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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200 Items found Print
Active Filters: 12th grade (Ages 17-18), Hardcover, In-Stock Books & Materials
'Tis
by Frank McCourt
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Autobiographies & Memoirs for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
32 Christians Who Changed the World
by Glenn S. Sunshine
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$21.95
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)
Abraham Lincoln, the Writer
by Harold Holzer
from Boyds Mill Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Admiral of the Ocean Sea
by Samuel E. Morison
from Atlantic Monthly Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Again Calls the Owl
by Margaret Craven
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
All Hands Aloft!
by Lou A. Schmitt
from Howell-North
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Mr. Doolittle
by Quentin Reynolds
from Appleton-Century-Crofts
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Authentic Life of Billy the Kid
by Pat F. Garrett
from University of Oklahoma Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
World's Greatest Literature
by Benjamin Franklin
from Spencer Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
by Benvenuto Cellini
from International Collectors Library
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$11.50 (1 in stock)
B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Battle from the Start
by Brian Steel Wills
from HarperCollins
for 9th grade-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Becoming Mrs. Lewis
by Patti Callahan
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin: America's Original Entrepreneur
by Benjamin Franklin, illustrated by William Sharp, with an introduction by Carl Van Doren
from Entrepreneur Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
by Carl Van Doren
from Library of America
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Best of James Herriot
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 10th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Best of James Herriot
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 10th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Beyond Stateliest Marble
Leaders in Action Series
by Doug Wilson
from Cumberland House
Biography for
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci
by Romola Anderson, R. C. Anderson
1st edition from Henry Holt and Company
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99
Bombs and Blessings
by Retha Hazel Eldridge
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.00 (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)
Boswell's London Journal 1762-1763
by Frederick A. Pottle
1st edition from McGraw-Hill
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
C. S. Lewis: A Life
by Alister McGrath
from Tyndale House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$24.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Call of Duty
Leaders in Action Series
by Steve Wilkins
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Carl Sandburg
by Milton Meltzer
from Twenty-first Century Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Carry a Big Stick
Leaders in Action Series
by George Grant
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
Chasing the Horizon
by Patrick Kinkade, Thomas Kinkade
from Harvest House
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Cheer the Lonesome Traveller
by Leslie Alexander Lacy, illustrated by James Barkley
from Dial Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Child in the Forest
by Winifred Foley; illustrated by Tricia Newell
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Chord of Steel
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Comes the Comrade!
by Alexandra Orme, translated from the Polish by M.A. Michael and L. Meyer
from William Morrow & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Confessions of St. Augustine
by St. Augustine (translation by Philip Burton)
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$17.60
Constantine the Great
by Michael Grant
from History Book Club
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Contending for Our All
The Swans Are Not Silent Book 4
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Cornelius Van Til
by John Frame
from P&R Publishing
for 11th-Adult
in Reformed Theology (Location: XTH-REF)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Cross Creek
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Dandelion Wine
by Ray Bradbury
Reprint from Avon Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$25.00
Dante
Penguin Lives
by R.W.B. Lewis
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
from International Collectors Library
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Discovery
by John K. Terres
First Ediition from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Early Days of a Cowboy on the Pecos
by James F. Hinkle
from Unknown Publisher
for 7th-12th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Earth is the Lord's
by Taylor Caldwell
from Literary Guild of America
for 11th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Easy Company Soldier
by Sgt. Don Malarkey
from St. Martin's Press
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$17.50
Edwardian Lady
by Ina Taylor
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Endurance
by Caroline Alexander
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Escape from Corregidor
by Edward D. Whitcomb
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Essential Claude Monet
by Catherine Morris
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 9th-12th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Every Living Thing
by James Herriot
1st edition from St. Martin's Press
for 8th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Final Race
by Eric T. Eichinger, Eva M. Everson
from Tyndale House
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$22.99
For Those Who Dare
