Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas (for how to keep your head when the world around you is falling apart) and A Severe Mercy (I echo that one for sure), I Was Told to Come Alone by Souad Mekhennet (a Muslim reporter for Washington Post who faced great threats to her life and livelihood but maintained her faith). Bryan will have read many more biographies than myself to recommend - I tend to stick to memoir or parenting for my non-fiction (ha), but perhaps I should start making a list!
Catching up here, and I see that Shannon has already suggested I recommend a few... I echo the recommendation of the Metaxas bio of Bonehoeffer, which is wonderful, though with some ambivalence from the sad turn of its author....
So many possible directions here, and my list skews decidedly toward American history, but here are my favorites: Team of Rivals (Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet), for an interesting study of political change and of leadership among difficult people who disagree strongly; Calvin by Bruce Gordon, for a compelling testimony of faith under persecution and commitment to redesigning the church in the image of Scripture; Jefferson by John Boles, for a nice persuasive counterpoint to the Hamiltonianism of Ron Chernow (which is also a wonderful book of course); and lastly, a good short one by the best author of American history - the Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon Wood, part bio of the founder, part reflection on how our memory and mythology of him belies the more complex history.
Oh, I love this conversation! A Severe Mercy--I'll second that. Also: L'Abri, by Edith Schaeffer; A Passion for the Impossible (a biography about Lilias Trotter); and A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and the Great War (on Tolkien & Lewis). I've also fallen hard for obscure, out-of-print autobiographies written by people who lived ordinary lives in my hometown. It's a tiny niche, and I love it! And our family has read so many great biographies together (including the ones you shared above)! There's something so powerful about reading the stories of other lives.
Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas (for how to keep your head when the world around you is falling apart) and A Severe Mercy (I echo that one for sure), I Was Told to Come Alone by Souad Mekhennet (a Muslim reporter for Washington Post who faced great threats to her life and livelihood but maintained her faith). Bryan will have read many more biographies than myself to recommend - I tend to stick to memoir or parenting for my non-fiction (ha), but perhaps I should start making a list!
Catching up here, and I see that Shannon has already suggested I recommend a few... I echo the recommendation of the Metaxas bio of Bonehoeffer, which is wonderful, though with some ambivalence from the sad turn of its author....
So many possible directions here, and my list skews decidedly toward American history, but here are my favorites: Team of Rivals (Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet), for an interesting study of political change and of leadership among difficult people who disagree strongly; Calvin by Bruce Gordon, for a compelling testimony of faith under persecution and commitment to redesigning the church in the image of Scripture; Jefferson by John Boles, for a nice persuasive counterpoint to the Hamiltonianism of Ron Chernow (which is also a wonderful book of course); and lastly, a good short one by the best author of American history - the Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon Wood, part bio of the founder, part reflection on how our memory and mythology of him belies the more complex history.
Oh, I love this conversation! A Severe Mercy--I'll second that. Also: L'Abri, by Edith Schaeffer; A Passion for the Impossible (a biography about Lilias Trotter); and A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and the Great War (on Tolkien & Lewis). I've also fallen hard for obscure, out-of-print autobiographies written by people who lived ordinary lives in my hometown. It's a tiny niche, and I love it! And our family has read so many great biographies together (including the ones you shared above)! There's something so powerful about reading the stories of other lives.