Religious Biographies

The Dhammapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. Each saying was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. It is a good introductory primer on Buddhist thought.

Seit über 500 Jahren prägt Martin Luthers trotzige Herausforderung an die katholische Kirche das Christentum, die Theologie und die westliche Gesellschaft. Dieses Buch bietet eine tiefgründige und nuancierte Erforschung seines Vermächtnisses und untersucht sowohl seine Triumphe als auch seine Kontroversen. Von seinen theologischen Kämpfen und seiner harschen Opposition gegen Andersdenkende bis hin zu den anhaltenden Spaltungen innerhalb des Protestantismus analysieren wir, wie Luthers Ideen weiterhin den modernen Glauben, die Politik und die Bildung beeinflussen.

A landmark biography by the New York Times bestselling author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World that reveals how Genghis harnessed the power of religion to rule the largest empire the world has ever known. Throughout history the world's greatest conquerors have made their mark...

Surviving the Dragon is the remarkable life story of Arjia Rinpoche, who was ordained as a reincarnate lama at the age of two and fled Tibet 46 years later. In his gripping memoir, Rinpoche relates the story of having been abandoned in his monastery as a young boy after witnessing the torture and arrest of his monastery family. In the years to come, Rinpoche survived under harsh Chinese rule, as he was forced into hard labor and endured continual public humiliation as part of Mao’s Communist "reeducation".

Darkest England and the Way Out is the classic work of Salvation Army founder William Booth. He and his wife Catherine went from a modest ministry in London to a global movement of Christian soldiers marching down the streets of cities and towns everywhere. They were persecuted, imprisoned, beaten, and even martyred for the cause of Christ.

The book Transformation Through Christ captivates the reader in an interesting way. Here, you will have the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the change of a girl at twenty-four years of age. As you delve into the progress of Christ's providence in the life of an ordinary girl with an extraordinary God, you will receive an appeal and a call directly from the Holy Spirit of Christ. Tedy Petrova is the girl who grew up in a not-so-warm family atmosphere, and it caused a rift in her relationship with God. In her teens, she entered a hard life with heavy moments.

Covering her courtship and marriage to Steven Curtis Chapman, struggles for emotional balance, and living with grief, Mary Beth's story is our story - wondering where God is when the worst happens. In Choosing to SEE, she shows how she wrestles with God even as she has allowed him to write her story - both during times of happiness and those of tragedy. Readers will hear firsthand about the loss of her daughter, the struggle to heal, and the unexpected path God has placed her on.

Practically everyone in the western world has heard of the man called St. Patrick. But hardly anyone knows anything about him. About the only two things that more people "know" about Patrick is that he was Irish and Roman Catholic. In truth, he was neither. He was British, and he belonged to the autonomous Celtic church. Although Patrick is the most famous person of his age, the real man has been buried in a cloud of myths

Scott y Kimberly Hahn - un matrimonio norteamericano- ofrecen el testimonio cálido, alegre y realista de su conversión al catolicismo. Formados en la Iglesia presbiteriana, inician una peregrinación espiritual que transforma toda su vida; es un camino de búsqueda de la verdad y adhesión a la voluntad divina, que culminó en la inmensa alegría de ser recibidos en la Iglesia católica.

Named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most important innovators of the century, Tariq Ramadan is a leading Muslim scholar, with a large following especially among young European and American Muslims. Now, in his first book written for a wide audience, he offers a marvelous biography of the Prophet Muhammad, one that highlights the spiritual and ethical teachings of one of the most influential figures in human history.

Love Like Fire is a timely, inspiring story of a modern-day Mother Teresa who embodies self-sacrifice and love. Amidst her passionate humanitarian work in Mozambique, Heidi Baker’s husband contracted cerebral malaria and soon after was diagnosed with dementia, the doctors giving him a death sentence. Heidi and her husband founded IRIS Ministries, a nonprofit Christian ministry.

The Confessions, an autobiography by Saint Augustine of Hippo, has become one of the most important texts in Christian literature. It is also considered to be one of the first Western autobiographies ever written. It continues to influence modern society with its striking honesty and timeless Christian themes of faith, identity, and truth. This perennial classic is a collection of 13 books detailing St. Augustine’s journey to self-knowledge and his life as a follower of Christ.

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.

One of the most famous figures in Christian history, Francis of Assisi (1181/82-1226) was revered as a miracle worker during his life and quickly canonized after his death. He has inspired generations of Christians and other spiritual seekers, from medieval ascetics to 1960s hippies and modern environmentalists. The "poverello" wrote poems praising the sun, moon, and stars, spoke to the birds, and—so the story goes—even tamed a wolf. But what do we know for sure about who he was, and what is simply legend?

Twenty-year-old American gymnast Shawn Johnson is a four-time Olympic gold and silver medalist; a national- and world-champion athlete. Already a popular role model to all ages, in 2009 she captured the national spotlight again when she won on the widely popular Dancing with the Stars. Yet Shawn is no stranger to hard work and adversity.

This now classic story tells how the Charismatic Movement began and swept into churches across America. Father Dennis is still hailed as one of the central figures in the early renewal movement. Nine O'Clock in the Morning is Father Dennis's testimony that God can and will release His power to His people if we allow Him to truly become the King of our lives.

In 1963, following twenty-three years of hard labor and abuse in Russian prison camps, Walter J. Ciszek, S.J., finally returned to America. Had he come back a bitter man, or a man of diminished faith, it would have been hard to fault him. But he didn’t. For the remainder of his years, until his death in 1984, Fr. Ciszek’s grace, faith, and wisdom touched—often in profound and lasting ways—everyone who came into contact with him.

In this intimate portrait of one of the Middle Ages' most consequential men, Brian Patrick McGuire delves into the life of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux to offer a refreshing interpretation that finds within this grand historical figure a deeply spiritual human being who longed for the reflective quietude of the monastery even as he helped shape the destiny of a church and a continent. Heresy and crusade, politics and papacies, theology and disputation shaped this astonishing man's life, and McGuire presents it all in a deeply informed and clear-eyed biography.

A queer minister, politician and staunch activist for LGBTQ rights, Cheri DiNovo went from living on the streets as a teenager to performing the first legalized same-sex marriage registered in Canada in 2001. From rights for queer parents to banning conversion therapy, her story will inspire people (queer or ally) to not only resist the system—but change it.

In 1981, ambitious young Ma Anand Sheela transported the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh to the United States to fulfill his dream of creating a utopia for his thousands of disciples. Four years later, the incendiary Rajneeshpuram commune in Oregon collapsed under the weight of audacious criminal conspiracies hatched in its inner sanctum, including the largest bioterrorism attack in US history, an unprecedented election fraud scheme, and multiple attempted murders. Rajneeshpuram explores how this extraordinary spiritual community went so wrong.