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 8th-Adult
in Church History Overviews (Location: XCH-OVE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Forgotten Founding Father
Leaders in Action Series
by Stephen Mansfield
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-12th grade
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Frederic Chopin
by Victor Seroff
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya
by Ruth Tucker
2nd edition from Zondervan
History of missions for 11th-Adult
in History of Missions (Location: XCH-MIS)
$32.99 $14.00 (2 in stock)
From Scotland to Silverado
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Harvard University Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
George MacDonald
by Michael R Phillips
Illustrated Edition from Bethany House
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
George Whitefield: Wayfaring Witness
by Stuart C. Henry
from Abingdon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Give Me Liberty
Leaders in Action Series
by David Vaughan
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$17.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
by John Bunyan
from Hendrickson Publishers
Autobiography for 10th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Great Adventures That Changed Our World
from Reader's Digest
for 10th-Adult
in Modern History (Location: HISW-MOD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Artists - Great Composers: Portraits
from Amadeus Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Christian Classics - Volume I
by Kevin Swanson
2nd edition from Generations with Vision
for 9th-12th grade
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$42.00
Great Lion of God
by Taylor Caldwell
Book Club from Doubleday & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Greater Journey
by David McCullough
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Greek Treasure
by Irving Stone
Book Club from Doubleday & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gregor Mendel
by Simon Mawer
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Beecher Stowe
by Noel Bertram Gerson
1st edition from Henry Holt and Company
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Beecher Stowe
by Suzanne M. Coil
from Franklin Watts
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hillbilly Elegy
by J. D. Vance
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger
Reprint from Living Book Press
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$21.24
I Am in Here
by Elizabeth M. Bonker and Virginia G. Breen
from Revell Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
I Remember Laura
by Stephen W. Hines
3rd printing from Thomas Nelson Publishers
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$12.00 (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)
Inventing America: The Life of Benjamin Franklin
by Mark Essig
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Ireland's Pirate Queen
by Anne Chambers
from MJF Books
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ishi: Last of His Tribe
by Theodora Kroeber
from California State Department of Education
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
James Fenimore Cooper, the American Scott
by George Dekker
from Routledge
for 8th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
James Herriot's Dog Stories
by James Herriot
1st edition from St. Martin's Press
for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
James I
Sacred Fool Quartet Volume 1
by Otto Scott
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00
Jefferson Davis and His Generals
by Steven E. Woodworth
from University Press of Kansas
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
John Brown Russwurm
by Mary Sagarin, Introduction by Ernest Kaiser
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Jonathan Edwards
by Iain H. Murray
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$33.00
Joni Eareckson Tada: Her Story
by Joni Eareckson Tada, Joe Musser, Steve Estes
from Inspirational Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Kate Greenaway
by Rodney K. Engen
from Harmony
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Kate Greenaway Book
by Bryan Holme, with illustrations by Kate Greenaway
from Gallery Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Kings and Queens of Scotland
by R. L. Mackie, J. Ross
from Geddes & Grosset
for 8th-Adult
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Lady of Arlington
by Harnett T. Kane
from Doubleday & Company
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Pioneer Girl
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Pamela Smith Hill
from South Dakota State Historical Society Press
for 7th-Adult
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$39.99
Leonardo da Vinci
by Richard McLanathan
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien - Revised and Expanded
by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien
2nd edition from William Morrow & Company
Biographies for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$40.00
Life & Times of Chopin
by Adelaide Murgia
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of Elizabeth I
by Massimo Rossaro
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of Louis XIV
by Alfredo Panicucci
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of Napoleon
by Mario Rivoire
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Life & Times of Peter the Great
by Giancarlo Buzzi
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of St. Francis
by Agostino Ghilardi
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (2 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 and Diary of David Brainerd
by David Brainerd
from Moody Press
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Letters of Benjamin Franklin
by Benjamin Franklin
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life of Andrew Jackson
by John S. Jenkins
from New Leaf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.50
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