Biographies
Showing 1–12 of 1145 results
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Father Ed : The Story Of Bill W’s Spiritual Sponsor
$30.00Add to cartFather Ed is the first biography of Father Edward Dowling, SJ (1898-1960), whose guidance transformed Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson’s life and deepened the spirituality of the twelve-step movement. Trained as a journalist, Dowling was always drawn to those who were suffering–a sympathy enhanced by his own crippling infirmities–which led him to embrace the A.A. approach to healing in community. Father Ed is a portrait of the kind of priest Pope Francis has extolled as a “shepherd with the smell of the sheep.”
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Elinor Mcgrath Pet Doctor
$17.99Add to cartI can do this! Elinor rolled up her sleeves. She was smart enough. She was strong enough.
When Elinor McGrath decided she wanted to be a veterinarian, the world told her no. It was 1907, and that job was not considered suitable for women. Even after she was accepted into veterinary school, the 137 male students in her class made it clear she was not welcome. Yet despite constant criticism, Elinor persevered. She could see that the future was changing and was determined to show the world of veterinary medicine that accepting women wasn’t the only change the profession needed.
Written by a small-animal veterinarian, Elinor McGrath, Pet Doctor tells the true story of the first woman veterinarian in the US. Backmatter highlights Elinor’s career as well as other pioneering women vets from around the world.
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Life : My Story Through History (Large Type)
$34.00Add to cartFor the first time, Pope Francis tells the story of his life as he looks back on the momentous world events that have changed history–from his earliest years during the outbreak of World War II in 1939 to the turmoil of today.
An extraordinary personal and historical journey, Life is the story of a man and a world in dramatic change. Pope Francis recalls his life through memories and observations of the most significant occurrences of the past eight decades. The book opens with three-year-old Jorge in the kitchen with his mother in Argentina as World War II breaks out, and he goes on to witness several historic events:
the fall of the Berlin Wall Videla’s coup in Argentina the moon landing in 1969 and even the 1986 World Cup in which Maradona scored the unforgettable “hand of God” goal.
Here are the frank assessments and intimate insights of a pastor reflecting on the Nazi extermination of the Jews, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the 2001 terrorist attack on America and the collapse of the Twin Towers, the great economic recession of 2008, the Covid-19 pandemic, the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, and the subsequent conclave that elected him Pontiff.
The “pope callejero” recounts these world-changing moments with the candor and compassion that distinguishes him, and offers important messages on major crises confronting us now, including social inequalities, climate change, international war, atomic weapons, racial discrimination, and the battles over social and cultural issues.
Translated from the Italian by Aubrey Botsford
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Watchmakers Daughter : The True Story Of World War II Heroine Corrie Ten Bo
$21.99Add to cartINTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
Winner of the Florida Book Awards Gold Medal
New York Times bestselling author and master of nonfiction spy thrillers Larry Loftis writes the first major biography of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch watchmaker who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during WWII–at the cost of losing her family and being sent to a concentration camp, only to survive, forgive her captors, and live the rest of her life as a Christian missionary.
The Watchmaker’s Daughter is one of the greatest stories of World War II that readers haven’t heard: the remarkable and inspiring life story of Corrie ten Boom–a groundbreaking, female Dutch watchmaker, whose family unselfishly transformed their house into a hiding place straight out of a spy novel to shelter Jews and refugees from the Nazis during Gestapo raids. Even though the Nazis knew what the ten Booms were up to, they were never able to find those sheltered within the house when they raided it.
Corrie stopped at nothing to face down the evils of her time and overcame unbelievable obstacles and odds. She persevered despite the loss of most of her family and relied on her faith to survive the horrors of a notorious concentration camp. But even more remarkable than her heroism and survival was Corrie’s attitude when she was released. Miraculously, she was able to eschew bitterness and embrace forgiveness as she ministered to people in need around the globe. Corrie’s ability to forgive is just one of the myriad lessons that her life story holds for readers today.
Reminiscent of Schindler’s List and featuring a journey of faith and forgiveness not unlike Unbroken, The Watchmaker’s Daughter is destined to become a classic work of World War II nonfiction.
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Beyond The Wager
$24.00Add to cartBlaise Pascal, the seventeenth-century French philosopher and scientist, is perhaps best known for his “wager,” an argument about the existence of God. But there was much more to Pascal and his brilliance.
