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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73 Items found Print
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Bismarck and the Foundation of the German Empire
by James Headlam
from CreateSpace
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Book of Discovery
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-12th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$20.95
Book of Golden Deeds
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
Book of Missionary Heroes
by Basil Mathews
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in History of Missions (Location: XCH-MIS)
$11.99
Boys’ Life of Abraham Lincoln
by Helen Nicolay
from CreateSpace
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Carry a Big Stick
Leaders in Action Series
by George Grant
from Cumberland House
Biographies for 9th-12th grade
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
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
Christopher Columbus: His Story and His Journals
Knowledge Keepers Home Library Series 1492
by Edward Everett Hale and Edward Gaylord Bourne
from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
by Wyatt Blassingame
from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$13.99
David Crockett: His Life and Adventures
by John S. C. Abbott
from CreateSpace
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Early Church
by George Hodges
from Yesterday's Classics
for 8th-12th grade
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$13.95
Extravagant Graces
from Westbow Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Men of the Middle Ages
by John H. Haaren & A.B. Poland
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Reference for 5th - 10th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$13.95
Famous Men of the Middle Ages
by John H. Haaren & A.B. Poland
from Feather Trail Press
Historical Reference for 5th - 10th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
Fifty Famous People
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.95
Florence Nightingale
by Laura E. Richards
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95
Four American Inventors
by Frances M. Perry
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$13.95
Freighters and Pilgrims
Knowledge Keepers Home Library Series 1865
by Charles E. Young and Sarah Raymond Herndon
from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
General Lee: Southern Commander
Knowledge Keepers Home Library Series 1861
by John Esten Cooke, Captain Robert E. Lee, foreword by Nicki Truesdell
from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
God's Troubadour
by Sophie Jewett
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Great Astronomers
by Robert S. Ball
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$12.99
Great Inventors and Their Inventions
by Frank P. Bachman
2019 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 5th-7th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$9.99
Hannibal
Makers of History Series
by Jacob Abbott
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
He Went with Champlain
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Christopher Columbus
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Drake
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with John Paul Jones
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Magellan
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Marco Polo
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Vasco da Gama
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
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
Heroes of the Middle Ages
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$12.95
History of King Charles II of England
by Jacob Abbott
from Living Book Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.99
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 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 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
Kidnapped by River Rats
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
Life of Christopher Columbus
by Edward Everett Hale
from Living Book Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Life of King Alfred
by Asser
from Living Book Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$6.99
Love and Loss in Cambodia
by Debra Groves Harman
from Canby Media
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali
by P. James Oliver
from CreateSpace
for 3rd-6th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$9.99
Marco Polo
by Manual Komroff
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
Medical Corps Heroes of World War II
Landmark #120
by Wyatt Blassingame
2022 Reprint from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$15.99
Miles Standish: The Puritan Captain
by John S. C. Abbott
2022 Reprint from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Miracle in the Hills
by Mary T. Martin Sloop with Legette Blythe
from McGraw-Hill
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Papua Pilot
by Paul Westlund with Dane Skelton, foreword by Steve Sinant
from Paul Westlund
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
from Living Book Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$17.99
Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls
by W.H. Weston (reteller), Plutarch
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Romulus
Makers of History series
by Jacob Abbott
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Saints and Heroes 1
by George Hodges
from Living Book Press
Biography Anthology for 5th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Saints and Heroes 2
by George Hodges
from Living Book Press
Biography Anthology for 5th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages
by George Hodges
from Yesterday's Classics
Biographies for 5th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$11.95
Saints and Heroes to the End of the Middle Ages
by George Hodges
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography Anthology for 5th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$11.95
Simon Bolivar the Liberator
by Guillermo A. Sherwell
Reprint from Kessinger Publishing
for 9th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
South
by Ernest Shackleton
100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Expedition Memoir for 10th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.95
South
by Ernest Shackleton
from Living Book Press
Expedition Memoir for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans
by Edward Eggleston
from Yesterday's Classics
Narrative History for 1st-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$11.95
Story of David Livingstone
by Vautier Golding
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Story of Joan of Arc
by Andrew Lang
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99
Story of Joan of Arc
by Andrew Lang
from Living Book Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Story of Napoleon
The Children's Heroes Series
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Story of Napoleon
The Children's Heroes Series
by H. E. Marshall; illustrated by Allan Stewart
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Story of Sir Walter Raleigh
The Children's Heroes Series
by Margaret Duncan Kelly
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Story-Lives of Master Musicians
by Harriette Brower
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Talking Wire
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Two Years Before the Mast
by Richard Henry Dana Jr., illustrated by E. Boyd Smith
from SeaWolf Press
Autobiographical Narrative for 10th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$12.95
Up the Western Trail
Knowledge Keepers Home Library Series 1872
by Andy Adams
from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)