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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37 Items found Print
Active Filters: Church History, Hardcover, Used Books & Materials
Ann of Ava
by Ethel Hubbard, Illustrated by Margaret Ayer
2017 Reprint from Accelerated Christian Education
for 8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bombs and Blessings
by Retha Hazel Eldridge
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Captured!
by Carolyn Paine Miller
1st edition from Christian Herald Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Christians With Courage
by Ruth Johnson Jay
from Accelerated Christian Education
for 1st-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Contending for Our All
The Swans Are Not Silent Book 4
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
David Livingstone
by Ben Alex
from Victor Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Explorers, Missionaries, and Trappers
by Kieran Doherty
from Oliver-Nelson Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
For Those Who Dare
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 8th-Adult
in Church History Overviews (Location: XCH-OVE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Forgotten Founding Father
Leaders in Action Series
by Stephen Mansfield
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-12th grade
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya
by Ruth Tucker
2nd edition from Zondervan
History of missions for 11th-Adult
in History of Missions (Location: XCH-MIS)
$32.99 $14.00 (2 in stock)
George Whitefield: Wayfaring Witness
by Stuart C. Henry
from Abingdon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Great Waters
by Creston Donald Ketchum
from Hutchinson & Co.
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Horseman of the King
by Cyril J. Davey
1970 printing from Christian Literature Crusade
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hudson Taylor
by Ben Alex,
from Victor Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
John Calvin
by Burk Parsons (editor)
from Reformation Trust Publishing
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
John Calvin: Man of the Millennium
from Vision Forum
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Joni Eareckson Tada: Her Story
by Joni Eareckson Tada, Joe Musser, Steve Estes
from Inspirational Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Diary of David Brainerd
by David Brainerd
from Moody Press
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Times of Martin Luther
by J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, translated by H. White
from Moody Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Life of John Knox
by Thomas McCrie
from Back Home Industries
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.00 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Livingstone and his African Journeys
by Elspeth Huxley
from Saturday Review Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Luther
by Frederick Nohl
from Concordia Publishing House
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99 $7.50 (4 in stock)
Maria
by Maria von Trapp
from Creation House
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Marie Durand
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther
by Sally Stepanek
from Chelsea House Publishing
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther
Penguin Lives
by Martin Marty
from Viking Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Moro Sheeba
by Beatrice Tannehill King
from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Never Dies the Dream
by Margaret Landon
from Doubleday & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Never Say Die
by Cyril Davey
1972 Printing from Lutterworth Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
R. v. R.: The Life of Rembrandt Van Rijn
by Hendrik Van Loon
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Rev. William S. White, D. D., and His Times [1800-1873]
by Rev. H. M. White, D. D., editor
from Sprinkle Publications
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Saint Augustine
by Garry Wills
1st edition from Viking Press
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Men
by Eric Metaxas
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Skipper of the Sentinel
by May Cole Kuhn
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
To Live Again
by Catherine Marshall
from McGraw-Hill
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Wurmbrand: Tortured for Christ
by Voice of the Martyrs
from David C. Cook
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.00 (1 in stock)