In this accessible and well-documented study, philosopher Douglas Groothuis introduces readers to Pascal’s life as well as the breadth of his intellectual pursuits, including his contributions to mathematics, science, ethics, and theology. Groothuis overviews the key points of Pascal’s Pensees, which captures his thoughts about God, humanity, and Jesus Christ. Readers will also explore Pascal’s views on a range of topics, including culture, politics, Islam, and miracles.
Often quoted and often misunderstood, Pascal is a complex figure whose writings have charmed, puzzled, and inspired readers across the centuries. With guidance from a leading Christian thinker and longtime student of Pascal, Beyond the Wager takes you on a journey to discover the riches Pascal has to offer today.
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Life : My Story Through History
$29.99Add to cartFor the first time, Pope Francis tells the story of his life as he looks back on the momentous world events that have changed history–from his earliest years during the outbreak of World War II in 1939 to the turmoil of today.
An extraordinary personal and historical journey, Life is the story of a man and a world in dramatic change. Pope Francis recalls his life through memories and observations of the most significant occurrences of the past eight decades. The book opens with three-year-old Jorge in the kitchen with his mother in Argentina as World War II breaks out, and he goes on to witness several historic events:
the fall of the Berlin Wall Videla’s coup in Argentina the moon landing in 1969 and even the 1986 World Cup in which Maradona scored the unforgettable “hand of God” goal.
Here are the frank assessments and intimate insights of a pastor reflecting on the Nazi extermination of the Jews, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the 2001 terrorist attack on America and the collapse of the Twin Towers, the great economic recession of 2008, the Covid-19 pandemic, the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, and the subsequent conclave that elected him Pontiff.
The “pope callejero” recounts these world-changing moments with the candor and compassion that distinguishes him, and offers important messages on major crises confronting us now, including social inequalities, climate change, international war, atomic weapons, racial discrimination, and the battles over social and cultural issues.
Translated from the Italian by Aubrey Botsford
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From Union Square To Rome
$22.00Add to cartPreface by Robert Ellsberg
With a New Foreword by
Pope Francis
“‘Praise God’ is the title of this letter. For when human beings claim to take God’s place, they become their own worst enemies.”
In Laudato Si’, his historic encyclical of 2015,Pope Francis firmly established ecological concerns as central to the agenda of Catholic Social Teaching. Along with a spiritual framework on care for creation, he outlined such issues as climate change, biodiversity, and the peril facing our oceans, and offered a comprehensive guide to integral ecology.
Now, comes a shorter but even more urgent call: Laudate Deum, which focuses specifically on the climate crisis. As Erin Lothes Biviano writes in her introduction, Pope Francis here writes as a prophet, priest, poet, and most of all “a pastor, deeply concerned for people throughout the world, and above all for the poor.” Disappointed that not enough has been done in the intervening years, Francis addresses the irreversible effects of increasing global temperatures, the decrease in ice sheets, and other signs of the times. He critiques the “technocratic paradigm,” the ongoing addiction to a fossil-fuel economy, and the “weaknesses of international politics,” while leveling particular criticism at those who sow resistance and confusion.
With selections in this edition from Laudato Si’ that focus on pastoral, theological, and spiritual themes, Laudate Deum is a call to face the preeminent crisis of our times and to draw on all our spiritual wisdom, scientific knowledge, and political will to meet the challenge.
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Quilted Life : Reflections Of A Sharecropper’s Daughter
$26.99Add to cartCatherine Meeks shares the wisdom she garnered over the journey of her life, from her father’s sharecropping fields to the academy and beyond.
Today, Catherine Meeks is a national leader of racial healing and an esteemed retired professor of African American studies. But being a Black woman in America can be difficult. Join Meeks as she describes the adventures and adversity she encountered on her path to becoming an empowered voice for change.
Growing up in Arkansas under the terror of Jim Crow, Meeks learned firsthand about injustice and the desperation it causes. But with the support of her family, she moved to LA to study at Pepperdine. When a Black teenager was killed by a campus security guard, Meeks awakened to her prophetic voice, and a local women’s group gave her hope that racial reconciliation was possible.
She later led a group of students to West Africa, where she met her husband. Yet her years-long battle with rheumatoid arthritis severed their relationship, leaving her a single mother.
