Adams, Henry |
The Last American Aristocrat: The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams by David S. Brown |
2020 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Henry Adams and the Making of America by Garry Wills |
2005 |
|
Adams, John |
John Adams: A Life by John Ferling |
1992 |
REVIEW (4¾ stars) |
|
John Adams by David McCullough |
2001 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
John Adams (1735-1826) (2 volumes) by Page Smith |
1962 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Adams, John Quincy |
John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit by James Traub |
2016 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul Nagel |
1997 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Adams, Louisa |
Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas |
2016 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Adams, Sam |
Samuel Adams: A Life by Ira Stoll |
2008 |
|
|
Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls |
2006 |
|
Antoinette, Marie |
Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser |
2001 |
Third-party reviews |
Armstrong, Louis |
Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout |
2009 |
|
Arnold, Benedict |
Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor by Willard Sterne Randall |
1990 |
|
Arthur, Chester |
Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas Reeves |
1975 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Augustine |
Augustine of Hippo: A Biography by Peter Brown |
1967 |
|
Augustus |
Augustus: First Emperor of Rome by Adrian Goldsworthy |
2014 |
|
Bach |
Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven by John Gardiner |
2013 |
Third-party reviews |
|
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician by Christoph Wolff |
2000 |
|
Baker, James A. |
The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III by Peter Baker |
2020 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Beecher, Henry Ward |
The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher by Debby Applegate |
2006 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
Beethoven |
Beethoven: The Music and the Life by Lewis Lockwood |
2002 |
|
|
Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph by Jan Swafford |
2014 |
|
Bell, Alexander Graham |
Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention by Charlotte Gray |
2006 |
|
Bolívar, Simón |
Bolívar: American Liberator by Marie Arana |
2013 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Boone, Daniel |
Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer by John Faragher |
1992 |
|
Brandeis, Louis |
Louis D. Brandeis: A Life by Melvin Urofsky |
2009 |
|
Brown, John |
Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz |
2011 |
|
Brunelleschi |
Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King |
2000 |
|
Bryan, Wm Jennings |
A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan by Michael Kazin |
2006 |
|
Buchanan, James |
President James Buchanan: A Biography by Philip Klein |
1962 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Buffett, Warren |
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder |
2008 |
|
|
Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein |
1995 |
|
Burr, Aaron |
Burr: A Novel by Gore Vidal |
1973 |
|
Bush, George H.W. |
Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham |
2015 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Bush, George W |
Bush by Jean Edward Smith |
2016 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
|
Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House by Peter Baker |
2013 |
|
Caesar, Julius |
Caesar: Life of a Collosus by Adrian Goldsworthy |
2006 |
|
Calhoun, John |
John C. Calhoun: A Biography by Irving Bartlett |
1994 |
|
|
John C. Calhoun: American Portrait by Margaret Coit |
1950 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Carnegie, Andrew |
Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw |
2006 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Andrew Carnegie by Joseph Frazier Wall |
1970 |
|
Carter, Jimmy |
His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life by Jonathan Alter |
2020 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Quest for Global Peace by Douglas Brinkley |
1998 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
President Carter: The White House Years by Stuart Eizenstat |
2018 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Cartier family |
The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire by Francesca Cartier Brickell |
2019 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Carver, George Washington |
George Washington Carver: A Life by Christina Vella |
2015 |
|
Catherine the Great |
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie |
2011 |
|
Chaplin, Charlie |
Chaplin: His Life and Art by David Robinson |
1985 |
|
Chase, Salmon |
Salmon P. Chase: Lincoln’s Vital Rival by Walter Stahr |
2022 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Churchill, Winston |
Churchill: Walking With Destiny by Andrew Roberts |
2018 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Churchill by Roy Jenkins |
2001 |
|
|
Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert |
1991 |
|
|
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory 1874-1932 (Vol 1) by William Manchester |
1983 |
|
|
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone 1932-1940 (Vol 2) by William Manchester |
1988 |
|
|
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm 1940-1965 (Vol 3) by William Manchester and Paul Reid |
2011 |
|
|
Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham |
2003 |
|
|
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard |
2016 |
|
Clay, Henry |
Henry Clay: The Essential American by David Heidler |
2010 |
|
|
Henry Clay: A Statesman for the Union by Robert Remini |
1991 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Cleveland, Grover |
Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character by Alyn Brodsky |
2000 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life of Grover Cleveland by Troy Senik |
2022 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Clinton, Bill |
First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton by David Maraniss |
1995 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House by John Harris |
2005 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Cobb, Ty |
Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty by Charles Leerhsen |
2015 |
Third-party reviews |
Columbus, Christopher |
Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus by Samuel Eliot Morison |
1942 |
|
Cook, James |
Captain James Cook: A Biography by Richard Hough |
1994 |
|
|
The Life of Captain James Cook by J.C. Beaglehole |
1992 |
|
Coolidge, Calvin |
Coolidge: An American Enigma by Robert Sobel |
1998 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President by Donald McCoy |
1967 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Copernicus |
The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus by Owen Gingerich |
2004 |
|
Cortes, Hernan |
Hernan Cortes: Conqueror of Mexico by Salvador de Madariaga |
1942 |
|
|
Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs by Buddy Levy |
2008 |
|
Crazy Horse |
The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History by Joseph M. Marshall III |
2004 |
|
|
Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life by Kinglsey Bray |
2006 |
|
Crockett, David |
David Crockett: The Lion of the West by Michael Wallis |
2011 |
|
Curie, Madame |
Madame Curie: A Biography by Eve Curie |
1936 |
|
Custer, George |
Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors by Stephen Ambrose |
1975 |
|
|
Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T. J. Stiles |
2015 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
da Gama, Vasco |
The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da Gama by Nigel Cliff |
2011 |
|
da Vinci, Leonardo |
Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King |
2012 |
|
|
Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind by Charles Nicholl |
2004 |
|
|
Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson |
2017 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Darwin, Charles |
Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist by Adrian Desmond |
1991 |
|
|
Charles Darwin: A Biography, Voyaging (Vol 1) by Janet Browne |
1995 |
|
|
Charles Darwin: A Biography, The Power of Place (Vol 2) by Janet Browne |
2002 |
|
Davis, Jefferson |
Jefferson Davis, American by William Cooper |
2000 |
|
|
Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour by William Davis |
1991 |
|
|
Jefferson Davis: American Patriot 1808-1861 (Vol 1) by Hudson Strode |
1955 |
|
|
Jefferson Davis: Confederate President (Vol 2) by Hudson Strode |
1959 |
|
|
Jefferson Davis: Tragic Hero (Vol 3) by Hudson Strode |
1964 |
|
De Gaulle, Charles |
The General: Charles De Gaulle and the France He Saved by Jonathan Fenby |
2012 |
|
de Soto, Hernando |
Hernando de Soto: A Savage Question in the Americas by David Duncan |
1996 |
|
Dickens, Charles |
Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin |
2011 |
|
|
Charles Dickens by Michael Slater |
2007 |
|
|
Charles Dickens: His Tragedy and Triumph by Edgar Johnson |
1952 |
|
Disney, Walt |
The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney by Michael Barrier |
2007 |
|
|
Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler |
2006 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas |
1976 |
|
Disraeli |
Disraeli by Robert Blake |
1966 |
|
Douglass, Frederick |
Frederick Douglass by William McFeely |
1990 |
|
|
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David Blight |
2018 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
Drake, Francis |
Sir Francis Drake by John Sugden |
1991 |
|
Dumas, Alex |
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss |
2012 |
|
Earp, Wyatt |
Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend by Casey Tefertiller |
1997 |
|
Edison, Thomas |
Edison: A Biography by Matthew Josephson |
1959 |
|
Einstein, Albert |
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson |
2007 |
Third-party reviews |
Eisenhower, Dwight |
Eisenhower In War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith |
2012 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Eisenhower: A Solider’s Life by Carlo D’Este |
2002 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Elizabeth I, Queen |
The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir |
1996 |
|
Emerson, Ralph |
Emerson: The Mind on Fire by Robert Richardson |
1995 |
|
Euler |
Leonhard Euler: Mathematical Genius in the Enlightenment by Ronald Calinger |
2015 |
|
Faraday, Michael |
The Electric Life of Michael Faraday by Alan Hirshfeld |
2006 |
|
Feynman, Richard |
Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman by James Gleick |
1992 |
|
Fillmore, Millard |
Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President by Robert Rayback |
1959 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Fitzgerald, F. Scott |
Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald by Matthew Bruccoli |
1981 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Ford, Gerald |
Gerald Ford: An Honorable Life by James Cannon |
2013 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
Ford, Henry |
The People’s Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century by Steven Watts |
2005 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Franklin, Benjamin |
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson |
2003 |
Third-party reviews |
|
Benjamin Franklin by Carl Van Doren |
1938 |
|
|
The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by HW Brands |
2000 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon Wood |
2004 |
|
Galileo |
Galileo by John Heilbron |
2010 |
|
Gandhi |
Gandhi Before India (Vol 1) by Ramachandra Guha |
2013 |
|
Garfield, James |
Garfield: A Biography by Allan Peskin |
1978 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard |
2011 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Gehrig, Lou |
Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig by Jonathan Eig |
2005 |
|
Genet, Jean |
Genet: A Biography by Edmund White |
1993 |
|
Geronimo |
Geronimo by Robert Utley |
2012 |
|
Goebbels, Joseph |
Goebbels: A Biography by Peter Longerich |
2010 |
|
Goldwyn, Samuel |
Goldwyn: A Biography by A. Scott Berg |
1989 |
|
Gould, Jay |
The Life and Legend of Jay Gould by Maury Klein |
1986 |
|
Grant, Cary |
Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman |
2020 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Grant, Ulysses |
Grant by Jean Edward Smith |
2001 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses S. Grant In War and Peace by H.W. Brands |
2012 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Grant: A Biography by William McFeely |
1981 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Captain Sam Grant (Vol 1) by Lloyd Lewis |
1950 |
|
|
Grant Moves South (Vol 2) by Bruce Catton |
1960 |
|
|
Grant Takes Command (Vol 3) by Bruce Catton |
1969 |
|
|
American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant by Ronald White |
2016 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Grant by Ron Chernow |
2017 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Greenspan, Alan |
The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan by Sebastian Mallaby |
2016 |
|
Guevara, Che |
Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson |
1997 |
|
Halsey, William |
Bull Halsey by E.B. Potter |
1985 |
|
Hamilton, Alexander |
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow |
2004 |
REVIEW (5 stars) |
|
Alexander Hamilton: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall |
2003 |
|
Harrison, Benjamin |
Benjamin Harrison: Hoosier Warrior (Vol 1) by Harry J. Sievers |
1952 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Benjamin Harrison: Hoosier Statesman (Vol 2) by Harry J. Sievers |
1959 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Benjamin Harrison: Hoosier President (Vol 3) by Harry J. Sievers |
1968 |
REVIEW (3¼ stars) |
Hawking, Stephen |
Stephen Hawking: A Biography by Kristine Larsen |
2005 |
|
Hay, John |
All the Great Prizes: The Life of John Hay by John Taliaferro |
2013 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
Hayes, Rutherford |
Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President by Ari Hoogenboom |
1995 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Hearst, William Randolph |
The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst by David Nasaw |
2000 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Hemingway, Ernest |
Hemingway by Kenneth S. Lynn |
1987 |
|
Henry VIII |
The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir |
1992 |
|
|
The King and His Court by Alison Weir |
2001 |
|
Henry, Patrick |
Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty by Jon Kukla |
2017 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Hershey, Milton |
Hershey: Milton S. Hershey’s Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams by Michael D’Antonio |
2006 |
|
Hitler, Adolf |
Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography by John Toland |
1976 |
|
|
Hitler by Joachim Fest |
1974 |
|
|
Hitler: A Biography (abridgement) by Ian Kershaw |
2008 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris (Vol 1) by Ian Kershaw |
1998 |
|
|
Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis (Vol 2) by Ian Kershaw |
2000 |
|
|
Hitler: A Study in Tyranny by Alan Bullock |
1962 |
|
|
Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 (Vol 1) by Volker Ullrich |
2016 |
|
Hoover, Herbert |
Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times by Kenneth Whyte |
2017 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency by Charles Rappleye |
2016 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Hoover, J Edgar |
