Biography Anthologies

One of the best ways to learn about a specific era is to read about it from the perspective of its key players. For instance, a good biography of Thomas Jefferson will often tell you much more about the American War for Independence and the writing of the Declaration of Independence than a textbook of the period can.

The problem with reading a good biography about one person, however, is that your view becomes fairly myopic. You might come away knowing a lot about Jefferson's experience in the Constitutional Conventions, but what about the other men involved? What were they thinking, what were their motivations, and where did they fit in the big picture?

That's where biography anthologies come in. A good anthology brings together a number of biographies that share something important in common, whether the subjects lived in the same time or place, or followed the same profession, or became famous for similar reasons. Without a common theme, biography anthologies are pretty much worthless.

Anthologies are also useful for quick reference, or for finding out about people you never knew existed, or for simply thumbing through on a lazy afternoon. We tend to think anything that educates is "merely" educational, and therefore worthless for any entertainment purposes; biography anthologies will educate, but they're also really fun.

There are one or two exceptions to the theme rule: a book like The Oxford Children's Book of Famous People doesn't have a particular unifying theme, but there are so many mini-biographies of so many people that it's more of an encyclopedia than a selection of related stories.

Perhaps the best biography anthologies we've seen are the Hero Tales books by Dave and Neta Jackson, each of which presents stories about important men and women of God through the ages. These are accessible, family-oriented, and accomplish what only the best books do: encourage readers to greater Christian faithfulness.

Our section was getting a bit bloated, so we put several titles in clearance. We're working on rebuilding it, but want only the best volumes. If you know of any excellent anthologies we should carry, please let us know. Our hope is that you'll find books here that are educational, entertaining, and edifying, and not just a bunch of irrelevant stories about dead people.

