The Diary and Journal of David Brainerd (1718-1747) is of much more than merely historical interest. The first internationally recognized biography to be printed in America, the first full missionary biography ever to be published, it has had a profound impact on successive generations of Christians around the world. Few books have done so much to promote prayer and missionary action as the Life of Brainerd, and it is not without good reason that it has remained in print since the great New England pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards first published it in 1749.