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Books
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals….When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. – Revelation 5:1, 6:9
So much wrong fills the world we today inhabit, so great is the mass of injustice and brutality, that for the survival of our sanity, we must corrode, at least in part, our capacity for empathy. For if we were to truly mourn for every death, for every massacre, from Iraq to Nicaragua, and from Papua New Guinea to Nigeria, we would grow mad with grief. And yet I cannot but feel there is a madness in not grieving. – Bishop Saad Sirop Hanna, Abducted in Iraq: A Priest in Baghdad
Listed below are recommended books on current events either written about Christian martyrdom or by individuals who have been cited on these pages for their Christian witness. The most recently published books are at top. Please note that some books have only a small amount of their content dedicated to specific martyrs.
Where possible each listed book has links to their entries in Open Library, where items of interest to prospective readers such as Table of Contents and page count can be found. Some Open Library entries include a lendable e-book which may be downloaded and unlocked.
To see books that cover events of the 20th Century click here.
To see a list of children’s books on contemporary Christian martyrdom click here,
Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents
by Rod Dreher – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To download the Live not by Lies Reading Guide on PDF format click here
A Sword Over the Nile: A Brief History of the Copts Under Islamic Rule
by Adel Guindy – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Priests We Need to Save the Church
by Kevin Wells – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Hated Without a Reason: The remarkable story of Christian persecution over the centuries
by Patrick Sookhdeo – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The 21: A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs
by Martin Mosebach – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
For Love of My People I Will Not Remain Silent: On the Situation of the Church in China
by Joseph Zen Ze-Kium – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Reshaping of Britain: Church and State since the 1960s – A Personal Reflection
by Clifford S. Hill – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Felix Ngole: Behind the Scenes: The Story of One Social Worker’s Battle with His University
by Pepsy Ngole – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To read a PDF version of this book click here.
Under Caesar’s Sword: How Christians Respond to Persecution
by Daniel Philpott and Timothy Samuel Shah – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Braving North Korea: True Stories of Those Secretly Bringing Hope to One of the Darkest Nations On Earth
by Scott Croft – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Abducted in Iraq: A Priest in Baghdad
by Saad Sirop Hanna and Edward S. Aris – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Last Christians: Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East
by Andreas Knapp – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Persecution and Genocide of Christians in the Middle East: Prevention, Prohibition, & Prosecution
by Ronald J. Rychlak and Jane F. Adolphe – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Doves in Crimson Fields: Iraqi Christian Martyrs
by Robert Ewan – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Unwavering Convictions: Gao Zhisheng’s Ten-Year Torture and Faith in China’s Future
by Gao Zhisheng – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
On the Edge: Religious Freedom and Persecution Across Asia
by Michael Kelly – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
It’s Dangerous to Believe: Religious Freedom and Its Enemies
by Mary Eberstadt – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East
by Elizabeth Kendal – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians in the Middle East
by Mindy Belz – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Making Martyrs East and West: Canonization in the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches
by Cathy Caridi – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
I Am N: Inspiring Stories of Christians Facing Islamic Extremists
by Voice of the Martyrs – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Who killed Swami Laxmanananda? Shocking Revelations of Himalayan Fraud & Travesty of Justice in Kandhamal
by Anto Akkara – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Global Sexual Revolution: Destruction of Freedom in the Name of Freedom
by Gabriele Kuby – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
My Journey So Far
by Andrew White – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To the Martyrs: A Reflection on the Supreme Christian Witness
by Donald W. Wuerl – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Chiara Corbella Petrillo: A Witness to Joy
By Simone Troisi and Cristiana Paccini – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To read a Today’s Martyrs review of this book click here
To read a Today’s Martyrs meditation on Chiara Corbella Petrillo click here
Christian Persecutions in the Middle East: A 21st Century Tragedy
by George J. Marlin – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus
by Rifqa Bary – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Killing Christians: Living the Faith Where It’s Not Safe to Believe
by Tom Doyle – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Pentecostals, Proselytization, and Anti-Christian Violence in Contemporary India
by Chad M. Bauman – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
China’s Opening Door: Incredible Stories of the Holy Spirit at Work in One of the Greatest Revivals in Christianity
by Dennis Balcombe – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To read a Today’s Martyrs biography of Dennis Balcombe click here
Gloria! The Archbishop’s Wife
by Abidemi Sanusi – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Global War on Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution
by John L. Allen Jr – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
God’s Double Agent: The True Story of a Chinese Christian’s Fight for Freedom
by Bob Fu and Nancy French – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Blasphemy: A Memoir: Sentenced to Death Over a Cup of Water
by Asia Bibi and Anne-Isabelle Tollet – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To read a Today’s Martyrs biography of Asia Bibi click here
Kandhamal craves for Justice
by Anto Akkara – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Father, Forgive
by Andrew White – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians
by Raymond Ibrahim – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Captive in Iran: A Remarkable True Story of Hope and Triumph amid the Horror of Tehran’s Brutal Evin Prison
by Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh with John Perry – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians
by Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert, and Nina Shea – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Last Supper: The Plight of Christians in Arab Lands
by Klaus Wivel
To read a review of this book by Raymond Ibrahim click here
The Price to Pay: A Muslim Risks All to Follow Christ
by Joseph Fadelle – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Heroes Of Our Faith: Inspiration And Strength For Daily Living
by Patrick Sookhdeo – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Catholic Priests Falsely Accused: The Facts, The Fraud, The Stories
by David F. Pierre, Jr. – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide
by Paul Marshall and Nina Shea – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
One Journey One Nation
by Dennis Balcombe – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To read a Today’s Martyrs biography of Dennis Balcombe click here
Faith Under Fire: What the Middle East Conflict Has Taught Me About God
by Andrew White – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Suffer the Children: Dispatches to and from the Front Line
by Andrew White – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Kandhamal, a blot on Indian Secularism
by Anto Akkara – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Vicar of Baghdad
by Andrew White – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
The Trial of Pakistan Christian Nation
by Nazir S. Bhatti – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To read a PDF version of this book click here (courtesy Pakistan Christian Post)
A China More Just: My Fight As a Rights Lawyer in the World’s Largest Communist State
by Gao Zhisheng – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Iraq: Searching for Hope
by Andrew White – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Singing through the Night: Courageous Stories of Faith from Women in the Persecuted Church
by Anneke Companjen – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
A Matter of Equity: Freedom of Faith in Secular India
by John Dayal – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
To read a Today’s Martyrs biography of John Dayal click here
Stalking the Holy: The Pursuit of Saint Making
By Michael W. Higgins – To read the Open Library entry for this book click here
Facing Terror: The true story of how an American couple paid the ultimate price for their love of the Muslim people
By Carrie McDonnall with Kristin Billerbeck – To read the Open Library entry for this e-book click here
Prisoners of Hope: The Story of our Captivity and Freedom in Afghanistan
by Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer with Stacey Mattingly – To read the Open Library entry for this e-book click here
Books