The House that Love Built

Review from Library Journal

Christian self-help author Youngs's (Living the Ten Commandments in New Times: A Book for Teens) insightful biography, more of Millard than of Millard and Linda, includes a detailed history of Habitat for Humanity International. Millard became an entrepreneur in his youth, excelling in various sales endeavors; he and Linda were millionaires before they were 30. Youngs relates the spiritual and marital crises that followed and how the Fullers gave away their wealth and shifted their goals to loving God by serving humanity. Eventually, this calling resulted in the formation of the world's largest nonprofit home-building organization with the goal to end the blight of low-income housing and homelessness worldwide. Youngs devotes nearly one-third of the book to the conflicts between the Fullers and Habitat's board and to the firing of Millard in 2005. Spending so much time on these issues may seem biased, but this book is not a mere polemic; it is an informed look at two philanthropists and their revolutionary work. The parts about Millard's faith will resonate with Christian readers. Recommended for spiritual living or philanthropy sections in most public libraries. [The author is a friend of the Fullers.—Ed.]—Erica L. Foley, Flint P.L., MI