J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets by Curt Gentry |
1991 |
|
|
G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage |
2022 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Hopkins, Harry |
Harry Hopkins: A Biography by Henry Hitch Adams |
1977 |
|
|
The Hopkins Touch: Harry Hopkins and the Forging of the Alliance to Defeat Hitler by David Roll |
2013 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
House, Colonel |
Colonel House: A Biography of Woodrow Wilson’s Silent Partner by Charles Neu |
2014 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
Houston, Sam |
The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston by Marquis James |
1929 |
|
|
Sam Houston by James Haley |
2002 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
Howe, Louis |
FDR’s Shadow: Louis Howe, the Force That Shaped Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by Julie Fenster |
2009 |
|
Hughes, Howard |
Howard Hughes: The Untold Story by Peter Harry Brown |
1996 |
|
Isabella, Queen |
Isabella: The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey |
2014 |
|
Jackson, Andrew |
The Life of Andrew Jackson by Marquis James |
1934 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Andrew Jackson (3 volume series) by Robert Remini |
1977-84 |
REVIEWS |
|
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham |
2008 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Jackson, Stonewall |
Stonewall Jackson by James Robertson |
1997 |
|
|
Rebel Yell : The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne |
2014 |
|
James, Jesse |
Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War by T. J. Stiles |
2002 |
|
Jay, John |
John Jay: Founding Father by Walter Stahr |
2005 |
|
Jefferson, Thomas |
Jefferson and His Time (6 volume series) by Dumas Malone |
1948-77 |
REVIEWS |
|
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham |
2012 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Jobs, Steve |
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson |
2011 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Johnson, Andrew |
Impeached: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy by David Stewart |
2009 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Johnson, Jack |
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson by Geoffrey Ward |
2004 |
|
Johnson, Lyndon |
The Years of Lyndon Johnson (5 volume series) by Robert Caro |
1982- |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times 1908-1960 (Vol 1) by Robert Dallek |
1991 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times 1961-1973 (Vol 2) by Robert Dallek |
1998 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
Jordan, Michael |
Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby |
2014 |
|
Keller, Helen |
Helen Keller: A Life by Dorothy Hermann |
1998 |
|
Kennedy, Jacqueline |
America’s Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Sarah Bradford |
2000 |
|
Kennedy, John |
An Unfinished Life: JFK 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek |
2003 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys by Doris Kearns Goodwin |
1987 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
A Thousand Days: JFK in the White House by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. |
1965 |
REVIEW (3 stars) |
Kennedy, Joseph P |
The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw |
2012 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Kennedy, Robert |
Robert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. |
1978 |
|
|
Robert Kennedy: His Life by Evan Thomas |
2000 |
|
|
Robert Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye |
2016 |
|
Kennedy, Ted |
Catching the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour ( (Vol 1) and Against the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism (1976-2009) (Vol 2) by Neal Gabler |
2020/2 |
|
|
Ted Kennedy: A Life by John A. Farrell |
2022 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy by Peter Canellos |
2009 |
|
Khrushchev |
Khrushchev: The Man and His Era by William Taubman |
2003 |
|
Kidd, Captain |
The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks |
2002 |
|
King Jr., Martin Luther |
Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Stephen Oates |
1982 |
|
|
America in the King Years (3 volume series) by Taylor Branch |
1988-
2006 |
|
|
King: A Biography by David Levering Lewis |
1970 |
|
|
Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by David Garrow |
1986 |
|
Kissinger, Henry |
Kissinger: A Biography by Walter Isaacson |
1992 |
|
|
Kissinger: The Idealist, 1923-1968 (Volume One) by Niall Ferguson |
2015 |
|
Lafayette |
The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered by Laura Auricchio |
2014 |
|
|
Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan |
2021 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Lafayette by Harlow Unger |
2002 |
|
Lee, Robert E |
The Man Who Would Not Be Washington: Robert E. Lee’s Civil War by Jonathan Horn |
2015 |
|
|
Clouds of Glory: The Life and Legend of Robert E Lee by Michael Korda |
2014 |
|
|
Lee (abridgement of Douglas Southall Freeman’s 4-volume series) by Richard Harwell |
1997 |
|
Lewis, Meriwether |
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose |
1997 |
|
|
The Character of Meriwether Lewis: Explorer in the Wilderness by Clay Jenkinson |
2011 |
|
Lincoln, Abraham |
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin |
2005 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
Lincoln by David Herbert Donald |
1995 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
A. Lincoln: A Biography by Ronald C. White Jr. |
2009 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Abraham Lincoln: A Life (2 vols) by Michael Burlingame |
2008 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Abraham Lincoln: A Biography by Benjamin Thomas |
1952 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Lincoln, Robert Todd |
Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln by Jason Emerson |
2012 |
|
Lindbergh, Charles |
Lindbergh by A. Scott Berg |
1998 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Lippmann, Walter |
Walter Lippmann and the American Century by Ronald Steel |
1980 |
|
Lodge, Henry Cabot |
Henry Cabot Lodge: A Biography by John A. Garraty |
1953 |
|
Long, Huey |
Huey Long by T. Harry Williams |
1969 |
|
Longstreet, James |
General James Longstreet: The Confederacy’s Most Controversial Soldier by Jeffry Wert |
1993 |
|
Luther, Martin |
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton |
1950 |
|
MacArthur, Douglas |
American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 by William Manchester |
1978 |
|
|
The Years of MacArthur (3-volume series) by D. Clayton James |
1970-85 |
|
|
Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior by Arthur Herman |
2016 |
|
Madison, James |
James Madison by Richard Brookhiser |
2011 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
James Madison: America’s First Politician by Jay Cost |
2021 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham |
1971 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Magellan, Ferdinand |
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen |
2004 |
|
Malcolm X |
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable |
2011 |
|
|
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les & Tamara Payne |
2020 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Mantle, Mickey |
The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood by Jane Leavy |
2010 |
|
Marshall, George |
George Marshall: Defender of the Republic by David Roll |
2019 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
George C. Marshall (4-volume series) by Forrest Pogue |
1963-87 |
|
|
General of the Army: George C. Marshall, Soldier and Statesman by Ed Cray |
1990 |
|
Marshall, John |
John Marshall: Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith |
1996 |
|
|
Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times by Joel Richard Paul |
2018 |
Third-party reviews |
Marshall, Thurgood |
Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary by Juan Williams |
1998 |
|
Maxwell, James |
The Man Who Changed Everything: The Life of James Clerk Maxwell by Basil Mahon |
2003 |
|
McCarthy, Joseph |
A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy by David Oshinsky |
1983 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
McKinley, William |
William McKinley and His America by H. Wayne Morgan |
1963 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Mellon, Andrew |
Mellon: An American Life by David Cannadine |
2006 |
|
Melville, Herman |
Melville: A Biography by Laurie Robertson-Lorant |
1996 |
|
Michelangelo |
Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King |
2003 |
|
|
Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces by Miles J. Unger |
2014 |
|
|
Michelangelo: His Epic Life by Martin Gayford |
2013 |
|
|
The Agony and the Ecstacy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone |
1958 |
|
Mondavi, Robert |
The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty by Julia Siler |
2007 |
|
Monroe, James |
James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon |
1971 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe by Harlow Unger |
2009 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath |
2020 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Montgomery, Bernard |
Monty: The Making of a General 1887-1942 (Vol 1) by Nigel Hamilton |
1991 |
|
|
Master of the Battlefield: Monty’s War Years 1942-1944 (Vol 2) by Nigel Hamilton |
1984 |
|
|
Monty: The Field-Marshal 1944-1976 (Vol 3) by Nigel Hamilton |
1986 |
|
Morgan, JP |
Morgan: American Financier by Jean Strouse |
1999 |
REVIEW (3 stars) |
|
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow |
1990 |
|
Morgenthau Family |
Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty by Andrew Meier |
2022 |
REVIEW (4¾ stars) |
Morris, Robert |
Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution by Charles Rappleye |
2010 |
|
Moses, Robert |
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro |
1974 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Mozart |
Mozart: A Life by Maynard Solomon |
1995 |
REVIEW (2½ stars) |
Napoleon |
Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts |
2014 |
|
|
Napoleon by Vincent Cronin |
1971 |
|
|
Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny (Vol 1) by Michael Broers |
2014 |
|
|
Napoleon: The Spirit of the Age (Vol 2) by Michael Broers |
2018 |
|
Nash, John F. |
A Beautiful Mind: A Biography of John Forbes Nash, Jr. by Sylvia Nasar |
1998 |
|
Newton, Isaac |
Isaac Newton by James Gleick |
2003 |
|
Nicolay, John |
Lincoln’s Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln’s Image by Joshua Zeitz |
2013 |
|
Nicholas II |
Nicholas and Alexandra: The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty by Robert Massie |
1967 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Nimitz, Chester |
Nimitz by E.B. Potter |
1976 |
|
|
The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King – The Five Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea by Walter Borneman |
2012 |
|
Nixon, Richard |
Richard Milhous Nixon: The Rise of An American Politician by Roger Morris |
1990 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Nixon: The Education of a Politician 1913-1962 (Vol 1) by Stephen Ambrose |
1987 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Nixon: The Triumph of a Politician 1962-1972 (Vol 2) by Stephen Ambrose |
1989 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Nixon: Ruin & Recovery 1973-1990 (Vol 3) by Stephen Ambrose |
1991 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Richard Nixon: The Life by John Farrell |
2017 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
President Nixon: Alone in the White House by Richard Reeves |
2001 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
O’Connor, Sandra Day |
First: Sandra Day O’Connor by Evan Thomas |
2019 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
O’Neill, Tip |
Tip O’Neill and the Democratic Century: A Biography by John Farrell |
2001 |
REVIEW
(3¾ stars) |
Obama, Barack |
Barack Obama: The Story by David Maraniss |
2012 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Oppenheimer, Robert |
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird |
2005 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center by Ray Monk |
2012 |
|
Paine, Thomas |
Tom Paine: A Political Life by John Keane |
1995 |
|
Parks, Rosa |
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis |
2013 |
|
Patton |
Patton: A Genius for War by Carlo D’Este |
1995 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945 by Martin Blumenson |
1985 |
|
Perkins, Frances |
The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins by Kirstin Downey |
2010 |
|
Pershing, John |
Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing (2 vols) by Frank Vandiver |
1977 |
|
|
Guerilla Warrior: The Early Life of John J. Pershing (Vol 1) by Donald Smythe |
1973 |
|
|
Pershing: General of the Armies (Vol 2) by Donald Smythe |
1986 |
|
Peter the Great |
Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert Massie |
1980 |
|
Pierce, Franklin |
Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son (Vol 1) by Peter Wallner |
2004 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union (Vol 2) by Peter Wallner |
2007 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Polk, James |
Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter Borneman |
2008 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Pope John Paul II |
Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel |
1999 |
|
Presley, Elvis |
Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley (Vol 1) by Peter Guralnick |
1994 |
|
|
Carleless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (Vol 2) by Peter Guralnick |
1999 |
|
Putin, Vladimir |
The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers |
2015 |
|
Queen Victoria |
Victoria: The Queen by Julia Baird |
2016 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Raleigh, Sir Walter |
Sir Walter Raleigh: The Controversial Hero of the Elizabethian Age by Raleigh Trevelyan |
2002 |
|
Reagan, Nancy |
The Triumph of Nancy Reagan by Karen Tumulty |
2021 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Reagan, Ronald |
Reagan: The Life by H.W. Brands |
2015 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Reagan: An American Journey by Bob Spitz |
2018 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Reagan: American Icon by Iwan Morgan |
2016 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power (Vol 1) by Lou Cannon |
2003 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime (Vol 2) by Lou Cannon |
1991 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Robinson, Jackie |
Jackie Robinson: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad |
1997 |
|
Rockefeller, John D. |
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow |
1998 |
REVIEW (4¾ stars) |
Rockefeller, Nelson |
On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller by Richard Norton Smith |
2014 |
|
Rockwell, Norman |
American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell by Deborah Solomon |
2013 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Rogers, Will |
Will Rogers: A Biography by Ben Yagoda |
1993 |
|
Rommel, Erwin |
Field Marshal: The Life and Death of Erwin Rommel by Daniel Allen Butler |
2015 |
|
Roosevelt, Alice |
Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker by Stacy Cordery |
2007 |
|
Roosevelt, Eleanor |
Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol 1: 1884-1933 by Blanche Wiesen Cook |
1992 |
|
|
Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol 2: The Defining Years, 1933-1938 by Blanche Wiesen Cook |
1999 |
|
|
Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol 3: The War Years and After, 1939-1962 by Blanche Wiesen Cook |