Meanwhile, she worked tirelessly at Mercer University to expand the African American studies program, all while earning her MSW and PhD.Quilting together these memories–bitter and sweet, traumatic and triumphant–Meeks shares her hard-earned wisdom: Learn how to discern the Creator’s work. Listen to the voice saying “yes” to opportunity. Become a wounded healer. Know when to practice silence and when to speak out. Readers will leave the pages of A Quilted Life enriched by Meeks’s unique perspective and insight.
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Guts For Glory
$19.99Add to cartA dramatically illustrated biography of Private Rosetta “Lyons” Wakeman, the only soldier whose letters capture the Civil War from a woman’s perspective.
In 1862, the war between North and South showed no signs of stopping. In rural New York, nineteen-year-old Rosetta Wakeman longed for a life beyond the family farm. One day she made a brave, bold choice: she cut her braid and disguised herself as a man. No one suspected that “Lyons” was a woman–not even when she signed up to fight for the Union. As Rosetta’s new regiment traveled to Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Louisiana, she sent letter after letter home to New York. Army life wasn’t easy, but Rosetta knew it was where she belonged–keeping her family safe and her country free.
Through intricately detailed scratchboard art and excerpts from Rosetta’s letters, this fascinating biography introduces young readers to an unconventional woman who was determined to claim her own place in history. Memorable and inspiring, Guts for Glory is a stirring portrait of the Civil War and the courage of those who fought on its front lines.
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Fannie Lou Hamer
$14.99Add to cartRead the true story of Fannie Lou Hamer, a Civil Rights activist who courageously stood up for the vulnerable and contended for the rights of unborn children.
Living in Mississippi, “Mother Hamer” left school at six and was subjected to the racist “Jim Crow” laws. She and her friends marched for the right to vote and became known as “the Freedom Fighters.” Fannie was imprisoned and beaten but eventually was able to speak to the Houses of Congress in Washington, D.C. Having won the vote, Mother Hamer helped bring people out of poverty and stood up for the right of unborn children to be born and to be loved.
This beautifully illustrated children’s biography of Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) features engaging illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos. It is part of a series called Do Great Things For God, which is designed to show kids that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
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1 Of A Kind
$18.99Add to cartFor fans of All-of-a-Kind Family, here is the true story of how Sarah Brenner, a poor girl from New York City’s Lower East Side, became Sydney Taylor: dancer, actress, and successful children’s book author.
Sarah Brenner might have come from an all-of-a-kind family (five sisters who all dressed alike), but she was always one of a kind. Growing up in a Jewish immigrant family on New York’s impoverished Lower East Side, Sarah loved visiting the library, celebrating holidays with her family, and taking free dance classes at the Henry Street Settlement. But she was always aware of things that weren’t fair–whether it was that women couldn’t vote, or how girls were treated in her school, or that her parents had had to leave Europe because they were Jewish. When she grew up, Sarah changed her name to Sydney and became an actress and a dancer, but she never forgot the importance of fighting unfairness, whether it was anti-Semitism at her job or the low wages of workers. And when her daughter complained that it wasn’t fair that there were no books about Jewish children like her, Sydney put pen to paper and wrote a one-of-a-kind children’s book.
From well-known Jewish children’s author Richard Michelson, this is the story of how Sarah became Sydney and how she showed children the joy of seeing their culture reflected on the page.
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Journey To The Stars
$18.99Add to cartA powerful story of hope about a woman who fought against all odds to become the first Indian American female astronaut.
Kalpana Chawla set her sights on flight from an early age. She was told “no” many times in life: No, girls don’t study aerospace. No, women don’t become astronauts. No, you won’t succeed in the United States. But Kalpana didn’t listen–she was too busy forging her own path to the stars. And after a long journey of dedication, perseverance, and patience, she finally made it to space. Her inspiring story is a powerful reminder for girls all over the world to never, ever give up on their dreams.
Based on the true story of the first female Indian American astronaut, Journey to the Stars details the challenges and triumphs of Kalpana Chawla’s life up through her first journey into space. Her story is sure to inspire educators and parents interested in encouraging curiosity and a passion for STEM in girls and boys. Backmatter includes an author’s note and a timeline of Kalpana’s life and awards