History, Real Life, and Faith
I love biographies. As a newly-minted biographer, surely I have some favorite Christian biographies? Of course. While some of these books slide between biography and memoir, they’ve all been important in my spiritual development. (See this post for the difference between biography and memoir). Here’s a short list in alphabetical order, of eight favorites and why I like them. Bonhoeffer…
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How studying genealogy helps write a biography
My friend Karen Barnett is a former ranger for the US National Parks service. She’s also a fine novelist and the author of several “vintage” National Parks historical novel series. If you love history, national parks, romance, and the surprising political events that touch the national parks, you may enjoy her books. Barnett is enthusiastic: “I’ve always had a passion…
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I turned the pages of Oswald Chambers‘ Bible several years ago at Wheaton College’s Special Collection Library. A black leather Bible he bequeathed to his student Eva Spink prior to leaving for World War I in Egypt, Oswald’s King James Version looked and felt well worn. (Eva treasured the gift the rest of her life. It wasn’t his only Bible, of course;…
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How can a research library be a dangerous place?
Someone recently asked me about Biddy Chambers’ Bible. I’d forgotten all about it. (So you won’t find it discussed–her Bible–in Mrs. Oswald Chambers.) As it happens, I’ve seen Biddy’s Bible, paged through it, took photos and marveled, at Wheaton College‘s Special Collections Library. No surprise, she wore it out. What version was Biddy Chambers’ Bible? Wheaton has a copy of…
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