2016 |
|
|
Eleanor by David Michaelis |
2020 |
REVIEW
(4 stars) |
Roosevelt, Franklin |
FDR by Jean Edward Smith |
2007 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of FDR by H. W. Brands |
2008 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by Doris Kearns Goodwin |
1994 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt 1882-1905 (Vol 1) by Geoffrey Ward |
1985 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
A First Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt 1905-1928 (Vol 2) by Geoffrey Ward |
1989 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Roosevelt, Theodore |
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Vol I) by Edmund Morris |
1980 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Theodore Rex (Vol II) by Edmund Morris |
2001 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Colonel Roosevelt (Vol III) by Edmund Morris |
2010 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin |
2013 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Power and Responsibility: The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt by William Harbaugh |
1961 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard |
2005 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Rose, Pete |
Pete Rose: An American Dilemma by Kostya Kennedy |
2014 |
|
Ruth, Babe |
The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth by Leigh Montville |
2006 |
|
Salk, Jonas |
Jonas Salk: A Life by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs |
2015 |
|
Seward, William |
Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr |
2012 |
REVIEW (3½ stars) |
Shackleton, Ernest |
Shackleton: By Endurance We Conquer by Michael Smith |
2014 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Shakespeare |
Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd |
2005 |
|
Sherman, William |
Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman by Robert O’Connell |
2014 |
|
|
William Tecumseh Sherman: In the Service of My Country: A Life by James McDonough |
2016 |
|
|
The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman by Brian Holden Reid |
2020 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
Sherman: A Soldier’s Passion for Order by John Marszalek |
1992 |
|
|
Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American by B.H. Liddell Hart |
1929 |
|
Sinatra, Frank |
Frank Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan |
2015 |
|
Stalin, Josef |
Stalin: A Political Biography by Isaac Deutscher |
1949 |
|
|
Young Stalin by Simon Montefiore |
2007 |
|
|
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Montefiore |
2004 |
|
|
Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928 (Vol 1) by Stephen Kotkin |
2014 |
|
Stanton, Edwin |
Stanton: Lincon’s War Secretary by Walter Stahr |
2017 |
|
Steinbeck, John |
John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography by Jackson Benson |
1990 |
|
Taft, William |
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin |
2013 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
The Life and Times of William Howard Taft (2 vols) by Henry Pringle |
1939 |
REVIEW (3¼ stars) |
Tecumseh |
Tecumseh: A Life by John Sugden |
1997 |
|
|
Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation by Peter Cozzens |
2020 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
Thatcher, Margaret |
Margaret Thatcher, The Grocer’s Daughter (Vol 1) by John Campbell |
2000 |
|
|
Margaret Thatcher, Iron Lady (Vol 2) by John Campbell |
2003 |
|
|
Margaret Thatcher: From Grantham to the Faulklands: The Authorized Biography (Vol 1) by Charles Moore |
2013 |
|
|
Margaret Thatcher: Everything She Wants: The Authorized Biography (Vol 2) by Charles Moore |
2015 |
|
Thoreau |
Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind by Robert Richardson |
1986 |
|
Thorpe, Jim |
Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss |
2022 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
Tolstoy |
Tolstoy by Henri Troyat |
1965 |
|
Truman, Harry |
Truman by David McCullough |
1992 |
|
Twain, Mark |
Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain by Justin Kaplan |
1966 |
|
|
Mark Twain: A Life by Ron Powers |
2005 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Vanderbilt, Cornelius |
The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T. J. Stiles |
2009 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
Warburg (family) |
The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family by Ron Chernow |
1993 |
|
Warren, Earl |
Justice For All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made by Jim Newton |
2006 |
|
Washington, Booker T |
Up From History: The Life of Booker T. Washington by Robert Norrell |
2009 |
|
Washington, George |
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow |
2010 |
REVIEW (5 stars) |
|
George Washington: The Forge of Experience 1732-1775 (Vol 1) by James Flexner |
1965 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
|
George Washington in the American Revolution 1775-1783 (Vol 2) by James Flexner |
1967 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
George Washington and the New Nation 1783-1793 (Vol 3) by James Flexner |
1970 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
George Washington: Anguish and Farewell 1793-1799 (Vol 4) by James Flexner |
1972 |
REVIEW (4½ stars) |
|
His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis |
2005 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Washington [Harwell’s abridgment of 7-vol series] by Douglas Southall Freeman |
1968 |
REVIEW (3 stars) |
Wayne, John |
John Wayne: American by Randy Roberts |
1995 |
|
|
John Wayne: The Life and Legend by Scott Eyman |
2014 |
|
Webster, Daniel |
Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time by Robert Remini |
1997 |
|
|
The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun by Merrill Peterson |
1987 |
|
Wilde, Oscar |
Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann |
1987 |
|
Williams, Ted |
Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero by Leigh Montville |
2004 |
|
|
The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams by Ben Bradlee Jr. |
2013 |
|
Wilson, Woodrow |
Wilson by A. Scott Berg |
2013 |
REVIEW (4 stars) |
|
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography by August Heckscher |
1991 |
REVIEW (4¼ stars) |
|
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography by John Milton Cooper |
2009 |
REVIEW (3¾ stars) |
Woolf, Virginia |
Virginia Woolf: A Biography by Quentin Bell |
1971 |
|
Wright (brothers) |
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough |
2015 |
Third-party reviews |
Wright, Frank Lloyd |
Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography by Meryle Secrest |
1992 |
|
Deng, Xioping |
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China by Ezra Vogel |
2011 |
|
Zemin, Jiang |
The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin by Robert Lawrence Kuhn |
2005 |
|
|
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Steve – Another great site! Thank you.
Thanks; I have to give credit to my kids who were looking for a way to learn how to start/manage a website. I (try to) come up with the content and they put it into motion. Now, if only I could get them to each read a biography per week…..!
Excited to hear your thoughts on each of the Lafayette books – I’ve been wanting to read a solid book about him for quite some time. I think you’ll find that the Carnegie book by Nasaw is exceptional.
Isaacson’s bio of Leonardo da Vinci isn’t to be missed.
Dickens by Peter Ackroyd
Henry David Thoreau by Laura Walls
Ernest Hemingway by Dearborn
I loved the presidents site, and was actually thinking of starting my own book review site journey though biographies. You’ve beat me to it good sir! Good on ya.
I have read or in possession twenty-four non-president biographies listed above. Happy reading everyone!
