This biography of William Warren Prescott (1855– 1944) is a condensed version of G. M. Valentine’s massive 1982 Ph.D. dissertation (660 pages) at Andrews University. In the interest of space many references have been dropped and those retained have been abbreviated. Nevertheless, the book ably recreates for contemporary Adventists the life and work of one of the towering figures in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

W. W. Prescott’s parents were followers of W. Miller in New England, who keenly felt the bitterness of the 1844 disappointment. William was only three years old when his parents accepted the Sabbath in 1858. He was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church by John N. Andrews at the Massachusetts campmeeting in 1872. His interest in ancient languages led him to take the classical course at South Berwick Academy in Maine, where he taught Latin and Greek in his last year in the academy. Among his students was his future wife Sarah Sanders, whom he married on July 8, 1880. Following his graduation from Dartmouth College in 1877 he was principal of high schools in Northfield and Montpelier, Vermont, from 1877 to 1880. Leaving the teaching work, he published, with his brother, the Biddeford, Maine, Journal, and then for five years he owned and edited the Montpelier State Republican.

With his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Dartmouth College, W. W. Prescott was one of the best educated men in the Seventh-day Adventist Church at that time. In 1885, therefore, he was asked to assume the presidency of Battle Creek College. With this step he entered upon a career unique in many respects in Seventh-day Adventist history. While still president of Battle Creek College (1885–1894), he helped found Union College and became its first president in 1891. He appointed principals for the two institutions to act while he was absent from one or the other. Then late in 1892 he assumed the presidency of the newly founded Walla Walla College. Thus, he was simultaneously president of three colleges in that year.

Well known as a biblical scholar, he was called upon to hold Bible institutes and strengthen the developing educational work of the church. During a world tour (1894-96) he spent 10 months in Australia helping to get the Avondale school established. In 1902, he was asked to accept the position of vice president of the General Conference, the first person ever to officially serve in that capacity. At the same time he was chairman of the Education Department (1902-1903) and editor of the Review and Herald (1903-1909). On relinquishing the Review editorship in 1909, he edited the Protestant Magazine, the only intentionally anti-Catholic paper ever published by the denomination, for another seven years until it was discontinued in 1915.

From 1915 until his retirement in 1937, W. W. Prescott was a field secretary of the General Conference. During this time he served a brief period in 1922 as principal of the Australasian Missionary College (Avondale College), and four years as president and then head of the Bible Department at Union College (1924–1928). In 1933 the Fleming H. Revell publishing house published his book The Spade Confirms the Book, the first volume on the relationship between archaeology and the Bible by an Adventist writer. As a teacher, editor, administrator, and secretary of the Department of Education, W. W. Prescott left a strong impression on the entire educational work of the denomination.

Gilbert’s volume throws light on the administrative struggles, the political conflicts, the personal quarrels, and the theological and educational debates that swirled through the church for much of Prescott’s career in the church from 1885 to 1937. As the definitive study on the life of W. W. Prescott it is a “must read” for every student of Adventist history.