A collection of sentences, illustrations, and quaint sayings from Thomas Brooks, whom Charles Spurgeon greatly admired. Brooks was a well-known Puritan preacher and writer. Smooth Stones Taken from Ancient Brooks is good for devotional reading and general enjoyment.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) converted to Christianity at the age of fifteen. By the age of twenty-two, he was the most popular preacher in England, and remained so for the latter half of the 1800s. He frequently spoke to crowds over 10,000 in the days before electronic amplification. Known as the "Prince of Preachers," he delivered nearly thirty-six hundred sermons throughout his life. A prolific writer as well, many of Spurgeon's works remain in print to this day.