John Newton hated being a sailor. The ship's officers gave him all the worst jobs, whipped him if the tasks were not done perfectly, and practically starved him while they ate huge meals. John wondered how God could have let this happen to him. Everyday he got angrier and angrier with the other sailors and with God. He fought with everyone and stole whenever he got the chance. By the time he was seventeen, he had one of the worst reputations in the whole navy!John prayed that God would get him off the horrible warship where he worked, but he never stopped to think that God might have other plans. Read about John's dangers and exciting life at sea and find out what God did have planned for the angry sailor.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 125 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (February 5, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802403352
• ISBN-13: 978-0802403353
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,213,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a writer and speaker who loves learning about the world. And what better way to learn than to travel? My dear husband puts up with me... even accompanies me on occasion.

Of course, the more I learn, the more I want to write. And then I want to jump up on my soapbox and share all my insights and ideas.

For years I've been known as a writer of non-fiction. That's still true, but I am also having the time of my life writing fiction. Sometimes there is no better way to share a passion than through a rollicking good story! I just finished writing one historical trilogy, "Grace in Africa," (Book 1: The Call of Zulina, Book 2: The Voyage of Promise, Book 3: The Triumph of Grace). Now I'm working on the next series, "Blessings in India." What fun! It's like eating my chocolate dessert when I haven't finished my broccoli!

Come, explore the world with me. Together we'll strive to make it a better place.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Amistad" meets "Amazing Grace", June 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: John Newton: The Angry Sailor (Preteen Biography) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one terrific book! Kay Strom has packed in so much information and excitement, it's hard to believe it's a book primarily written for kids and teens. She combines dialogue, action, and narrative into a fast-paced story that readers of all ages can enjoy. She also uses comtemporary American English to avoid bogging down in archaic terms and expressions. Now, all I knew of John Newton before reading her book was that he composed "Amazing Grace." I had no idea he'd been a slave ship captain in his early "lost" years, nor that the harshness and deprivation of his early life was crucial to his coming to belief in later life. Reading of the desperate straits he endured, and the miserable deeds he sometimes committed because of them, gives a whole new meaning to the lines from the hymn which go, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see." This epitomizes the entire story, but an interested reader would still want to glean every detail Ms. Strom has so thrillingly and believably captured in just 125 pages. This is a story the entire family can enjoy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Read!, November 24, 2007

By 

D. Becker (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Newton: The Angry Sailor (Preteen Biography) (Mass Market Paperback)

I home school my 9 year old son and am always in search of books that will delight and engage him. He enjoys reading, but it is much harder to find a book that will fascinate him than it has been to find books for his older sister. I always pre-read the books I want him to read to check for appropriate content and to make sure the book is not too difficult to read (he is a strong reader, but some terminology in books can make them too frustrating for him). I knew when I began reading this book that any boy would quickly become engrossed and my son proved me right. He couldn't put this book down and he could not stop talking about it. He initally moaned when I gave it to him, but I told him I thought he might really enjoy it. He started reading it and announced "This is a GOOD book!" and then he thanked me for the book when he was finished reading it. I believe he has read it a second time. There are many ethical and moral discussions that can come from this book as well as "life lessons." My son was fascinated that this was a biography because it read much more like an exciting fictional tale. Not only did he enjoy reading the book, my 12 year old daughter and I also throughly enjoyed reading it. The topic matters of slavery, drinking, cursing, disobedience, etc... are handled well and are not too graphic that they are inappropriate for a pre-teen to read and understand. After reading the book it gives much more meaning to the words of Amazing Grace which John Newton wrote after becoming a born again Christian and accepting Christ's redemptive love.