What Biography Should I Read And Review in May?

Hey everyone! Sorry I’m a day late. I’ve been busy with holiday things, so hopefully now that it’s over, I’ll be able to stay on track again! I’m back with my book poll of the month. In May, I’ll be reading biographies, so I’ve picked out five biographies for you to pick from for me to read. Let’s get started!

Choice #1: John Bunyan by Kevin Belmonte

John Bunyan’s world was a turbulent age of regicide, civil war, and revolution. Against this backdrop emerged a man whose matchless literary gifts were burnished amidst suffering and who profoundly influenced western culture. This Christian Encounters biography presents the life story you’ve never heard-how, amidst the crucible of repeated imprisonments, civil war, and violent persecution, John Bunyan crafted The Pilgrim’s Progress, a testament unlike any other to the triumph of the human spirit.

Being the author of one of my favorite allegories ever, Pilgrim’s Progress, this one is a definite on my to-read list. I’ve read a historical fiction about him once recently too! (The review of which you can find here!)

Choice #2: J.R.R. Tolkien by Mark Horne

Born in South Africa and growing up in Great Britain, J.R.R. Tolkien, or Ronald as he was known, led a young life filled with uncertainty and instability.  His was not a storybook childhood- his father died when Ronald was three years old, and his mother died just before he reached adolescence.  Left under the guardianship of his mother’s friend and priest, Ronald forged his closest relationships with friends who shared his love for literature and languages.

As Tolkien grew older, married, served as a soldier, and became a well-respected Oxford professor publishing weighty works on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf, the Christian faith that his mother had instilled in him continued as an intrinsic element of his creative imagination and his everyday life.

It was through The Hobbit and the three-volume The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien became a literary giant throughout the world.  In his fiction, which earned him the informal title of “the father of modern fantasy literature,” Tolkien presents readers with a vision of freedom- nothing preachy- that a strong, unequivocal faith can transmit.

I’ve never actually read any of Tolkien’s work yet, but I love what I’ve heard about his and C.S Lewis’ relationship and the fact that they were writing buddies! (And anything that mentions King Arthur stuff is a plus for me!)

Choice #3: Fyodor Dostoevsky by Peter Leithart

In his twenties, Fydor Dostoevsky, son of a Moscow doctor, graduate of a military academy, and rising star of Russian literature, found himself standing in front of a firing squad, accused of subversive activities against the Russian Tsar. Then the drums rolled, signaling that instead he was to be exiled to the living death of Siberia. 
Siberia was so cold the mercury froze in the thermometer. In prison, Dostoevsky was surrounded by murderers, thieves, parricides, and brigands who drank heavily, quarreled incessantly, and fought with horrible brutality. However, while “prisoners were piled on top of each other in the barracks, and the floor was matted with an inch of filth,” Dostoevsky learned a great deal about the human condition that was to impact his writing as nothing had before.
To absorb Dostoevsky’s remarkable life in these pages is to encounter a man who not only examined the quest of God, the problem of evil, and the suffering of innocents in his writing but also drew inspiration from his own deep Christian faith in giving voice to the common people of his nation… and ultimately the world.

Omgosh the synopsis on this one really intrigued me and so I had to add this one to the list!

Choice #4: Charles Spurgeon by J.C. Carlile

Amidst the millions of committed Christians in each generation, a handful rise to special prominence. Learn more about their exciting and inspiring lives in Barbour’s “Heroes of the Faith” series.His fiery presence in the pulpit led to the building of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle where over 6,000 people could listen to the great orator.

Charles Spurgeon’s ministry has always intrigued me, so I wanted to add this one to the list!

Choice #5: William Booth by Janet and Geoff Benge

William burst into the house. “I have found my destiny!” he shouted. “I have found a place where there is so much human misery in such a small space that there is a lifetime’s worth of work there for me!”

Horrified by the poverty and suffering most people took for granted in industrial England, William Booth dedicated his life to bringing the gospel to the outcasts of society who would never enter a church and weren’t welcome there. At age fifteen William vowed, “God shall have all there is of William Booth,” and not even resistance from the church and government, lack of financial support, or vicious attacks by angry mobs could stop him from spreading the light of the gospel through the streets of England. Today, all around the world, General William Booth’s Salvation Army operates thousands of evangelistic and social service centers, changing countless lives with the love of God and the courage of their convictions.

I watched the little animated Torchlighter’s video of William Booth once, but I don’t recall ever actually reading a book on him! So I wanted to fix that with this biography!

The day of the deadline, I’ll post the winning book in the comments!

Have you read any of these books? Have you read about any of these people? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for voting! ~ Kay Adelin