So enjoy your site…thanks for sharing it! I found it last year after deciding to read a biography of each U.S. president along with one of a related person (or event) from the same period.
How about A Prophet with Honor – The Billy Graham Story, by William Martin? Lots of presidential connections there.
Great suggestion – it’s strangely under-reviewed for its age but looks like it has enormous potential.
That’s a lot to be getting on with! If I could make a couple of suggestions I’d add A Certain Idea Of France, Julian Jackson’s recent biography of Charles de Gaulle. Also Jenny Hocking’s two volume biography of Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam is one of the best biographies I’ve ever read, I think. Anyway, thanks a lot for all you do!
Thanks for the suggestions and, particularly, for the geographic diversity they provide! de Gaulle is an extremely familiar name I can’t wait to get to (I’ll definitely check out Jackson’s bio) and Whitlam is a very unfamiliar name I’ll be looking into – – I’m always looking to add biographies that readers categorize as among “the best” they’ve ever read!
No worries! I only wish I could recommend more Australian biographies, but we don’t really have the culture of writing biographies about our prime ministers as the United States has for its presidents (you can imagine how frustrating that is).
Hi Steve, John Bew’s biography of Clement Attlee is very good.
Thanks – that’s one I’m not familiar with but it looks excellent!
Does anyone have a good bio for Queen Elizabeth II? I’m not really interested in the salacious / gossipy type. Just a nice write up, like Julia Baird did with Victoria.
How about this one: https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780007476626/the-queen-elizabeth-ii-and-the-monarchy
Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith was very good.
What about Prescott Bush? have you read any good bios of him?
What about the Famous lawyer Clarence Darrow or William Jennings Bryan
I’m hoping to stumble across a particularly good biography of William Jennings Bryan…if you know of one please let me know! And, in general, if there is a specific and outstanding biography of *anyone* you know about, I’m all ears!
There are two great reads for WJB. Michael Kazin’s A Godly Hero (2008) is the best biography in my opinion. As for the Scopes Trial, Edward Larson’s Summer for the Gods is excellent – worthy of the Pulitzer it won.
I have a couple of recommendation of prominent Americans about whom you might like to read. I would live to read your reviews on the books and the characters. First is Joseph Smith Junior. Before being assassinated while running for President of the United States, he built what was the largest city in Illinois. He managed to negotiate a city charter that provided Nauvoo with its own army. At the same time Smith was mayor of Nauvoo, Lt. General of the Nauvoo Legion and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The second leader of the same church, Brigham Young, led a huge migration to the Great Basin, colonized parts of 4 or 5 states and resisted the armed attempt of President Buchanan to destroy his people.
Either one would be fascinating to learn about and to review biographies.
Thanks for the suggestions – I’ll have to look into the them.
Hi – been a follower for a long time and am currently on my own presidential biography voyage. Wanted to pass along a couple biographies that I have read recently that I truly enjoyed.
Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life
Unprecedented Power: Jesse Jones, Capitalism, and the Common Good
Many thanks – I’ll look into these!
One of the best-written biographies I’ve ever read was Samuel Johnson by John Wain (1975). Just so well-written. Some biographies from poets and novelists work better than others (I’m still not too pleased with the purple mountain majesty prose of Carl Sandburg’s Lincoln).
Thanks for the tip – I’ll have to look into it! I still vividly remember being disappointed by Sandburg’s series on LIncoln….
I have over a 100 biographies from Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan to Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher. My library also includes biographies of 18 United States Presidents (cherry picking my favourites). What I find curious is the large number of these biographies which have been published since 2000. Ninety percent!! Many of these biographies are also the “definitive” biography or at least one of the best of that historic figure. Are we in an age of better writers, better research?
Why such excellent and prolific writing over the last twenty years? Any thoughts?
Great questions and I will opine.
The writing seems better because it is contemporary with us. The American Statesmen series from the late 19th century seems quaint now, but it was a great leap forward in scholarship then. Just like in 50 years, our scholarship will seem antiquated.
Centralizing primary source materials has an impact. It is now easier to access the papers of presidents via both electronic means and scholarly publications. There are many “The Papers of …” in process. The completion of the Grant papers sparked a new energy to review his life and presidency.
As for the definitive status, it is probably our lens. Why use version 1.0 when version 3.0 has enhanced, modern features? An author can correct the perceived – or real – failures, omissions or errors of prior authors. It’s the march of progress.
That’s my 2 cents.
How has your actual physical library grown from when you started this journey to now, years later? I always love watching my own library grow over the years.
Funny you should ask… my “shelf space” has doubled in the past few years but the number of books I need shelves for has quadrupled. In addition to something like 400 books/volumes of presidential biographies (which still pales in comparison to some) I have another 325 biographies of non-presidents. Still modest in comparison to some, I’ve simply run out of room. I have books stacked 4′ high in my basement, I have books collecting dust under furniture, I almost have books peering out of the crack between crown molding and the ceiling. But…I know exactly where everything is and I fully intend to read every book I own!
Do you use the space on the shelf behind the books?
I’m impressed with the non-presidential material. Are they across-the-board or focused on certain subjects?
I once used that hidden space but then realized how many books I lost / forgot 🙂 I began “collecting” non-pres bio before I got hooked on the presidents, and once I was on the home-stretch of my presidential journey I started looking ahead and adding to my library of non-presidential books. They are more heavily weighted toward people “related” to the presidents (from Robert Morris and Eleanor Roosevelt to Adolf Hitler) but probably 1/4 of them cover folks like da Vinci, Mark Twain, Copernicus, Lou Gehrig,…
I’ve thinned down my non-Presidential holdings over the past few years to slightly over 100 (excluding a Churchill section). They too are mostly focused on people related to presidents or the presidency. With shelf space at a premium, I needed to weed out some of my ‘nonessential’ holdings.
Steve, I would encourage you to reconsider listing Al Stump’s fictionalized hatchet job on Ty Cobb as one of your Best Biographies of all-time. That book, once considered the definitive biography of Cobb, has been discredited in recent times (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-knife-in-ty-cobbs-back-65618032/; https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-georgia-peach-stumped-by-the-storyteller/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Stump) as being largely falsified and painting Cobb in an inaccurately negative light. Because so many people (including me) hold you and your biography recommendations in such high esteem, I hate to see that particular book on your list. The recommendation of Lerhsen’s more recent bio of Cobb, however, is spot-on and is the only bio of Cobb that I would recommend (most of the others relied at least partly on Stump’s account as resource material).
