Religious Biographies

Paramhansa Yogananda’s classic Autobiography of a Yogi was more about the saints Yogananda met than about himself - in spite of the fact that Yogananda was much greater than many he described. Now, one of Yogananda’s few remaining direct disciples, Swami Kriyananda, author of award winning book The New Path, tells the untold story of this great spiritual master and world teacher.

Marie Laveau may be the most influential American practitioner of the magical arts; certainly, she is among the most famous. She is the subject of songs, films, and legends and the star of New Orleans ghost tours. Her grave in New Orleans ranks among the most popular spiritual pilgrimages in the US. Author Denise Alvarado explores Marie Laveau's life and work - the fascinating history and mystery. This book gives an overview of New Orleans Voodoo, its origins, history, and practices. It contains spells, prayers, rituals, recipes, and more.

John XXIII was nicknamed "The Good Pope" because of his humble, loving, and open character and his gracious sense of humor. In possessing those attributes, he is viewed by many to be similar to Pope Francis today. Like Pope Francis, Pope John was wont to stroll about Rome by night and make pastoral visits to sick children and prison inmates.

George Müller was a Christian evangelist and director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. The Life of Trust contains his diary up to 1860, supplemented by autobiographical notes at the start and throughout the text. Mueller founded a number of orphanages in England in the 19th century whilst refusing to personally benefit in any way, fully trusting that God would provide in his financial needs. Throughout his life, he relied on God’s goodness in order to feed, clothe, and house thousands of English children under his care.

John Newton's life was in a downward spiral. Impressed into the Royal Navy, John clashed with his fellow seamen and even became a servant alongside slaves in West Africa. When he found himself on a sinking ship, he called out to God for help. John began his conversion to Christianity while he captained a slave ship. Eventually he gave up his former life completely and became a minister with a deep passion for the gospel. A living witness to God's ability to change hearts, John joined the movement to set slaves free.

Klaus-Dieter John (1960-) dreamed of becoming a medical missionary in the developing world. He would do whatever it took—study in top universities and practice surgery in remote and dangerous places—to reach his goal of providing health care for people who needed it most. Dr. John's seemingly impossible vision of Diospi-Suyana, a world-class hospital for impoverished Peruvians deep in the Andes Mountains, was blessed by God to the end. Despite challenges in fund-raising, construction, moving his family from Germany, and countless roadblocks, Klaus's dream was finally realized.

Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was the founder of the Sikh faith. It has three main messages to spread: "Kirat Karni", (earning an honest living); "Vand Ke Shakna" (sharing with others); and "Naam Japna" (remembering and reciting the Lord's name). This book examines the life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, and looks at the importance of key events in his life devoted to Sikhi and to Sikhs today.

Stanley Kubrick revolutionized Hollywood with movies like Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange, and electrified audiences with The Shining and Full Metal Jacket. David Mikics takes listeners on a deep dive into Kubrick's life and work, illustrating his intense commitment to each of his films.

At age 19, pilot Dale Black miraculously survived an airplane crash that killed the other two pilots on board. Hovering between life and death for three days, he had a breathtaking experience of heaven. Against all odds and with insurmountable injuries, Capt. Black recovered from his injuries and returned to fly airplanes as a professional pilot. For 40 years he kept the story to himself at the urging of his grandfather to "live" his experience rather than talk about it.

The first definitive biography of Moses Maimonides, one of the most influential intellects in all of human history, illuminates his life as a philosopher, physician, and lawgiver. Recalling such bestsellers as David McCullough's John Adams and Walter Isaacson's Einstein, Maimonides is a biography on a grand scale, brilliantly explicating one man's life against the background of his time.

In 1972, Perry Bulwer, a naive sixteen-year-old growing up in Port Alberni, a mill town on Vancouver Island, dropped out of high school to run away with the Children of God, one of a number of millennial Christian cults that sprang up in the 1960s and 1970s. Bulwer takes the listener on an extraordinary trip through the world of biblical literalism, fundamentalist endtime fantasies, paranormal spirituality, evangelical extremism, ritual abuse, and liberally interpreted Biblical teachings that were used to justify licentious sexual doctrines, evangelical prostitution, and child sexual abuse.

God spoke to Don Bosco in dreams. These fascinating dreams of St. John Bosco involve prophecy, parables, and reading of hearts, with a powerful spiritual message. These stories include: "To Hell and Back", "Two Boys Attacked by a Monster", "The Snake and the Rosary", and many more. Those dreams led to many conversions and will instruct, admonish, and inspire many today!

As a nun, mystic, prophet, and finally a saint, Saint Faustina Kowalska lived an extraordinary life. From poor a humble Polish nun to a Christian role model, she has inspired millions. During her beatification in 1993, Pope John Paul II even declared that she was one of the greatest apostles of the 20th century.

Pursuing his calling with singleness of vision, John Wesley defied the strength of angry mobs and longstanding traditions to offer the hope of Christ to millions of people who were outside the influence of the churches of the day. Passionate and tireless, this Anglican clergyman rode a quarter of a million miles on horseback during his lifetime, stopping to preach more than forty thousand sermons in open fields, churches, and barns.

Since they were first discovered in the caves at Qumran, in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have aroused more fascination - and more controversy - than perhaps any other archaeological find. They appear to have been hidden in the Judean desert by the Essenes, a Jewish sect that existed around the time of Jesus, and they continue to inspire veneration and conspiracy theories to this day. John Collins tells the story of the bitter conflicts that have swirled around the scrolls since their startling discovery, and sheds light on their true significance for Jewish and Christian history.

On April 15, 2013, Rebekah Gregory and her five-year-old son waited at the finish line of the Boston Marathon to support a friend who was running. When the blasts of terrorists' homemade bombs packed with nails and screws went off three feet away, Rebekah's legs took the brunt of the blast, protecting her son from certain death. Eighteen surgeries and 65 procedures later, her left leg was amputated.

Raised as an atheist, Sara Miles lived an enthusiastically secular life as a restaurant cook and a writer. Then early one winter morning, for no earthly reason, she wandered into a church. "I was certainly not interested in becoming a Christian," she writes, "or, as I thought of it rather less politely, a religious nut." But she ate a piece of bread, took a sip of wine, and found herself radically transformed.

Considerada una de las obras más relevantes del siglo XX, Autobiografía de un yogui es el relato en primera persona de una vida extraordinaria. Paramahansa Yogananda nos cuenta en ella cómo parte de su pueblo natal a la búsqueda de su gurú. El suyo será solamente el primer encuentro con sabios y místicos, que, a través de estas páginas, nos acercan su saber.

Richard Wurmbrand, founder of Voice of the Martyrs, was once a young atheist determined to experience everything the world had to offer. Yet he regretted that God did not exist, wishing that a heart of love beat somewhere in the universe. When the Romanian found that heart of love in Jesus Christ, he had the courage to serve Christ unswervingly even as his homeland sided with the Nazis and then sank into the new horrors of post-war Communism.

Dès les premières pages, Benoît XVI présente Jésus comme un roi de la Paix, de la simplicité et des pauvres. Jésus n'est pas un révolutionnaire politique, il ne vient pas comme destructeur, il ne se fonde pas sur la violence, il ne déclenche pas d'insurrection militaire contre Rome; il vient avec le don de la guérison, il se consacre à ceux qui sont marginalisés. Son pouvoir est différent : c'est dans la pauvreté de Dieu, dans la Paix de Dieu que réside son seul pouvoir salvifique. Ce deuxième tome parle de la vie de Jésus de l'entrée dans de Jérusalem à la Résurrection.