Religious Biographies

At the time of his murder trial, Jarvis Jay Masters was in solitary confinement and spent 22 years in a five-foot-by-11-foot cell. This is where The Buddhist on Death Row takes off. With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masters’ path to enlightenment - from being sullen and violent to discovering how easy and how hard it is to just sit and breathe, how those minutes spawn heightened perception and deepened compassion, the right way to remember one’s pain, and much more.

C. S. Lewis is the 20th century's most widely read Christian writer and J. R. R. Tolkien its most beloved mythmaker. For three decades they and their closest associates formed a literary club known as the Inklings, which met weekly in Lewis' Oxford rooms and a nearby pub. They read aloud from works in progress, argued about anything that caught their fancy, and gave one another invaluable companionship, inspiration, and criticism.

John Nelson Hyde (November 9, 1865 – February 17, 1912) was an American missionary who ministered in the Punjab region of Northern India. He was born in Illinois, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He grew up in a godly home and from a young age knew the call of God in his life. He attended McCormick Seminary in Chicago and at that time was lead to commit his life to foreign missions. He came to believe that God was calling him to India where he arrived in 1892.

Although William Borden was taken from this world at the young age of 25, the years he lived were full of dedication to serve. Kevin Belmonte draws on letters and quotations to paint a unique picture of William’s life of commitment to God, delving into the ways "vital truth", as William called it, was the star he reckoned by. In the telling of the life story of William Borden, there is much to learn about living a life of devotion to God. The desire to live for Christ guided and shaped William’s life, from his school days right up until his death.

R. C. Sproul (1939-2017) was a pastor, a professor, an author, and the founder and president of Ligonier Ministries. His contributions in the areas of biblical studies, theology, worldview and culture, Christian living, and church history continue to be held in high regard. In this audiobook read by Tom Parks, Stephen J. Nichols offers an in-depth look at Sproul’s life and ministry.

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.

ON A DARK WINTER NIGHT with little to do, Rivvy Neshama took a "Find Your Highest Purpose" quiz. And the funny thing was, she found it: to live a sacred life. Problem was, she didn't know how.

I Am Restored tells the untold story of how Lecrae's past nearly ruined his future—until he learned that the wounds we carry can have the potential to be unlikely guides to healing and freedom for ourselves and others. He documents the shattering yet hopeful story of how he faced the scars of his past—sexual abuse, physical trauma, addiction, and depression—and emerged more human than ever. This is a hopeful, inspiring charge to start your journey to healing today. No matter what your past has held, God is near you, he hears you, and he's not done writing your story.

When he was elected pope in the fall of 1978, few people had ever heard of the charismatic Karol Wojty³a. But in a very short time he would ignite a revolution of conscience in his native Poland that would ultimately lead to the collapse of European communism and death of the Soviet Union. What even fewer people knew was that the KGB, the Polish Secret Police, and the East German Stasi had been waging a dangerous, decades-long war against Wojty³a and the Vatican itself.

Henry Bennion Eyring was born on May 31, 1933, in Princeton, New Jersey, bearing the first name of his father, who was fast building a reputation as a brilliant scientist, and the family name of his mother, who didn't care for the name "Henry" and insisted that he be called Hal. In 1970, Hal received an impression to make a daily record of his activities. Years of journals form the backbone of this personal biography, a candid look at his walk through life with his beloved companion, Kathy.

Dr. York - a government targeted Messianic figure and product of UFO abductions as a child, called of God to raise 144,000 purified souls. Laboring day and night authoring over 500 books, mastering the languages, doing in-depth study of all the scriptures and world religions, he embarked on his mission to raise the children of God.

A dazzling and uplifting biography of the great Saint Francis of Assisi who gained the world by giving up worldly goods to be be independent of all. Less is more at the highest level. Told in a remarkably astute, nuanced, optimistic, uplifting biography by G. K. Chesterton, known as the Prince of Paradox.

There are many editions of the writings of St. Francis, and many biographies about him, but here in one volume are both, plus the complete text of the late medieval work The Little Flowers, which did more to establish the legend of the man than any other work. This edition includes the complete Road to Assisi, Paul Sabatier's groundbreaking and foundational biography of the saint, first published in French in 1894; the complete Francis in His Own Words: The Essential Writings; and The Little Flowers, thus offering the best introduction to St. Francis yet available between two covers.

During his youth, the boy who would become C. S. Lewis formed his most basic impressions and tastes regarding music, art, literature, religion, sports, friendship, imagination, education, war, and more. The issues young "Jack" Lewis wrestled with drove him toward the foundation on which his life would be built. His childhood interests, influences, longings, struggles, and even failures prepared him to engage his gifts as a writer, teacher, and friend. Lewis expert Harry Lee Poe unfolds young Jack's key relationships, hobbies, spiritual conflicts, decisions, desires, and dreams.

The Life of Thomas More went straight to #1 on the London Times best seller list when published in the United Kingdom. It remained in that position for over a month, garnering the kind of praise that is rarely given. Thomas More was not only a great man of the church, he was also arguably the most brilliant lawyer the English-speaking world has ever known.

Seven years ago, Christian Wiman, a well-known poet and the editor of Poetry magazine, wrote a now-famous essay about having faith in the face of death. My Bright Abyss, composed in the difficult years since and completed in the wake of a bone marrow transplant, is a moving meditation on what a viable contemporary faith - responsive not only to modern thought and science but also to religious tradition - might look like.

Ronald Blythe lives at the end of an overgrown farm track deep in the rolling countryside of the Stour Valley, on the border between Suffolk and Essex. His home is Bottengoms Farm, a sturdy yeoman's house once owned by the artist John Nash. From here, Blythe has spent almost half a century observing the slow turn of the agricultural year, the church year, and village life in a series of rich, lyrical rural diaries. Beginning with the arrival of snow on New Year's Day and ending with Christmas carols sung in church, Next to Nature invites us to witness a simple life richly lived.

Few figures have had such an influence on history as Jesus of Nazareth. His teachings have inspired discussion, arguments, even war. Yet few have ever held forth as movingly as Jesus on the need for peace, forgiveness, and mercy.

Based on the bestselling lecture series, The Presidents of the Church: Insights into Their Lives and Teachings presents intimate biographical sketches of the first fifteen prophets, focusing on events that helped shaped each man to become a great leader in the Church. Using multiple sources, from original writings to personal memory, author Truman G. Madsen recounts close-up stories with intriguing details and highlights each prophet's characteristic traits.

Prédestinée à la médiumnité ! C'est un témoignage intime et poignant qu'Annabelle de Villedieu nous livre aujourd'hui. Elle nous embarque dans son univers, celui d'une enfant prédestinée à devenir médium. Un chemin semé d'embûches, de liens toxiques, de mémoires traumatiques mais aussi de rencontres puissantes et transformatrices... Une traversée d'être.