©2007, Sprinkle Publications, 374 pp. in hardback

In God’s providence John Smith had a lifetime’s worth of adventure prior to his setting sail for the New World. As Simms unfolds his subject’s life, the reader readily sees that adventure lurked around almost every corner Smith turned in his journey through life.

Smith was born in 1579.  He did not like school. His father’s death, when his son was thirteen, intensified his desire to leave home for a life aboard a ship. Ultimately he took this route. Soon he was in Europe and engaged in fighting in France and later in the Low Countries. Subsequently, he survived a shipwreck.

His adventures had only begun when he joined forces against the Muslim Turks. Although he fought valiantly and derived strategies that were successfully implemented on the battlefield, he was ultimately captured and taken to Constantinople. His escape and flight to freedom was an event we would think could only occur in fiction. This section of the book is a fascinating read and is but a prelude to the far different dangers Smith would face in the future Virginia colony.

Smith returned to England at a time when the leaders had heard of riches in the New World and had experienced failed colonization.  Undeterred, investors were secured for another attempt.  Smith was among those who left England in late 1606. Their landing site on the James River harbored its own problems. The investors had ensured, by their own lack of foresight, that there would be leadership problems, as well as problems obtaining future provisions. Additionally, nearby was the home of powerful Powhatan and the Indians he ruled.

Simms, drawing from Smith’s writings and other contemporary writings, provides the reader with a page-turning account of Smith’s patience, firmness, and ingenuity. He became greatly respected by the Indians, yet was constantly opposed by colonial leaders at home and in England. His perseverance under constant pressure is a testimony to God’s grace and to his faith in a sovereign God. In the midst of much danger Smith explored many rivers that emptied into the Chesapeake Bay. His trips resulted in peace with Indian tribes and even peace between tribes.

His time in the colony was not an escape from danger. There he faced betrayal by some colonists, an unsuccessful ambush, headstrong, lazy colonists and headstrong, sly Indians.  Indian relationships provided inroads for colonial disarmament and death at the hand of the Indians. Smith’s leadership and level-headedness were the main ingredients in the ultimate success of the colony.

A number of pages are devoted to the heroic actions of Pocahontas. Her Christian confession is clearly shown in this work.

Simms also notes time and again mistakes made by the parent company in England as well as the colonists in Jamestown. English investors failed to understand that this area of the new world was far different from where the Spanish had landed. Many colonists maintained a desire to take advantage of the Indians as well as to keep the well-qualified Smith out of leadership. Smith ultimately returned to England. However, many adventures including further explorations, capture, and an exciting escape awaited him. In the midst of his adventures Smith took time to write a number of books. Sadly, his work and insights were unappreciated by England’s wealthy investors.

Smith’s life is a reminder of the importance of persevering faith in God in the midst of life in a fallen world and among fallen people. Smith sought to use his talents in the face of being double-crossed, danger and death. He did not seek his own revenge or give up because things were not going his way.

Smith’s coat of arms is on the book’s cover. In his writing Simms explains its unique origin. This volume, first printed in 1867, can be read with great profit. It not only records the life of a great man but also evidences principles of leadership and character that are so needed in every generation.

Review ©2008 Byron Snapp, Hampton, Virginia