"... a brief, readable course in modern world geography and political history . . . puts the Pope, Billy Graham, the World Council of Churches, the world pentecostal movement, the population explosion, Mao Tze Tung and Biafra into a single picture, and tells us with hard statistics what has happened to Christianity and the World Christian Mission . . . . Illuminates crucial issues no one else is even thinking about . . . . a brilliant piece of work." -C. Peter Wagner

Ralph D. Winter (December 8, 1924 - May 20, 2009) was an American missiologist and missionary who helped pioneer Theological Education by Extension, raised the debate about the role of the church and mission structures and became well known as the advocate for pioneer outreach among unreached people groups. He was the founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission (USCWM), William Carey International University, and the International Society for Frontier Missiology.