The "great souls" chronicled by Aikman, a former senior correspondent for TIME Magazine , are Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Pope John Paul II, Elie Wiesel, and Nelson Mandela. Aikman explores the historical background, the family experiences and the cultural settings that surrounded them, adding his personal perspectives-drawn from conversations, interviews, and inside stories-to breathe energy and truth into every page.

His unique position as senior foreign correspondent brought him assignments that only an elite group of journalists enjoyed; as a Christian believer, he brought his own added dimension to the reporter's notebook as he observed the rise and fall of nations, the tragedy of war, and the extraordinary acts of good and evil that indelibly mark and mar human history.

His writings not only provide readers with eyewitness accounts of modern world history, but with astute spiritual observations, drawing important lessons from the lives of the history makers-the six cultural icons brought to life in this work. Great Souls is blessed with detail, nuance, and depth. Enlivened by the author's gifted writing, it is an unprecedented biographical collection.