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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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)
Agape Leadership
by Robert L. Peterson and Alexander Strauch
from Lewis and Roth Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
from Penguin Random House
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
American Childhood
by Annie Dillard
from Harper & Row
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
by Gordon S. Wood
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (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)
Anne Bradstreet
by Heidi L. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Arrow Pointing to Heaven
by James Bryan Smith
Revised from B&H Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of Charles G. Finney
by Charles G. Finney
from Bethany House
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Between the Lines
by Tom and Delphine Frazier
from Regent Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Between Worlds
by Marilyn R. Gardner
from Doorlight Publications
for Adult
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Beyond the Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Black Like Me
by John Howard Griffin & Robert Bonazzi
35th anniversary from Signet Classics
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Blue Like Jazz
by Donald Miller
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
Book of Margery Kempe
by Margery Kempe
1st edition from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Born Again
by Charles Colson
from Chosen Books
for 9th grade-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Born Free
by Joy Adamson
Anniversary from Pantheon Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
from Vintage Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Breakfast with Bonhoeffer
by Jon Walker
from Leafwood Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Bruchko
by Bruce Olson
from Charisma House
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Bruchko
by Bruce Olson
Updated from Charisma House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Bruchko
by Bruce Olson
Revised from YWAM Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Bruchko and the Motilone Miracle
by Bruce Olson
from Charisma House
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Buffalo Bill and the Wild West
by Henry Blackman Sell and Victor Weybright
Reprint from International Cody Family Assoc.
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Butch Cassidy and "The Wild Bunch"
by Erin Delfoe and E.W. Allred
from Apricot Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table
New edition from Harvest Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
C.S. Lewis: Through the Shadowlands
by Brian Sibley
from Revell Publishing
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
from Baker Academics
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Churchill: Walking with Destiny
by Andrew Roberts
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Co. Aytch
by Sam Watkins
from Touchstone
Historical Non-fiction for 8th-Adult
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$17.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Collector, The
by Jack Nisbet
from Sasquatch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Surrender
by Julian Wilson
from Monarch Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Conversations with Myself
by Nelson Mandela, foreword by Barack Obama
from Picador
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Dayuma
by Ethel Emily Wallis
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$14.99 $7.50 (2 in stock)
Diary of a Napoleanic Foot Soldier
by Jakob Walter
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Evangelical Reassessment
by Georg Huntemann
from Baker Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Different
by Sally and Nathan Clarkson
from Tyndale Momentum
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Discoverers
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$21.25 $9.20 (1 in stock)
Dream West
by David Nevin
from Forge
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eighty Days
by Matthew Goodman
from Ballantine Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Einstein's Cosmos
by Michio Kaku
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
from Tyndale House
for 9th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Franklin
by David R. Logsdon
4th edition
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (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 Gentleman's Cookbook
by William D. Orr, compiler
from Bill Orr
for Adult
in Miscellaneous Cookbooks (Location: COOK-MIS)
$5.40 (1 in stock)
First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
by T.J. Stiles
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Five Pioneer Missionaries
by Various
from Banner of Truth Trust
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History of Missions (Location: XCH-MIS)
$13.00 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Forever Flying
by R.A. "Bob" Hoover with Mark Shaw, foreword by Chuck Yeager
from Pocket Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (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)
Galileo's Daughter
by Dava Sobel
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Gandhi and India
by Gianni Sofri, translated by Janet Sethre Paxia
from Interlink Books
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
George Whitefield
by Arnold A. Dallimore
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gift of Music
by Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson
3rd edition from Crossway Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$23.99 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Glimpses of Truth
Book of Books #1
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (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)
God's Outlaw
by Brian H. Edwards
2nd edition from Evangelical Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Good-Bye To All That
by Robert Graves, introduction by Paul Fussell
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Heavenly Man
by Brother Yun, Paul Hattaway
from Monarch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Heidi's Alp
by Christina Hardyment
from Atlantic Monthly Press
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Hole in Our Gospel
by Richard Stearns
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$3.50 (3 in stock)
Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret
by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor
from Moody Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Idelette
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
In My Father's House
by Corrie Ten Boom
Book Club Edition from Power Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
In Search of the Source
by Neil Anderson, Hyatt Moore
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
Missionary Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
In the Land of the Blue Burqas
by Kate McCord
from Moody Press
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99 $8.00 (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)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer
from Anchor Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Invention of Nature
by Andrea Wulf
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
from Quality Paperback Book Club
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Isaac Watts: His Life and Hymns
by Paxton Hood
from Ambassador Emerald International
for 10th-Adult
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Jack Nastyface
by William Robinson
from US Naval Institute Press
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis
by George Sayer
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Jarhead
by Anthony Swofford
from Scribner
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Jeanne Guyon
by Jeanne Guyon
1st Ed. from Whitaker House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Ignatius Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.95 $12.00 (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)
Jonathan and Sarah
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Junior Officer's Reading Club
by Patrick Hennessey
from Riverhead Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Katherine Parr
by Brandon G. Withrow
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99 $6.50 (1 in stock)
Kisses from Katie
by Katie J. Davis
from Howard Books
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Kitchen Boy
by Robert Alexander
Reprint from Penguin Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz
by Katharine M. Rogers
from Da Capo Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder
by Pamela Smith Hill
from South Dakota State Historical Society Press
for 9th-Adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lay Siege to Heaven
by Louis de Wohl
1991 Reprint from Ignatius Press
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Left to Tell
by Immaculée Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin
from Hay House
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Legacy of John Calvin
The Calvin 500 Series
by David W. Hall
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Biographies for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.50 (1 in stock)
Life of Muhammad
by Hadrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad
from Islam International Publications Ltd
for Adult
in Islam & Sharia Law (Location: XAP-ISL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Presidents
by Kathleen Krull & Kathryn Hewitt
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Living on the Devil's Doorstep
International Adventures
by Floyd McClung
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$14.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Lords of the Earth
by Don Richardson
Reprint. from Regal Books
for 9th-Adult
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$6.00 (2 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 Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made
by Bruce Watson
from Penguin Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Man Who Would Not Be Washington
by Jonathan Horn
from Scribner
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Marriage to a Difficult Man
by Elisabeth D. Dodds
from Audobon Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Master of Middle Earth
by Paul H. Kocher
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
by Art Spiegelman
from Pantheon Books
for 10th-Adult
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mein Kampf OSI
by Adolf Hitler, translated by Ralph Manheim
from Houghton Mifflin
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West
by LeRoy R. Hafen & Harvey L. Carter
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$18.66 $9.60 (1 in stock)
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