A Spoke in the Wheel is an ideal book to introduce Dietrich Bonhoeffer to a new generation of readers. Vividly and concisely written, critical as well as appreciative, and containing material which has not been published in English before, it paints an unforgettable portrait of the great German theologian hanged by the Nazis in 1945. What emerges most clearly is the complexity of Bonhoeffer's personality and the lonely course he pursued: sensitive, but taught always to repress his feelings; moving away from his family to read theology, but not feeling at home in his church; ready to sacrifice everything but dogged by a tendency towards narcissism; finding the woman he loved and at that very moment put in a prison from which he would never emerge. Above all, Renate Wind brings out Bonhoeffer's early realization of the horror of Nazi treatment of the Jews and the bravery of his involvement in the resistance against Hitler, his resolve to become a 'spoke in the wheel'. To their shame, many in the churches never forgave Dietrich Bonhoeffer this involvement, and in also calling attention to their failing, this book helps to explain why.
