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.
Did you find this review helpful?
66 Items found Print
Active Filters: African-Americans, Used Books & Materials
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
Dover Thrift Editions
by James Weldon Johnson
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Delacorte Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Cheer the Lonesome Traveller
by Leslie Alexander Lacy, illustrated by James Barkley
from Dial Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Coming On Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Dime a Dozen
by Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by Angelo
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Free Indeed
by Mark Sidwell
Expanded from Bob Jones University Press
Biography for 6th-12th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Freedom's Fruit
by William H. Hooks
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.50 (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)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
2006th edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
Triangle Histories: The Civil War
by Lisa Halvorsen
from Blackbirch Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Tubman
by Frances T. Humphreville
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
from Rosen Central
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
House of Dies Drear
by Virginia Hamilton
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.00 (4 in stock)
Hundred Penny Box
by Sharon Bell Mathis
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King
by Ellen Levine
Updated from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
by Bette Bao Lord
from HarperCollins
Immigration for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (7 in stock)
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
from Quality Paperback Book Club
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Jesse Jackson
by Pat McKissack
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Kid's Guide to African American History
by Nancy I. Sanders
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
King of the Mound
by Wes Tooke
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Madam C. J. Walker: Entrepeneur
by Alelia Bundles
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mahalia Jackson
Sowers Series
by Evelyn Witter
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Many Thousand Gone
by Virginia Hamilton
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book One)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book Two)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
March - Boxed Set
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther King Day
by Linda Lowery
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 1st-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
People Could Fly
by Virginia Hamilton
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
People Could Fly
by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr.
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
Biography for Preschool-1st grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Planet of Junior Brown
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Portraits of African-American Heroes
by Tonya Bolden
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred Taylor
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1977 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Roots
Book Club Edition from Doubleday & Company
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Shoes for Everyone
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.95 $6.00 (3 in stock)
Sojourner Truth
by Patricia & Frederick McKissack
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from Harper & Row
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
South Town
by Lorenz Graham
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Harriet Tubman
Dell Yearling Biography
by Kate McMullan
from Yearling
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Reconstruction
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by Brendan January
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
They Had a Dream
by Jules Archer
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 8th-12th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$3.50 (3 in stock)
To Be a Slave
Puffin Modern Classics
by Julius Lester, illustrated by Tom Feelings
from Puffin Books
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade
1969 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
from Warner Books
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Toothpaste Millionaire
by Jean Merrill
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Toothpaste Millionaire
by Jean Merrill
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Up From Slavery
Dover Thrift Editions
by Booker T. Washington
from Dover Publications
Autobiography for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Value of Courage
by Spencer Johnson, illustrated by Steve Pileggi
from Value Communications Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged!
by Jody Nyasha Warner, Richard Rudnicki
from Groundwood Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Walking the Road to Freedom
by Jeri Ferris
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
When I Was a Slave
Dover Thrift Editions
by Norman Yetman (editor)
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00 $3.00 (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)
Witness
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (2 in stock)