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179 Items found Print
100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History
by Chrisanne Beckner
from Bluewood Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
32 Christians Who Changed the World
by Glenn S. Sunshine
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$18.66
50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet
by Dennis Denenberg, Lorraine Roscoe
Revised from First Avenue Editions
for 4th-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
50 Women Every Christian Should Know
by Michelle DeRusha
from Baker Books
for Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
All That Glitters
Perspectives on History Series
by Phyllis Raybin Emert
from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
in California (Location: HISA-19CGR)
Amazing American Presidents
What a Character! Notable Lives from History
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$12.99
Amelia to Zora
1st edition from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$7.95
America's Famous Spies
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
America's War Heroes
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$10.39
American Experience Storybook
Copper Lodge Library
by Stephanie B. Meyer
from Classical Conversations
for 4th-8th grade
in Classical Conversations (Location: CUR-CC)
$16.99
And Long Remember
by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Answering the Cry for Freedom
by Gretchen Woelfle, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Calkins Creek
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$19.99
Armed with Courage
by May McNeer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Abingdon Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Bad Girls Throughout History
by Ann Shen
from Chronicle Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bad Guys
by Andrew Glass
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Before They Were Authors
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Black Courage
by A. E. Schraff
from Macrae-Smith Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.99
Book of Golden Deeds
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
from Vintage Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boys Who Rocked the World
by Michelle Roehm McCann
Reprint from Beyond Words Publishing
for 5th-7th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Brave Companions
by David McCullough
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Builders of Our Country Book II
by Gertrude Van Duyn Southworth
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Captain Waymouth's Indians
by Anne Molloy, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Hastings House
for 7th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Carved in Ebony
by Jasmine L. Holmes
from Bethany House
for 10th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$17.99
Champions of Freedom Every Child Should Know
The "What Every Child Should Know" Library
by Marion Florence Lansing, illustrated by Henry Pitz
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Christians on the Oregon Trail
from College Press
for Adult
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
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)
Church History ABCs
by Ned Bustard, Stephen J. Nichols
from Crossway Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$14.44
Cry for Action
by Melissa Stone
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (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)
Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Extravagant Graces
from Westbow Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Famous American Poets
by Laura Benet
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Famous Authors for Young People
by Ramon P. Coffman & Nathan G. Goodman
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Famous British Novelists
by John Cournos & Sybil Norton
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Famous Men of the Middle Ages
by John H. Haaren & A.B. Poland
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Reference for 5th - 10th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$13.95
Famous Modern American Novelists
by John Cournos & Sybil Norton
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Famous Pioneers & Frontiersmen
What a Character! Notable Lives from History
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$12.99
Fifty Famous People
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.95
Finishing Touch
by Bruce Bliven, Jr.
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
First Book in American History
by Edward Eggleston
2nd edition from Lost Classics Book Co.
for 7th-9th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Five Roads to the White House
by Ann E. Weiss
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Flying High
by Melissa Stone
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
For God and Country
by John Riddle
from Barbour Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Four American Inventors
by Frances M. Perry
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Four Great Americans
by James Baldwin
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$8.99
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 Children
by Ellen Levine
from Penguin Putnam
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$7.99
Giants of Science
by Philip Cane, illustrated by Samuel Nisenson
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Girls Who Rocked the World
by Amelie Welden, Michelle Roehm McCann
Reprint from Beyond Words Publishing
for 5th-7th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Great Artists - Great Composers: Portraits
from Amadeus Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Lives: Invention and Technology
by Milton Lomask
from Atheneum
for 9th-12th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Greater Journey
by David McCullough
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hall of Fame Series for Boys and Girls Louis Pasteur / Florence Nightingale
by Laura N. Wood and Jeanette Covert Nolan
from Julian Messner
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Heart and Soul
by Kadir Nelson
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
2012 Coretta Scott King Award
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Hero Tales from American History
by Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge
Paperback, First Printing from Tolle Lege Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Hero Tales Volume I
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$14.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Hero Tales Volume I
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
Biography Anthologies for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Hero Tales Volume II
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Hero Tales Volume III
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Hero Tales Volume IV
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
Biography Anthology for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Heroes
by Rebecca Hazell
from Abbeville Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Heroes Every Child Should Know
by H. W. Mabie
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 5th-8th grade
$15.95
Heroes Every Child Should Know
by H. W. Mabie
from Living Book Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
$13.99
Heroes of God
by Katie & Dan Montgomery
from Augsburg Fortress
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Heroes of Polar Exploration
by Ralph Andrist
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Heroes of the Army in America
by Charles Morris
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Heroes of the Holy Life
by Wesley L. Duewel
from Zondervan
for 8th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Heroes of the Middle Ages
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$12.95
Heroines
by Rebecca Hazell
1st edition from Abbeville Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Hidden Figures
by Margot Lee Shetterly
from William Morrow & Company
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
Hidden Figures: Picture Book Edition
by Margot Lee Shetterly; Laura Freeman
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
New 1980 Edition from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters Blaze the Trails
by Edith S. McCall
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Illustrious Americans - Volume 2
by Edward Everett Hale
from Mantle Ministries
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Inventors & Scientists
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$10.39
John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Killing Christians
by Tom Doyle and Greg Webster
for Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Kinderlager
by Milton J. Nieuwsma
from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-Adult
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Legends of the Wild West
by James A. Crutchfield, Bill O'Neal, Dale L. Walker
from Publications International
for 3rd-8th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Little Annie Oakley and Other Rugged People
by Stewart H. Holbrook
First Ediition from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lives of Extraordinary Women
by Kathleen Krull
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Artists
by Kathleen Krull
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Lives of the Musicians
by Kathleen Krull
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Lives of the Musicians
by Kathleen Krull
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$8.99
Madam President
by Catherine Thimmesh, Illustrated by Douglas B. Jones
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Makers of the Red Revolution
by Olivia Coolidge
from Houghton Mifflin
Non-fiction for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Medal of Honor Heroes
Landmark #111
by Colonel Red Reeder
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Minute Biographies
by Samuel Nisenson and Alfred Parker
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Minute Biographies & More Minute Biographies
by Samuel Nisenson & Alfred Parker
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Minute Sketches of Great Composers
by Eva v B. Hansl, Helen L. Kaufmann, illustrated by Samuel Nisenson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biographical sketches for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
More Minute Biographies
by Samuel Nisenson and Alfred Parker
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
More Once Upon a Time Saints
by Ethel Pochocki
from Bethlehem Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Once Upon a Time Saints
by Ethel Pochocki
from Bethlehem Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Outlaws of the Pacific Northwest
by Bill Gulick
from Caxton Press
for 7th-Adult
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
Outrageous Women of the American Frontier
Outrageous Women
1st edition from Jossey-Bass
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Paths to Peace
by Jane Breskin Zalben
First Edition from Dutton Children's Books
for 5th-7th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Patriots in Petticoats
by Shirley Raye Redmond
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
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