Struggling to be faithful, Christians have always turned to the inspiring example of prophets, witnesses, and saints-whose lives seemed to expand the possibility of human love and courage. Such examples are not confined to the roll of official saints. All around us there are men and women whose stories guide and goad us on our journey-a "cloud of witnesses" in whom the two great commandments, love of God and love of neighbor, have been joined to an extraordinary degree. Through interviews and brief biographical profiles, Cloud of Witnesses introduces us to a company of modern witnesses-peace-makers, martyrs, saints-who have embodied the gospel challenge of our day. We meet Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement; Fannie Lou Hamer, champion of the freedom struggle in Mississippi; Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and prophet of peace; and Martin Luther King, Jr. Some have endured persecution: Martin Niemoeller, the pastor who spent years as Hitler's prisoner; Jon Sobrino, who escaped the massacre of his Jesuit community in El Salvador; Brian Willson, the pace activist whose legs were severed by a train carrying weapons to Central America.