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.
Did you find this review helpful?
51 Items found Print
Active Filters: American Revolution (1765-1783), 8th grade (Ages 13-14)
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
Landmark #85
by Russel & Anna Crouse
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark #28
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Betsy Ross and the Flag
Landmark #26
by Jane Mayer
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Biography of George Washington
Sons of Liberty Series
by William M. Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
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 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Cobblestone Magazine: Thomas Jefferson
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$1.25 (1 in stock)
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)
Dolly Madison
Landmark #47
by Jane Mayer
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
George Rogers Clark, Soldier in the West
by Walter Havinghurst
from McGraw-Hill
for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
George Washington
Sowers Series
by Norma Cournow Camp
from Mott Media
Biography for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
George Washington
by M. D. Holmes
from John C. Winston
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
George Washington & the Founding of a Nation
by Albert Marrin
from Dutton Children's Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
George Washington and the Making of a Nation
by Marcus Cunliffe
from Troll Associates
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
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: Frontier Colonel
Landmark #71
by Sterling North
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
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)
Haym Salomon: Liberty's Son
by Shirley Milgrim, illustrated by Richard Fish
from Jewish Publication Society
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Hero Tales
by Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge
from Cumberland House
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
John Paul Jones
Sterling Point Books
by Armstrong Sperry
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of Washington
by Mario Rivoire
from Curtis Publishing Co.
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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
Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
by Benson J. Lossing
3rd Printing from WallBuilder Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Marquis de Lafayette
World Landmark #34
by Hodding Carter
from Random House
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Poor Richard
by James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Poor Richard
by James Daugherty
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Real Book about George Washington
by Harold Coy, illustrated by Elinore Blaisdell
from Garden City Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior
by George Washington
from Applewood Books
for 4th-9th grade
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Spirit of 1776
by Peter Seymour
from Hallmark Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Story of Andrew Jackson
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #13
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by David Hendrickson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Benjamin Franklin
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #5
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of George Washington
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #12
by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of John Paul Jones
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #20
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Lafayette
Signature Books #7
by Hazel Wilson, illustrated by Edy Legrand
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biograhy for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Mad Anthony Wayne
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #24
by Hazel Wilson, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Martha Washington
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #32
by Jeannette C. Nolan, illustrated by Corinne B. Dillon
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Swamp Fox of the Revolution
Landmark #90
by Stewart H. Holbrook
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Tom Paine, Freedom's Apostle
by Leo Gurko, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Washington at Valley Forge
by Freedman, Russell
First Edition from Holiday House
for 4th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Wives of the Signers
by Harry & Mary Green
from WallBuilder Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
Yankee Doodle Boy
by Joseph Martin
from Holiday House
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Yankee Doodle Boy
by Joseph Martin
from Holiday House
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)