Thanks for the perspective. I went so far as to purchase Stump’s book a few years ago and was prepared to find a spot for it on my “next 24 months” reading list when I ran across an article in an academic journal that made an observation similar to yours. Concerned but uncertain what to believe, I left it there and didn’t take any further action given a lack of time to investigate further, but I’ll go ahead and place that biography in my “purgatory” category (off the master list) to be finally adjudicated when I have a few moments to dig deeper 🙂
If it’s something we could workshop it’d be great to include more foreign heads of government. At least some of the major ones of major countries like Bismarck, Adenauer, Kohl, and Merkel in Germany and Mitterand, Chirac, and Pompidou in France. I’ll do some searching around and reply to this comment in a few weeks with some suggestions if people here are interested.
I’m particularly interested to ensure I’m capturing as many people of influence globally as possible. I’m scheduled to read a biography of Charles de Gaulle later this year (though I’m still debating which one) and I’m looking ahead to 2022 which might include a series on Hitler, Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Just for starters…
Robert Blake’s Disraeli is a first-rate biography. Disraeli’s counterpart William Gladstone gets a nice treatment by Roy Jenkins.
Despite its age, Henry Kissinger’s Diplomacy (1994) has a wonderful bibliography which has sent me on many tangents. Although it is a sweeping history and not a biography, it provides great insight into the major influencers of the modern world.
If it’d be of any use I’m happy to help compose a short list. I’d begun one before I ran across your website, it has a decent list of non-American leaders if you’d like me to share it with you.
That would be fabulous! A good percentage of the non-presidential books I read are based on suggestions I receive. Any thoughts are welcomed in any form!
sorry for the late reply, i’m a high school teacher and life has been awfully crazy these last few months. I’ll clean up the list and send it to you in a month or two.
I see you have John Sugden’s Tecumseh on your list. While I’ve not read that one I can highly recommend his two-volume biography on Admiral Horatio Nelson – ‘Nelson: A Dream of Glory’ & ‘Nelson: The Sword Of Albion’. It’s the best biography I’ve read since Chernow’s Washington (Though I’ve not read as many as yourself, so a smaller sample size)
It’s now the definitive Nelson biography and Sugden’s life work. Each volume is 800 pages so if you want a shorter biography on Nelson, the best single-volume is the 500 page-ish ‘The Pursuit of Victory’ by Roger Knight.
I actually wish I had Knight’s biography when reading Sugden’s. Knight’s is full of maps, ship diagrams and a ‘cast of characters’ list of people at the back with short biographies to jog the memory. It would have made a handy guide to reference while reading Sugden.
Love the site, my Presidential shelf grows with the biographies you’ve recommended.
Thanks for the suggestions – I’ll have to investigate the Horatio Nelson biographies! And unfortunately for my shelf-space, this biography thing is an addiction. My presidential “shelf” has now overtaken the wall it once barely occupied. And together with the biographies of non-presidents, I’m beginning to think I need a larger house 🙂
I love this blog and the list is a great reference. In your ranking president bios would you score them differently if the list was for historians? I am seeking to collect the most detailed bio of each president. Is it safe to say I should get the multi volume options when possible? I want the book to cover their whole life not just their presidency. Let me know if your “best” recommendations still stand considering what I am seeking. The way I am reading the bios is one decade at a time. I read the portion of each bio for 1850 etc to get a 3d picture of where each president was at that time. It’s fascinating to see the characters interplay from each perspective.
If I was creating a site for “historians” I would rank / score biographies differently. I would also read them with a different emphasis and would need to do far more work to pressure test the accuracy of the information they contain. Because I am NOT reading just for historians, I weight my ranking 50% for “readability” – how much I enjoy the writing style – and 50% for my layman’s view of the historical value of the biography. It is not rare for a reader of this site to note that I’ve missed an inaccuracy or failed to notice an author relying on outdated information.
If you are seeking to collect the most detailed biographies of each president it is often the case you will want to take a hard look at the multi-volume series published for that president (if any exists). They do tend to contain the most “information” though in my experience they sometimes lack deep analysis…seeming to rely on the reader to synthesize and analyze on their own. In general I prefer fewer biographies with fewer extraneous facts and a thoughtful biographer willing to provide me with an interpretation of the facts which I can accept or reject.
But to the extent you are looking for “comprehensive” rather than merely “detailed” my approach will tend to work reasonably well for you. I, too, am seeking biographies which present a person’s entire life rather than just undertaking an examination of that person’s presidency. I find it hard to really get into a person’s head and see the world from his/her perspective unless I have some senswe of that person’s entire life…
Have you taken a look at LeRoy Ashby’s Fighting the Odds: The Life of Senator Frank Church? Full disclosure: I didn’t finish it myself (another book beckoned and I can’t read more than one at a time), but what I read seemed to fit your “readable but thorough” criteria, with the added bonus of making me shout, “I’ve never heard of this guy! Why have I never heard of this guy?”
For what it’s worth, I don’t read more than one biography at the same time either (largely out of a latent fear I won’t be able to keep the two separate). As for the book you reference: I’ve never heard of Frank Church. How’d I overlook him given all the presidential biographies I read that covered his time in the Senate? I don’t *mind* that he’s unknown to me if it turns out he was consequential and the book is well-written. I can’t quite tell from the very few reviews I found online. But the fact you didn’t finish it leaves me wondering….!
Steve,
God bless you and your site. I am curious to see what you have in store for 2022. I noticed that you haven’t gotten around to some of the major non-US political figures – Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Napoleon, Bismarck, etc. Any of these on the horizon?
Best,
Ray
Funny you mention those names…I have Kershaw’s biography of Hitler, Taubman’s bio of Khrushchev and Andrew Roberts’s bio of Napoleon on the shelf in front of me. Just trying to figure out exactly when to sequence them in 🙂
Hi Steve,
Have you seen at all the new biography by Mike Duncan on Marquis de Lafayette? I noticed it wasn’t on your list yet and I was wondering if you could look into at some point? Have you heard anything if it would be worth the time to get into? I’ve been looking into it recently just haven’t had time to read it, so many other biographies to get to…
Maybe as a more general question, are there certain clues you have picked up that you can gather before reading a biography to get a good idea whether it will be a worthwhile read or not? I don’t quite have the time to read everything so prefer to be as efficient as I can with what books I end up reading. I find your reviews very helpful and informative but sometimes there are books I’d like to read that you haven’t read and reviewed yet so I’m not sure if I should read them or not.
