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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68 Items found Print
Active Filters: Explorers, Vintage & Collectible
Admiral of the Ocean Sea
by Samuel E. Morison
from Atlantic Monthly Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo
World Landmark #3
by Richard Walsh
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Balboa: Swordsman and Conquistador
World Landmark #25
by Felix Riesenberg, Jr.
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Book of Famous Explorers
Young Folks Library
by Edwin Erle Sparks, editor
from Auxiliary Educational League
for 3rd-9th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
from Kingston House
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
Makers of American History
by Calista McCabe Courtenay
from M. A. Donohue & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Commodore Perry in Japan
by Robert Reynolds
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Cortes and the Aztec Conquest
by Irwin R. Blacker
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Garden City Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Daniel Boone: The Opening of the Wilderness
Landmark #21
by John Mason Brown
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Davy Crockett
Landmark #57
by Stewart H. Holbrook
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Discoverers of the New World
by Joseph Berger
from Troll Associates
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Exploration of Africa
by Thomas Sterling
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Ferdinand Magellan
World Landmark #31
by Seymour Gates Pond
from Random House
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Ferdinand Magellan
by Ronald Welch
from Criterion Books
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Finding the New World
by Walter Taylor Field
from Ginn and Co.
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Golden Book History of the United States
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States - 12 Volume Set
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 1
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Henry Hudson
by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by George Fulton
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$64.00 (1 in stock)
Henry M. Stanley
Lives to Remember
by Robert Edmond Alter
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Jed Smith, Young Western Explorer
by Olive W. Burt
from Bobbs-Merril Co
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Joe Meek
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
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John and Sebastian Cabot
by Henry Ira Kurtz
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-8th grade
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
John Charles Fremont
by Ronald Syme, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Nina Baker; illustrated by Robert Doremus
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson
A Discovery Book
by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier
Landmark #53
by Ralph Moody
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Kit Carson: Folk Hero and Man
by Noel B. Gerson
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Leif Eriksson
by Katherine B. Shippen
1st edition from Harper & Brothers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lewis & Clark Expedition
Spencer Press Landmark #5 (RH#15)
by Richard L. Neuberger
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Log of "Bob" Bartlett
by Captain Robert A. Bartlett
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Manual Komroff, illustrated by Robin Jacques
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Marco Polo's Adventures in China
by Milton Rugoff
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Mariner of the North
by George Palmer Putnam
from Duell, Sloan and Pearce
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Meet Christopher Columbus
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet the Men who Sailed the Seas
by John Dyment, Illustrated by Victor Mays
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Nansen
by Anna Gertrude Hall, illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff
from Viking Press
for 6th-10th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
North Pole
A Doubleday Signal Book
by Tony Simon, Illustrated by Albert Orbaan
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Personal Life of David Livingstone
Heroes of the Faith
by W Garden Blaikie
from Fleming H Revell Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Prisoner of the Indies
by Geoffrey Household, with map and decorations by Warren Chappell
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Real Book About Christopher Columbus
by Irvin Block, illustrated by Rus Anderson
from Garden City Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Roald Amundsen: A Saga of the Polar Seas
by J. Alvin Kugelmass
from Kingston House
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Sir Walter Raleigh: Captain and Adventurer
by Nina Brown Baker
1st edition from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
South Sea Shilling
by Eric Swenson
First Edition from Viking Press
for 7th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Stanley, African Explorer
by Fredrika Shumway Smith
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Story of Christopher Columbus
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #2
by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by David Hendrickson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Davy Crockett
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #3
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by C. B. Falls
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Leif Ericson
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #30
by William O. Steele, illustrated by Pranas Lapé
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Marco Polo
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #22
by Olive Price, illustrated by Frederico Castellon
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
They Saw America First
by John Bakeless, Katherine Bakeless
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Travels of Marco Polo
by Marco Polo
from Orion Press
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Travels of Marco Polo
by Marion Koenig, illustrated by Mario Logli & Gabriele Santini
from Golden Press
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
True Story of Sir Francis Drake
by Will Holwood
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
Spencer Press Landmark #1 (RH#1)
by Armstrong Sperry
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Voyages of Henry Hudson
World Landmark #54
by Eugene Rachlis
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Walter Raleigh: Man of Two Worlds
World Landmark #58
by Henrietta Buckmaster
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
World Explorer: Henry Morton Stanley
World Explorer
by Charles P. Graves
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: James Cook
by Adele Deleeuw
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: John Smith
World Explorer
by Charles P. Graves, illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: Robert Falcon Scott
by Joan Bristow
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: Sir Francis Drake
by John Foster
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Zebulon Pike
Lives to Remember
by Bern Keating, illustrated by Frank Aloise
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Zebulon Pike
Real People
by Faith Yingling Knoop, illustrated by Armstrong Sperry
1963 printing from California State Department of Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)