Religious Biographies

At the core of this book is an appalling double murder committed by two Mormon Fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims. Weaving the story of the Lafferty brothers and their fanatical brethren with a clear-eyed look at Mormonism's violent past, Krakauer examines the underbelly of the most successful homegrown faith in the United States, and finds a distinctly American brand of religious extremism.

Steve Saint was five years old when his father, missionary pilot Nate Saint, was speared to death by a primitive Ecuadorian tribe. In adulthood Steve, having left Ecuador for a successful business career in the United States, never imagined making the jungle his home again. But when that same tribe asks him to help them, Steve, his wife, and their teenage children move back to the jungle.

An accessible, expert introduction to one of the greatest minds of 19th century. Whether you're completely new to him, or if you're already familiar with his work, Kierkegaard: A Single Life presents a fresh understanding of his life and thought. Kierkegaard was a brilliant and enigmatic loner whose ideas permeated culture, shaped modern Christianity, and influenced people as diverse as Franz Kafka and Martin Luther King Jr. Though few people today have read his work, that lack of familiarity with the real Kierkegaard is changing with this biography by scholar Stephen Backhouse.

Encounter the multifaceted life of one of the most influential and creative pastors of the past half century with unforgettable stories of Eugene’s lifelong devotion to his craft and love of language, the influences and experiences that shaped his unquenchable faith, the inspiration for his decision to translate The Message, and his success and struggles as a pastor, husband, and father. Author Winn Collier was given exclusive access to Eugene and his materials for the production of this landmark work.

At the age of 17, Spurgeon became pastor to a handful of believers at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, meeting in what had been a dovecote. Within five years, he had become the best-known minister in London. Two years later, following the Sepoy Mutiny, he conducted a service of national humiliation in the Crystal Palace that was attended by 24,000 people. But this volume is far from being a record of human fame and success....

This audiobook offers a vast look at the life of St. Teresa. Authored by her own hand, she details her life and experiences, along with her mystical encounters with God.

An inspirational and truly dedicated servant of the lord, David Brainerd endured hardship after hardship while maintaining a singularly devoted heart and mind for God. Not only did his faith remain true and steadfast, but his determination to bring God’s light to others provided an even greater element of encouragement even to the pastors and missionaries working alongside him. Traveling thousands of miles and struggling with illness and physical hardships, Brainerd brought the word of God to remote Native Americans despite the many limitations of his day and of his own health and wellbeing.

Ross Nichols was one of the key figures in the revival of interest in Druidry and Celtic Spirituality in modern times. The Order of Bards Ovates and Druids, which he founded, is now the largest Druid group in the world. I Am Tough, Fantastic and Old vividly describes Nichols’ journey through life in the first complete biography of this enigmatic and influential Druid Chief, allowing us an intimate and controversial glimpse into the life and mind of one of the founding figures of the modern Pagan movement.

American pianist, singer, and contemporary Christian songwriter Keith Green was only 28 when he died in a plane crash with two of his small children, but he had already created a legacy of music and inspiration that would outlive him. Keith touched people through vibrant lyrics in songs like "Your Love Broke Through", "You Put This Love in My Heart", and "Asleep in the Light". In No Compromise, Melody has updated her husband's biography.

Based, in part, on Rabbi Sacks’s collection of columns in the UK's Times newspaper, Celebrating Life is a series of reflections on subjects such as morality, friendship, listening to others and giving thanks. It also talks about topics such as being a parent, finding and losing one’s faith and most of all, finding happiness. In Celebrating Life, Rabbi Sacks discovers where happiness lives, often in unexpected places, through family, community, friendship and responsibilities. He also finds it through a renewed relationship with God who spoke to his deepest needs.

For those considering walking the Camino de Santiago or just interested in learning more about it, the author shares what led him to his pilgrimage, his initial concerns, the preparation and experiences while walking, the time and financial investment, and his reflections after the walk. He offers a look at the Camino journey that begins before you take your first step and does not end even after your last.

Hollywood Park is a remarkable memoir of a tumultuous life. Mikel Jollett was born into one of the country’s most infamous cults and subjected to a childhood filled with poverty, addiction, and emotional abuse. Yet, ultimately, his is a story of fierce love and family loyalty told in a raw, poetic voice that signals the emergence of a uniquely gifted writer.

Prem Pradhan was a Hindu. And he was a soldier. A Gurkha in the British Royal Air Force, then commander of a tank regiment in the Indian Army. But God had other plans for his life. It wasn’t that long ago that Nepal had few known Christians. Today? Over one million. Prem Pradhan is an important part of the reason. Prem answered God’s call to take the gospel back to his home country in 1954.

For decades, Kathie Lee has had deep conversations about her faith with anyone who is interested in talking about it. What she discovered early on is most people are very willing to talk about Jesus: atheists, agnostics, Scientologists, Jews, broken-hearted Catholics, confused Baptists, Pentecostals, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Hindus alike. While some of the people Kathie Lee has spoken with do not share her belief that Jesus is the Messiah - as prophesied for centuries by prophets in the Hebrew scriptures - they nonetheless have a universal fascination with him.

Alan Watts became famous first as a brilliant intellectual and then as a serious student of Buddhism and meditation. In the 1970s, the last years of his life, he retreated to a small, isolated cabin deep in the woods. He meditated every morning and then wrote. Still the Mind consists of several talks he gave in his later years, recorded and edited by his son, Mark Watts, and then published as a book. His speaking shows a maturity and wisdom that can only come after years of meditation.

Witness to Hope is the authoritative biography of one of the singular figures - some might argue the singular figure - of our time. With unprecedented cooperation from John Paul II and the people who knew and worked with him throughout his life, George Weigel offers a groundbreaking portrait of the Pope as a man, a thinker, and a leader whose religious convictions defined a new approach to world politics - and changed the course of history.

It’s easy to talk about freedom. But unless someone has lived in a world that suffocates freedom, it’s difficult to appreciate the liberty found in America. This is the true story of a Pakistani Muslim who immigrates to the United States for college and discovers five transformational freedoms along the way: the freedom to fail and start over, to love, to choose one’s faith, to be an entrepreneur, and to self-govern.

Jean-Paul II, personnage de premier plan pendant plus d'un quart de siècle sur la scène mondiale, le pape slave qui a donné le coup de grâce à l'Union soviétique et à son empire, a été appelé "l'homme du siècle". Plus simplement, il a cru qu'il lui avait été donné la tâche de faire entrer l'Eglise dans le troisième millénaire. C'était, selon sa conviction, ce qui conduisait la main invisible de la Providence.

In this seemingly loveless world of ours, we might wonder if true love is attainable. Is it real, or is it perhaps a dancing illusion captured on Hollywood screens? And if this love dares to exist, does it satisfy as the poets say, or fade in our hearing like a passing whisper? The souls are few who have discovered these answers, and one of them is Nicolina, a feisty, flirtatious girl who fell in love with the most romantic man in all of post-war Germany. Little did they imagine the places where love would take them.

When she arrived at a clinic, usually five hundred, sometimes a thousand people were there to greet her. Helen's reputation as the unstoppable Mama Luka had gone before her—she could do more to heal a sick child or baby than all the witch doctors in the area combined. This was the work God had called her to pioneer, and that belief encouraged her.