Veteran anthropologist and historian, Aylward Shorter takes the reader inside the ideals and lives of the spiritual sons and followers of the great Cardinal Lavigerie in a critical twenty-two year period as they sought to preach the Gospel, found the Catholic Church, and educate an African clergy during what Thomas Pakenham has called "the scramble for Africa." Lavigerie's missioners, known then as the "White Fathers" (and now as the "Missionaries of Africa"), struggled with great integrity and often with heroism to serve the African people and the Gospel. This is a book for anyone who wants to learn about the realities of early missions in Africa.