Biographies

"Did they tell you stories about the saints of old,
stories about their faith?
Stories like that make a boy grow bold,
stories like that make a man walk straight..."

Rich Mullins, Boy Like Me, Man Like You

Stories about people have a way of affecting us in ways other stories can't. The Bible is primarily stories about people, and it is through these multiple biographies that we understand human nature, the history of redemption, and even to a great extent God Himself. The purpose behind any other biography is largely the same—to help us understand what it means to be human from the examples (sometimes even the bad examples) of those who have preceded us.

The biographies we have chosen for this section represent those of great leaders in history, social and military heroes, and Christian saints past and present who struggled to conform their lives to Christ's perfect example. We have avoided for the most part biographies of history's villains and chronic immoralists, not because they aren't interesting but because they don't represent lives worthy of imitation. We've also decided not to focus on athletes, actors, and celebrities, unless they've made important contributions outside their fields. That's not to say everyone found here was above reproach or even a Christian, but they all demonstrated real human virtues for which they are remembered.

Biographies are also useful for better understanding of a given historical period. While history books can provide good overviews of a period or events, the intimate detail of a good biography can better illustrate a time period and what it was like to be alive then. This also serves to demonstrate the universality of human nature, that people will behave basically the same during any given period and in any given place. Sometimes we get the impression that people of the past, especially people like missionaries and ministers, were somehow more pious than we are—the personal view offered by a good biography dispels this myth and offers encouragement that not even the best men and women are any closer to perfection than we are.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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93 Items found Print
Active Filters: Scientists, Naturalists & Inventors, Used Books & Materials
Albert Einstein: Young Thinker
by Marie Hammontree
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Archimedes and the Door of Science
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Dover Thrift Editions
by Benjamin Franklin
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
World's Greatest Literature
by Benjamin Franklin
from Spencer Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
by R. Conrad Stein
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
by Carl Van Doren
from Library of America
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin's Adventures With Electricity
by Beverly Birch & Robin Bell Corfield
from Barron's
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin: Printer, Scientist, Author, and Diplomat
Spirit of America: Our People
by Ann Heinrichs
from Child's World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Champions of Invention
Champions of Discovery
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$4.79 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Champions of Mathematics
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$4.79 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Champions of Science
Champions of Discovery
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$4.79 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Charles Darwin's Around-the-World Adventure
by Jennifer Thermes
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Chord of Steel
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Collector, The
by Jack Nisbet
from Sasquatch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Did It Take Creativity to Find Relativity, Albert Einstein?
by Gilda Berger, Melvin & Gilda Berger, Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Discovery
by John K. Terres
First Ediition from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK Biography: Marie Curie
by Vicki Cobb
from DK Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster
by Albert Marrin
1st edition from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.50 (3 in stock)
Electrical Wizard
by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Everything DaVinci Book
by Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer
from Adams Media Corp.
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Five Equations that Changed the World
by Michael Guillen
from Hyperion Press
for 9th-Adult
in Math Reference & Teaching Aids (Location: MATR-TA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Five Notable Inventors
by Wade Hudson
from Cartwheel Books
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
From the Eagle's Wing
by Hildegarde Hoyt Swift, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from William Morrow & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
From the Eagle's Wing
by Hildegarde Hoyt Swift, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from William Morrow & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Galileo for Kids
by Richard Panchyk
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$18.95 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Genius
by Marfe Ferguson Delano
from National Geographic
for 5th-9th grade
2006 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver - Unit Study Curriculum Guide
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver: Botanist
Black Americans of Achievement
by Gene Adair, introduction by Coretta Scott King
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Giants of Science: Isaac Newton
by Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Great Minds of Science: Galileo
Great Minds of Science
by Paul Hightower
from Enslow
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Ford
by Dina El Nabli
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Henry Ford: Young Man with Ideas
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Hazel B. Aird
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
by Rosalyn Schanzer
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Inventing the Future
by David Edward Sloane, Marfe Ferguson Delano
from National Geographic
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Invention of Nature
by Andrea Wulf
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Isaac Newton and Gravity
by Steve Parker
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion
by Andrea Gianopoulos
1st edition from Capstone Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
John James Audubon: Painting America's Wildlife
by Janet Stevenson, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Encyclopedia Britannica
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Norman V. Marshall
from Silver Burdett Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Norman V. Marshall
from Silver Burdett Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Librarian Who Measured the Earth
by Kathryn Lasky
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Listening to Crickets
by Candice F. Ransom
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (4 in stock)
Longitude
by Dava Sobel
1st edition from Penguin Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made
by Bruce Watson
from Penguin Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Marie
Little People, BIG DREAMS
from Quarto Knows
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Marie Curie
by Ibi Lepsckey
from Trumpet Club
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Marie Curie's Search for Radium
by Beverley Birch
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Men of Science and Invention
by Michael Blow
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Men of Science, Men of God
by Henry Morris
2nd edition from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Michael Faraday
by Charles Ludwig
from Herald Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Out of Darkness
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Pasteur and the Invisible Giants
by Edward F. Dolan, Jr.
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes
by Beverly Birch
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.50 (6 in stock)
Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison
by David A. Adler, illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Piece of the Mountain
by Joyce McPherson
from Greenleaf Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Pioneer Astronomers
from Scholastic Inc.
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Rachel Carson
by Melissa Stewart
from Ferguson Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Rare Treasure
by Don Brown
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Runner of the Mountain Tops
by Mabel Louise Robinson, illustrated by Lynd Ward
1st Printing from Random House
for 7th-10th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Samuel F. B. Morse
Sowers Series
by John Hudson Tiner
from Mott Media
Biography for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
Samuel Morse and the Telegraph
by David Seidman; illustrated by Rod Whigham, Keith Williams, and Charles Barnett
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Shark Lady
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Story of Eli Whitney
by Jean Lee Latham
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (3 in stock)
Story of Thomas Alva Edison
Landmark Series
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Thomas Alva Edison, Inventor
Scholastic Biographies
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Thaddeus Lowe: America's One-Man Air Corps
by Mary Hoehling
from Kingston House
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Edison
Solutions: Profiles in Science for Young People
by Louise Egan
from Barron's
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Thomas Edison: Inventor
Spirit of America: Our People
by Cynthia Klingel and Robert B. Noyed
from Child's World
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Harriot
by Ralph Staiger
1st edition from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Trailblazer of American Science
by Sarah R. Riedman
Printing 'B' from Rand McNally
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
True Story of Albert Einstein
by Ruth L. Oldfield
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Twelve Seconds to the Moon
by Rosamond Young & Catharine Fitzgerald
2nd edition from Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Book of Scientists
by Struan Reid & Patricia Fara
from Usborne
Biography Anthology for 4th-6th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$3.15 (1 in stock)
Voyager Out
by Katherine Frank
1st edition from Ballantine Books
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
We'll Race You, Henry
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
We'll Race You, Henry
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 4th-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$6.99 $3.50 (3 in stock)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Who Invented This?
by Anne Ameri-Siemens, illustrated by Becky Thorns, translated by David Henry Wilson
from Little Gestalten
for 2nd-5th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was Charles Darwin?
by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nancy Harrison
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was George Washington Carver?
Who Was?...Series
by Jim Gigliotti, illustrated by Stephen Marchesi
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Wilbur and Orville Wright: Young Fliers
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Women in Science
by Rachel Ignotofsky
from Ten Speed Press
for 4th-12th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Wright Brothers
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Wright Brothers
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Wright Brothers
by Shelia Wyborny
1st edition from KidHaven Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Wright Brothers
by David McCullough
First American Condition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk
by Donald J. Sobol
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)