I am occasionally asked which one book by or about Albert Schweitzer I recommend most highly. The answer, as for so many things in life, is "It depends." In this case, it depends on what the reader wants to know. Therefore, I have provided several recommendations below. Feel free to contact me via email if you would like more information or to ask a Schweitzer-related question.

• Introductory
  
  If you are interested in getting an introduction to Albert Schweitzer and his work, I highly recommend his autobiographical Out of My Life and Thought. Written for a general audience, it remains the best introduction to Schweitzer's life, including his ethical philosophy of Reverence for Life. Currently in print and also available in many libraries. Note, however, that it was written in 1930, before Schweitzer's Nobel Peace Prize and his work on nuclear disarmament.


• Biographical
  
  The best Schweitzer biography that I have read is James Brabazon's Albert Schweitzer: A Biography , Second Edition. Be sure to get the second edition, which has many interesting updates from the first edition.


• For Children
  
  There are quite a few children's books about Albert Schweitzer, but I have only read a few of them. Among the best are Schweitzer's own The Story of My Pelican, and for better readers Albert Schweitzer: Genius in the Jungle and Albert Schweitzer: An Adventurer for Humanity. Schweitzer's Out of My Life and Thought is also appropriate for teenagers (and adults).
  
  
• Reverence For Life
  
  The best introduction to Schweitzer's ethical philosophy of Reverence for Life is in Albert Schweitzer: Essential Writings, an edited volume of his writings by James Brabazon. Also highly recommended is his autobiographical Out of My Life and Thought.  For those interested in a fuller and more scholarly explanation of Reverence for Life and its place in modern society, see The Philosophy of Civilization.
  

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