David Livingstone is one of the best-known Christian missionaries, and a wide range of biographies exist on his life and ministry. The late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century works tended towards hagiography and painted Livingstone in the most positive light. Those from the mid- to-late twentieth century took a harsher tone, emphasizing his failures as a family man or painting him as a political agent of the British government. What had been missing was an exhaustive, academic work that is objectively fair and sympathetic to the man himself and his cause–Christian missions. This is where Vance Christie has set the standard in his recent biography of David Livingstone.

Christie uses the concepts in the title, David Livingstone: Missionary, Explorer, Abolitionist, as themes to outline Livingstone’s life. Part 1 covers Livingstone’s childhood, calling, and early missionary career, while parts 2–3 cover his extensive journeys in Southern Africa and the Zambezi. Part 4 covers the later years, focusing on the abolition of slavery and finding the source of the Nile. While the chronology of Livingstone’s life roughly follows these themes of missionary, explorer, and abolitionist, the author clarifies that Livingstone never really changed. He was all of these things all the time. Others have asserted that Livingstone abandoned his missionary service to seek fame and fortune as an explorer. However, Christie rightly notes that even when Livingstone was commissioned to go out under the Royal Geographical Society to find the source of the Nile, he accepted with the caveat that he could only do the job “by working as a missionary” (p. 590).

Throughout his life, wherever Livingstone traveled, he preached; so much so that he suffered from chronic throat problems. Even when exploring the Zambezi under the auspices of the British government, he was primarily concerned with finding suitable locations for missionary stations and introducing commerce and the gospel to benefit the African people. The abolition of slavery in Africa was a theme throughout his life. Christie’s ability to portray Livingstone’s entire life as the overflow of his deep, abiding faith in Christ is one of the hallmarks of this work.

This volume is one of the most outstanding Livingstone biographies to date. It is by far the most academic, detailed, and exhaustively researched of any works available on the life of this venerable missionary. Compared to other Livingstone biographies, this book gives greater attention to his early missionary career. Most tend to give cursory attention to his early years in South Africa and Botswana and move on to the explorations and abolitionist work that made him famous. Christie, however, highlights Livingstone’s proclivity to missions and demonstrates how the other pursuits were born out of that call. This book also highlights Livingstone’s successes and failures as a husband and father. Historically, other biographers (based on preconceived biases) have either cast Livingstone as a failure at home or glossed over his family life to protect his reputation. Christie, however, dives deep into all the correspondence, addressing many of the rumors and misinformation that follow his legacy.

For instance, contrary to the reputation that he cast off his family to chase fame as an explorer, Christie reveals how his wife and children accompanied him on many of his earlier travels, often at significant risk. The book chronicles the correspondence of the love relationship between Livingstone and Mary and how painful it was when she returned to England with the children so they could attend school. Cast in today’s light, it appears heartless, but he went against the trend of his day by insisting she accompany them for their sake, even if it was not fashionable. Christie’s research reveals many little-known details about Livingstone’s children, like the circumstances behind his oldest son’s involvement in the U.S. Civil War and the failed attempt of another son to lead a rescue mission to find him near the end of his career. Christie’s attention to detail should be applauded. Even someone well-read concerning Livingstone will learn new things and discover previously hidden details regarding his life, work, and passion. Nothing is brushed over, but each journey and each phase is treated comprehensively.

As is often the case, though, the greatest strength of a work can also be its weakness. This book is quite long and often laborious reading. Christie’s attention to detail leads him, in almost every case, to include lengthy, original correspondence for almost every assertion made. This results in one reading the same thing twice, once by Christie, then, again, in a lengthy missive from Livingstone or others recorded in the body of the text. This book is not an easy devotional read of Livingstone’s life akin to Rob Mackenzie’s David Livingstone: The Truth Behind the Legend but an exhaustive, detailed look at Livingstone’s life as seen through the entirety of original correspondence. This volume is more suited for academics and researchers interested in Livingstone than someone looking for light, inspirational reading.

Christie maintains authorial objectivity, but one can sense his admiration for the beloved Doctor seeping through the pages. In the introduction, he clarifies that Livingstone was “far from perfect” and outlines some of his flaws (pp. 14–15). But, as you proceed through the book, it is clear that Livingstone has made an impression on Christie, and it is the same impression Livingstone made on the world. He was not perfect, and he was a product of his time. Yet, to the very time of his death, on his knees in a position of prayer in an African hut in Zambia, no missionary has more personified humility, devotion, hard work, and integrity than David Livingstone. On this, his admirers and detractors all agree. People were drawn to him even when they disagreed with him, and the readers of this book will find themselves equally compelled to emulate his example and give their lives in service of something greater.

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