biography
The remarkable life and martyrdom of Lin Zhao
As Chinese communism turned to violence, Zhao turned to Christ. Lian Xi tells her story in memorable fashion.
How Muhammad Ali influenced public debate
Jonathan Eig's biography shows how the boxer took on opponents in multiple arenas.
Da Vinci was many things, but not a productivity guru
Walter Isaacson offers a clear and enjoyable biography. He also offers life hacks from Leonardo.
The vocation of Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau's beautiful writing, biographer Laura Dassow Walls shows, is scripture waiting to be heard.
The stubborn love and inflexible mercy of Dorothy Day
More than a memoir, Kate Hennessy's book about her grandmother is a participant biography written from the inside out.
Kierkegaard and his gifts for the church
Stephen Backhouse’s accessible biography reveals a man who worked hard to conceal himself.
The isolation of Wallace Stevens
A new biography reveals the poet’s devotion to his vocation. It also reveals his loneliness.
Penelope Fitzgerald, by Hermione Lee
Penelope Fitzgerald wrote her first novel at 60 and became famous at 80. "How does she do it?" asked A. S. Byatt. Hermione Lee tries to answer.
In Bonhoeffer’s company: Biographer Charles Marsh
"Bonhoeffer came to embody some of the contradictions modernity imposed on the faith. I could happily spend the rest of my life sorting through this."
Harriet Beecher Stowe, by Nancy Koester
The Harriet Beecher Stowe of Nancy Koester’s new biography is not the one with which most readers are familiar—the “little woman who made this big war,” as Abraham Lincoln reportedly said about the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Hijacking Bonhoeffer
For Eric Metaxas, polarization is a structural motif: his mission is to reclaim the true Bonhoeffer from liberals.