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: World Leaders, 7th grade (Ages 12-13)
Adventurous Life of Winston Churchill
by Geoffrey Bocca
from Julian Messner
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Alexander the Great
World Landmark #2
by John Gunther
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Amazing Grace of Freedom
by Ken Wales, Susan Wales, Ted Baehr
2nd edition
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
At Her Majesty's Request
by Walter Dean Myers
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 5th-8th grade
2000 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Catherine the Great
World Landmark #29
by Katharine Scherman
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks
by F. J. Gould
from Yesterday's Classics
Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans
by F. J. Gould, Reteller
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Cleopatra of Egypt
World Landmark #50
by Leonora Hornblow
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Elizabeth I
by Jacob Abbott
from A Beka Books
for 7th-10th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Famous Men of the 16th & 17th Century
by Robert G. Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
Flight and Adventures of Charles II
World Landmark #38
by Charles Norman, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$27.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
For You They Signed
by Marilyn Boyer
All-in-One Edition from Master Books
for 7th-9th grade
in U.S. History Curriculum (Location: HISCUR-US)
$39.19
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
by Wilson Sullivan
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Horde
World Landmark #12
by Harold Lamb
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Geronimo: Wolf of the Warpath
Landmark #81
by Ralph Moody, illustrated by Nicholas Eggenhofer
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Heroes Every Child Should Know
by H. W. Mabie
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 5th-8th grade
$15.95
Heroes Every Child Should Know
by H. W. Mabie
from Living Book Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
$15.95
Hitler
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
In the Days of Alfred the Great
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
In the Days of Alfred the Great
by Eva March Tappan
from Living Book Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
In the Days of Queen Elizabeth
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
In the Days of Queen Elizabeth
by Eva March Tappan
from Living Book Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
In the Days of Queen Victoria
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
In the Days of Queen Victoria
by Eva March Tappan
from Bookshelf Central
for 6th-10th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
In the Days of Queen Victoria
by Eva March Tappan
from Living Book Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.99
In the Days of William the Conqueror
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
In the Days of William the Conqueror
by Eva March Tappan
from Living Book Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Indian Portraits of the Pacific Northwest
by George M. Cochran
3rd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
J. Pierpont Morgan
by Michael Burgan
1st edition from Compass Point Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Julius Caesar
by Manuel Komroff
from Julian Messner
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
King Arthur and His Knights
World Landmark #5
by Mabel Louise Robinson
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
by James Cross Giblin
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
2003 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
Lives of Famous Romans
by Olivia Coolidge
from American Home-School Publishing
Roman History for 7th-12th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$17.99
Lives of Famous Romans
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Milton Johnson
1992 Printing from Linnet Books
Roman History for 7th-12th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
Napoleon
by Manual Komroff
from Julian Messner
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Napoleon and the Battle of Waterloo
World Landmark #7
by Frances Winwar
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars
by Albert Marrin
1st edition from Viking Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Oliver Cromwell
by I. E. Levine
from Julian Messner
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Queen Eleanor
by Polly Schoyer Brooks
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Queen Elizabeth I: Forging an Empire
by Elizabeth Linington, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Kingston House
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Queen Victoria
World Landmark #37
by Noel Streatfeild
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Queen Victoria
by Molly Costain Haycraft
from Julian Messner
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Queen Victoria
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Queen Victoria
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Queen Victoria
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Ralph J. Bunche
by J. Alvin Kugelmass
Revised from Julian Messner
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
World Landmark #47
by William L. Shirer
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Rivals in Parliament
by Iris Noble
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Royal Faces
by Hugh Clayton
from Thames and Hudson
for 4th-9th grade
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Kings of England
by Geoffrey Trease
from Vanguard Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
Seven Queens of England
by Geoffrey Trease
from Vanguard Press
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Stalin
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
Story of Good Queen Bess
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #18
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Winston Churchill
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #40
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by H. B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Ten Kings and the Worlds They Ruled
by Milton Meltzer
1st edition from Orchard Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-7th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$16.00 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Unknown to History
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.99
What Really Happened in Ancient Times
by Terri Johnson, editor, illustrated by Darla Dixon
from Knowledge Quest
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
What Really Happened in Ancient Times
by Terri Johnson, editor
Revised from Knowledge Quest
Biographies for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
William of Orange
by W. G. Van de Hulst
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.95
William Wilberforce
World Changers
by John Holzmann
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Winston Churchill
by John B. Severance
from Clarion Books
Biography for 6th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Winston Churchill
World Landmark #56
by Quentin Reynolds
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Winston Churchill and the Story of Two World Wars
by Olivia Coolidge
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World's Great Explorers: Alexander the Great
by Maureen Ash
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)