Biographies are some of my favorite books to read these days. Often, I enjoy reading full length biographies. But sometimes, a simple snippet is enough to whet my appetite.

Such is the case with Eric Metaxas‘ new book, 7 Women. Based on the same premise as his earlier book, 7 Men, in this book, Metaxas takes a look at seven individuals, in this case women, and what made them great.

The seven women he briefly examines include Joan of Arc, Susanna Wesley, Hannah More, Saint Maria of Paris, Corrie ten Boom, Rosa Parks, and Mother Teresa.

In each case, Metaxas looks at the life of these women, and strives to determine what it was that made them great. He could have included a lot of women who did great things, things that men had already accomplished, but that wasn’t his goal. These individuals were each unique in what they accomplished, regardless of gender. So what made them so great?

Each of these seven women command a chapter in the book, and each one is riveting. After reading each mini biography, I thought that Metaxas couldn’t top it in the next chapter, but he managed to make each and every entry into this book incredibly interesting. I was spell-bound through each chapter, and I will seek out more information on several of these lives in the future. My interest has been piqued.

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of 7 Women and read about these great individuals. You will be inspired. You will be challenged. You will be encouraged. And you will enjoy it.

Question: Who are some of the lives you enjoy reading about the most? What biographies would you recommend that I read next? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

I received this book free from Harper Collins Christian Publishing as part of their BookLook Bloggers review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Over the past few years, biographies have become one of my favorite genres to read, especially historical biographical sketches. And, my favorite period is the history of the United States, from the earliest days up through the twentieth century.

And, right in the middle of that spread is the US Civil War.

Most of my reading of this particular portion of the US era has been focused on the westward expansion and the events surrounding that effort. I’ve read little more than an overview of the war period itself. However, that has just changed.

During the 1850s and 60s, Great Britain established a consul in the American South, in Charleston, South Carolina, with the main purpose of alleviating several laws that restricted British trade with the cotton producing southern states, especially in regards to blacks, slave or free, and the slave trade itself.

In Our Man In Charleston, Christopher Dickey goes into great detail in examining the life and times of the British consul, Robert Bunch, and the rapidly changing atmosphere in pre-war Charleston. Bunch is one of a handful of British diplomats in the US, but very quickly becomes perhaps the most critical, as he forwards crucial information across the Atlantic, and updates his government on the state of the US and, eventually, the short-lived Confederacy.

I don’t know all that much about Egyptian history. The subject has always intrigued me, since much of the Bible’s early history is affected by Egypt. I even went so far as to purchase a few DVD courses a few years ago on Egyptian history, but haven’t studied them completely. It has always been an interest of mine, but never a passion.

That may have just changed.

Over the weekend, I read The Woman Who Would Be King, by Egyptologist Kara Cooney. I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down.

Written in an almost biographical format, The Woman Who Would Be King is about Hatshepsut and her reign as king of Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Against all odds, and against early civilization’s strictures against women in power, Hatshepsut took firm control of the leadership of Egypt when her dynastic line was in trouble. Her powerful father, Thutmose I was dead, leaving a sickly heir, her husband and brother, Thutmose II. Shortly after this, he died as well, and the new heir to the throne was a young child.

Hatshepsut quickly stepped in as regent and co-ruler, taking the reigns of the nation in hand and leading firmly. As she consolidated her power, she built a legacy that few other kings could match. She expanded trade with several new regions in Africa and around the Mediterranean, and even into Asia. She pushed her military strength south into Africa, bringing home much wealth from Nubia. And she instituted a building frenzy of temples, obelisks, and other Egyptian structures that is unparalleled in much of Egypt’s history.

One of my favorite authors of all time is Tom Clancy. The author of The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, The Sum Of All Fears and many more, Clancy can weave a web of intrigue in a novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.

His novels center around the CIA and the intelligence community, and many of the best of his stories are from the era of the Cold War.

Though his novels are fictional, they are based somewhat on reality, albeit loosely. However, the underpinning of many of his novels could very well happen. And it did.

In the 1930s, the Soviet Union recruited an agent in the British government. And they had no idea just how far this spy would go. Kim Philby flirted with communism while at university. Unknown to his closest friends, he never discarded the ideals of the communist philosophy. He just buried them, and lived the outward life of a loyal patriot.

A patriot who just happened to be in the upper echelons of the British intelligence services, MI5 and MI6. Philby fooled everyone, from his own countrymen and colleagues, to his friends in other intelligence services. And he did so for more than thirty years.

Though much of his story is conjecture, and is either buried in the archives of the British intelligence files, or has been deliberately destroyed, Philby caused massive damage to British and American efforts to subvert communism throughout the Cold War. His betrayal gave operation and political advantages to the Soviets, and caused an unknown number of deaths.