For biographies I’ve read, ratings are on a scale of 0 to 5 stars with equal weight given to my subjective assessment of: (1) how entertaining the biography proved to be and (2) the biography’s historical value.
Links to third-party reviews may be provided for biographies I’ve not yet read. If I’m missing a great biography about a political leader that you’ve read, please let me know! Last updated October 12, 2016.
| Adams, Sam | Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls | 2006 | |
| Adams, Sam | Samuel Adams: A Life by Ira Stoll | 2008 | |
| Augustus | Augustus: First Emperor of Rome by Adrian Goldsworthy | 2014 | |
| Bryan, Wm Jennings | A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan by Michael Kazon | 2006 | |
| Caesar, Julius | Caesar: The Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy | 2006 | |
| Calhoun, John C. | John C. Calhoun: A Biography by Irving Bartlett | 1994 | |
| Catherine the Great | Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie | 2011 | |
| Churchill, Winston | The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory (1874-1932) (Vol 1) by William Manchester | 1983 | |
| Churchill, Winston | The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone (1932-1940) (Vol 2) by William Manchester | 1988 | |
| Churchill, Winston | The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm (1940-1965) (Vol 3) by William Manchester | 1991 | |
| Churchill, Winston | Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert | 1967 | |
| Churchill, Winston | Churchill by Roy Jenkins | 2001 | |
| Clay, Henry | Henry Clay: A Statesman for the Union by Robert Remini | 1991 | |
| Clay, Henry | Henry Clay: The Essential American by David Heidler | 2010 | |
| Clay, Henry | Henry Clay: America’s Greatest Statesman by Harlow Unger | 2015 | |
| Davis, Jefferson | Jefferson Davis, American by William Cooper | 2000 | |
| De Gaulle, Charles | The General: Charles De Gaulle and the France He Saved by Jonathan Fenby | 2010 | |
| Franklin, Ben | Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson | 2003 | |
| Franklin, Ben | The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands | 2000 | |
| Franklin, Ben | The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon Wood | 2004 | |
| Franklin, Ben | Benjamin Franklin by Carl Van Doren | 1938 | |
| Gandhi | Gandhi Before India (Vol 1) by Ramachandra Guha | 2013 | |
| Genet, Jean | Genet: A Biography by Edmund White | 1993 | |
| Hamilton, Alexander | Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow | 2004 | |
| Hay, John | All the Great Prizes: The Life of John Hay by John Taliaferro | 2013 | |
| Henry VIII | The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir | 1980 | |
| Henry, Patrick | Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation by Harlow Unger | 2010 | |
| Hitler, Adolf | Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography by John Toland | 1976 | |
| Hitler, Adolf | Hitler by Ian Kershaw | 1991 | |
| Hoover, J. Edgar | J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets by Curt Gentry | 1991 | |
| Houston, Sam | The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston by Marquis James | 1929 | |
| Houston, Sam | Sam Houston by James Haley | 2002 | |
| Hume, David | Hume: An Intellectual Biography by James Harris | 2015 | |
| Isabella, Queen | Isabella: The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey | 2014 | |
| Jay, John | John Jay: Founding Father by Walter Stahr | 2005 | |
| Kennedy, Joseph P | The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw | 2012 | |
| Kennedy, Robert | Robert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. | 1978 | |
| Kennedy, Robert | Robert Kennedy: His Life by Evan Thomas | 2000 | |
| Kennedy, Ted | Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy by Peter Canellos | 2009 | |
| Kissinger, Henry | Kissinger: A Biography by Walter Isaacson | 1992 | |
| Kissinger, Henry | Kissinger: The Idealist, Volume 1 (1923-1968) by Niall Ferguson | 2015 | |
| Lafayette | Lafayette by Harlow Unger | 2002 | |
| Lafayette | The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered by Laura Auricchio | 2014 | |
| Marshall, John | John Marshall: Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith | 1996 | |
| Moses, Robert | The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro | 1974 | |
| Napoleon | Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts | 2014 | |
| Napoleon | Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny by Michael Broers | 2014 | |
| O’Neill, Tip | Tip O’Neill and the Democratic Century: A Biography by John Farrell | 2001 | |
| Peter the Great | Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert Massie | 1980 | |
| Pope John Paul II | Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel | 1999 | |
| Putin, Vladimir | The New Csar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers | 2015 | |
| Rockefeller, Nelson | On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller by Richard Norton Smith | 2014 | |
| Seward, William | Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr | 2012 | |
| Stalin, Josef | Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Montefiore | 2003 | |
| Stanton, Edwin | Lincoln’s Autocrat: The Life of Edwin Stanton by William Marvel | 2015 | |
| Thatcher, Margaret | Margaret Thatcher, The Grocer’s Daughter (Vol 1) by John Campbell | 2000 | |
| Thatcher, Margaret | Margaret Thatcher, Iron Lady (Vol 2) by John Campbell | 2003 | |
| Thatcher, Margaret | Margaret Thatcher: From Grantham to the Faulklands:The Authorized Biography (Vol 1) by Charles Moore | 2010 | |
| Thatcher, Margaret | Margaret Thatcher: Everything She Wants: The Authorized Biography (Vol 2) by Charles Moore | 2015 | |
| Webster, Daniel | The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun by Merrill Peterson | 1987 | |
| Webster, Daniel | Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time by Robert Remini | 1997 | |
| Xioping, Deng | Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China by Ezra Vogel | 2011 |
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Reading the Best Biographies of All Time 