I haven’t read the Duncan bio of Lafayette (published last summer) but I’ve got a couple friends who are reading it now…and I’m anxious to see what they think. I’ve not yet committed to my entire 2022 reading schedule at this point and that’s one I’m considering getting to in the next several months.
On a broader note, I’ve not come up with an extremely reliable algorithm for picking great biographies. The word you use – clues – is a better way to think about what I do when trying to select bios to read. In general, I’m looking for biographies of compelling people that are well-written (–> engrossing), get at the heart of who the person was, and treats the reader to a view of the world as that person observed it.
More simply put, I look for biographies which put me in the shoes of a fascinating person and allow me to walk away understanding how that person saw the world and knowing how and why they reacted to the world around them in the way they did.
Over many years I’ve learned to trust certain authors, I’ve learned to be suspicious of prizes and awards (Pulitzers do NOT correlate – for me – to great biographies), I’ve learned to avoid Amazon ratings and I’ve discovered the value of relying on the opinions of certain Goodreads “friends” whose opinions align well with what I value in a great biography. But it’s an art and not a science, and although this usually leads me to reading books I really like, there are times when I find myself reading a “dud” 🙂
Steve,
Since you have chosen a task (Best Biographies) which can not be completed in one lifetime, I will not make further recommendations. However, I have an observation which I submit to you and your fans (myself included).
The word ‘hero’ occurs 5 times throughout the book titles.
What is the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition?
1) A name given (as in Homer) to men of superhuman strength, courage, or ability, favoured by the gods; at a later time regarded as intermediate between gods and men, and immortal.
2) A man [or women]* distinguished by extraordinary valour and martial achievements; one who does brave or noble deeds; an illustrious warrior.
3) A [person] who exhibits extraordinary bravery, firmness, fortitude, or greatness of soul, in any course of action, or in connexion with any pursuit, work, or enterprise; a [person]* admired and venerated for their achievements and noble qualities.
*OED only uses male or men as pronoun, I modified it in 2&3 to include both genders.
Of course I’ve read all the biographies of POTUS, and would pick George Washington as a hero.
I am unqualified in saying Frederick Douglas and Fred Rogers are also my heroes.
Not saying a hero makes for the subject of a best biography, but two of the above are on your lists. And MOST interesting, President Trump issued Executive Order 13978 to create a National Garden of American Heroes for 244 of them. Congress did not fund it, Biden revoked the Order, and historians like Michael Beschloss wrote “No president of the United States or federal government has any business dictating us citizens who our historical heroes should be.”
Nevertheless, the list is interesting. See
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Garden of American Heroes
When looking for reading material I peruse Best Biographies of All Time and found this 2004 book “The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus” (2004) by Owen Gingerich. However, it has not yet been reviewed. I am therefore offering a review – I recommend it.
It is the travelogue and detective work of the author’s 30 year quest to find out about Copernicus and his world changing book “De revolutionibus” (Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs) which was published in 1543.
Gingerich is professor emeritus of astronomy and of the history of science at Harvard University and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
The book falls in the sphere of others like:
.The Brain in Search of Itself, Santiago Ramón y Cajal and the Story of the Neuron (2020) by Ehrlich, Benjamin
.The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (1998) by Simon Winchester
.The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary (2003) by Simon Winchester
.Humboldt; the life and times of Alexander von Humboldt, 1769-1859 (1955) by Helmut De Terra
Who would enjoy this History of Science book? I have a double Bachelor’s in Astronomy and Physics, but most people don’t. Nevertheless, you do not need a scientific background – there is no math, and the astronomy is reduced to pictures of circles and lines. It is light reading which includes court battles, personal enemies (of the author and the ancient astronomers), libraries and book sellers, paper making, printing, watermarks, and the politics of science and the profession of publishing.
It also has its fair share of FACT CHECKS, example
———
There is a wonderful, very old, but no doubt apocryphal, story that Alfonso the
Great, looking over the shoulders of his astronomers who were compiling the
Alfonsine Tables, remarked that if he had been around at Creation, he could have
given the Good Lord some hints. The obvious interpretation was that King
Alfonso’s astronomers, in order to take care of the observed discrepancies
between the Ptolemaic predictions and where the planets actually were, had been
obliged to add more circles, small epicycles on epicycles. It’s rather reminiscent
of the lines paraphrasing Jonathan Swift:
Great fleas have little fleas
upon their backs to bite ’em
And little fleas have lesser fleas
and so ad infinitum.
The legend reached its apotheosis when the 1969 Encyclopaedia Britannica
announced that, by the time of King Alfonso, each planet required 40 to 60
epicycles! The article concluded, “After surviving more than a millennium, the
Ptolemaic system failed; its geometrical clockwork had become unbelievably
cumbersome and without satisfactory improvements in its effectiveness.”
When I [Owen Gingerich] challenged them, the Britannica editors replied lamely
that the author of the article was no longer living, and they hadn’t the faintest
idea if or where any evidence for the epicycles on epicycles could be found.
———-
Finally, as far as grading this book – as ‘Only God can make a tree’ so it follows that ‘Only Steve Floyd can determine how many stars’ to assign to a book.
I’ve had that on my list for quite a long time but I’ve not gotten around to it yet. As a (former) scientist I always enjoy great books on the most creative scientific minds and I have long suspected this one would be worthwhile. I’m glad it’s got your endorsement! Since I know I own that book, I’m tempted to go digging through shelves and boxes to figure out where it is so I can add it to my “short-term” list rather than my “sometime” list 🙂
I’ve been reading a bit of a good biography of Karl Marx. It’s called “A World to Win: The Life and Works of Karl Marx”, by Sven-Eric Liedman. He’s quite a fascinating person. Might be worth picking up.
Where is Boswell’s Johnson? Or did I miss it? Regarded by many as not only the first but also the best bio ever written. Johnson was a colossus.
https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/bid/306367/James-Boswell-Samuel-Johnson-and-the-Greatest-English-Language-Biography
I would also recommend Marshall Smelser’s ‘The Life That Ruth Built’ which is the best sports bio I’ve ever read and by long odds.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/marshall-smelser-2/the-life-that-ruth-built-a-biography/