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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65 Items found Print
Active Filters: American Presidents & First Ladies, Hardcover, In-Stock Books & Materials
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)
A. Lincoln and Me
by Louise W. Borden
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Abe Lincoln
by Hilah Paulmier (compiled and edited by), illustrated by Lee Ames
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln (hardcover)
by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire; edited by Rea Berg
75th Anniversary from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 1st-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$21.95
Abraham Lincoln in Peace and War
by Earl Schenck Miers
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln, the Writer
by Harold Holzer
from Boyds Mill Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Alice
by Stacey A. Cordery
from Viking Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
American President
by Philip Kunhardt, Jr., Philip Kunhardt III, Peter Kunhardt
from Riverhead Books
for Adult
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Behind the Scenes
by Elizabeth Keckley, edited by Frances Smith Foster
from Lakeside Press
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Diana's White House Garden
by Elisa Carbone, illustrated by Jen Hill
from Viking Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in WWII: U.S. Homefront (Location: HISA-20WW2H)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
George Washington
by Norma Cournow Camp
from Mott Media
for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
by Heather Lehr Wagner
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington's Birthdays
by Wilma Pitchford Hays, illustrated by Peter Burchard
from Coward McCann
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington's World (pictorial hardcover)
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington: Soldier and Man
by North Callahan
from William Morrow & Company
for 7th-10th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Grant and Twain
by Mark Perry
from Random House
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
1st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Heir to the Empire City
by Edward P. Kohn
from Basic Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Herbert Hoover Story
by Catherine Owens Peare
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat and Renewal
by Richard Nixon
1st edition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
In the Days of McKinley
by Margaret Leech
from Harper & Brothers
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Jacksonland
by Steve Inskeep
from Penguin Press
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Kennedy Assassinated! The World Mourns
by Wilborn Hampton
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Killing Lincoln
by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard
from Henry Holt and Company
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Life & Times of Washington
by Mario Rivoire, translated by C.J. Richards
from Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Life of Andrew Jackson
by John S. Jenkins
from New Leaf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.50
Life of Washington
by Anna Reed
from New Leaf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Life of Washington
by Anna Reed
from New Leaf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.99
Lincoln's Little Correspondent
by Hertha Pauli, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Lives of the Presidents told in Words of One Syllable
by Jean S. Remy
from A. L. Burt Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Meet Andrew Jackson
by Ormonde de Kay
from Random House
for Kindergarten-2nd
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mount Vernon Family
by Elswyth Thane
First Printing from Thomas Crowell
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
New Big Book of U.S. Presidents
by Marc Frey, Todd Davis
from Courage Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
O Captain, My Captain
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Sterling Hundley
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$19.99
Off the Record
by Harry S. Truman, edited by Robert H. Ferrell
from Harper & Row
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
On Growing Up
by Herbert Hoover, edited by William Nichols
from William Morrow & Company
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Our Country's Presidents
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Presidency of George Washington
by Jack D. Warren, Jr.
from University of Virginia Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Ronald Reagan
by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation
from DK Publishing
for Adult
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Rush Revere and the Presidency
by Rush Limbaugh with Kathryn Adams Limbaugh
from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Skyrockets for the President
by Florence Laughlin, illustrated by George Roth
Stated First Printing from Rand McNally
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Monticello
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Norman Richards, Illustrated by Chuck Mitchell
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Lincoln Memorial
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Natalie Miller
from Unknown Publisher
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Lincoln Memorial
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Natalie Miller
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Take the Lead, George Washington
by Judith St. George, illustrated by Daniel Powers
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Team of Rivals
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
from Simon and Schuster
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Theodore Rex
by Edmund Morris
1st edition from Random House
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Theodore Roosevelt: Rallying a Free People
by Fred J. Cook, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Kingston House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Jefferson
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Jefferson
by James Cross Giblin
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
by Jon Meacham
from Random House
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Three Days in January
by Brett Baier with Catherine Whitney
from William Morrow & Company
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Torch is Passed...
by Associated Press
from Associated Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Triumph of William McKinley
by Karl Rove
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Triumphant Adventure
by Frances Cavanah, illustrated by Jo Polseno
3rd Printing, 1967 from Rand McNally
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Twilight Struggle
by Barbara Harrison, Daniel Terris
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Unfading Beauty
by Tracy M. Leininger
from His Seasons
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Wars of the Roosevelts
by William J. Mann
from HarperCollins
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Where Lincoln Walked
by Raymond Bial
from Walker and Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Wilderness Warrior
by Douglas Brinkley
from HarperCollins
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
You're on Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt
by Judith St. George, illustrated by Matt Faulkner
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Young Washington
by Peter Stark
from HarperCollins
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)