Answering the Call

A Christian author's inspiring biography of the Nobel Peace Prize–winning theologian and physician who built a hospital in French Equatorial Africa.

As a young man, Albert Schweitzer seemed destined for greatness. His immense talent and fortitude drove him to become one of twentieth century Europe's most renowned philosophers, theologians, and musicians. Yet Schweitzer shocked his contemporaries by forsaking worldly success and embarking on an epic journey into the wilds of French Equatorial Africa, vowing to serve as a lifelong physician to "the least of these" in a land rife with famine, sickness, and superstition.


Schweitzer was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. His legacy endures in the thriving African hospital community that began in a chicken coop, the millions who have drawn inspiration from his example, and the timeless wisdom and compassion of his writings. In this vividly narrated biography, Ken Gire sheds new light on Schweitzer's faith-in-action ethic and his commitment to honor God by celebrating the sacredness of all life.