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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131 Items found Print
Active Filters: American Presidents & First Ladies, Used Books & Materials
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)
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
Landmark Series
by Sterling North
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 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)
Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
from Graphia
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Abigail Adams Package (FACE)
by Rosalie J. Slater, Evelyn Witter
from Foundation for American Christian Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Principle Approach (Location: HSR-METPA)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
Biography for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln
DK Readers Level 3
by Justine & Ron Fontes
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln
A Rookie Biography
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Abraham Lincoln
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith
by G. Frederick Owen
from Tyndale House
for 10th-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)
American Presidents & Presidential First Ladies Notebooking Pages
from Notebooking Pages
for 3rd-8th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Andrew Jackson: Symbol for an Age
by John William Ward
reprint from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Assassination of John F. Kennedy: November 22, 1963
24 Hour History
by Terry Collins
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$4.50 (1 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)
Boy Named FDR
by Kathleen Krull
from Dragonfly Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Children of Mount Vernon
by Miriam Anne Bourne, illustrated by Gloria Kamen
from Doubleday & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Cobblestone Magazine: Thomas Jefferson
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$1.25 (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)
DK Biography: George Washington
by Lenny Hort
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Eleanor Roosevelt
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
Biography for 4th-6th grade
1994 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
FDR
by Jean Edward Smith
from Random House
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Jacksons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Lincolns
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Madisons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
First Families: The Washingtons
by Cass R. Sandak
from Crestwood House
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (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)
Four Great Americans
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Franklin and Winston
by Jon Meacham
from Random House
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
From Colonies to Country with George Washington - Set
from Unknown Publisher
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
Sowers Series
by Norma Cournow Camp
from Mott Media
Biography for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
by James Cross Giblin
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (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 & the Founding of a Nation
by Albert Marrin
from Dutton Juvenile
for 6th-10th grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington You Never Knew
by James Lincoln Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (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 Breakfast
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 1st-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99 $4.50 (2 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, Spymaster
by Thomas B. Allen
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington: Man and Monument
by Frank Freidel and Lonnelle Aikman
from Washington National Monument Assoc.
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (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)
Gettysburg Address in Translation
by Kay M., Olson
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$7.95 $4.00 (1 in stock)
God and Ronald Reagan
by Paul Kengor
Reprint from Harper Perennial
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (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
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1990 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.50 (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)
Homeschooling: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt
by Charlene Notgrass
from Notgrass Company
for Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
If You Grew Up With George Washington
If You Were There
by Ruth Belov Gross
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$3.50 (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)
In the Name of the Father
by Francois Furstenberg
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Abraham Lincoln
In Their Own Words
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Jacksonland
by Steve Inskeep
from Penguin Press
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
John Adams
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$18.70 $9.60 (2 in stock)
John Tyler
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Journey to Monticello
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
from Troll Publishing
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in New Nation (1783-1801) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$3.00 (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)
Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt
by C. Coco De Young
from Yearling
Historical fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Letters & Speeches of Theodore Roosevelt
by Theodore Roosevelt
from Library of America
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$12.00 (1 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 George Washington
by Mary Williamson
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95 $7.50 (2 in stock)
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)
$12.99 $6.50 (6 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)
Lost World of Thomas Jefferson
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Beacon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Man Named Washington
by Gertrude Norman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (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)
Meet George Washington
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Joan Heilbroner
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
Meet George Washington
by Joan Heilbroner
First Scholastic Printing 2001 from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$1.50 (3 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)
Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers
by Karen Winnick
from Boyds Mill Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (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)
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)
Picture Book of Dwight David Eisenhower
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$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)
Revolutionary John Adams
by Cheryl Harness
Reprint from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.95 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Richard Nixon - 37th U.S. President
by Joeming Dunn
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
River of Doubt
by Candice Millard
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ronald Reagan
by Winston Groom
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 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)
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