best historical biographies of all time

The 50 Best Biographies of All Time

Think you know the full and complete story about George Washington, Steve Jobs, or Joan of Arc? Think again.

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Biographies have always been controversial. On his deathbed, the novelist Henry James told his nephew that his “sole wish” was to “frustrate as utterly as possible the postmortem exploiter” by destroying his personal letters and journals. And one of our greatest living writers, Hermione Lee, once compared biographies to autopsies that add “a new terror to death”—the potential muddying of someone’s legacy when their life is held up to the scrutiny of investigation.

Why do we read so many books about the lives and deaths of strangers, as told by second-hand and third-hand sources? Is it merely our love for gossip, or are we trying to understand ourselves through the triumphs and failures of others?

To keep this list from blossoming into hundreds of titles, we only included books currently in print and translated into English. We also limited it to one book per author, and one book per subject. In ranked order, here are the best biographies of all time.

Crown The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, by Tom Reiss

You’re probably familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo , the 1844 revenge novel by Alexandre Dumas. But did you know it was based on the life of Dumas’s father, the mixed-race General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, son of a French nobleman and a Haitian slave? Thanks to Reiss’s masterful pacing and plotting, this rip-roaring biography of Thomas-Alexandre reads more like an adventure novel than a work of nonfiction. The Black Count won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2013, and it’s only a matter of time before a filmmaker turns it into a big-screen blockbuster.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret, by Craig Brown

Few biographies are as genuinely fun to read as this barnburner from the irreverent English critic Craig Brown. Princess Margaret may have been everyone’s favorite character from Netflix’s The Crown , but Brown’s eye for ostentatious details and revelatory insights will help you see why everyone in the 1950s—from Pablo Picasso and Gore Vidal to Peter Sellers and Andy Warhol—was obsessed with her. When book critic Parul Sehgal says that she “ripped through the book with the avidity of Margaret attacking her morning vodka and orange juice,” you know you’re in for a treat.

Inventor of the Future: The Visionary Life of Buckminster Fuller, by Alec Nevala-Lee

If you want to feel optimistic about the future again, look no further than this brilliant biography of Buckminster Fuller, the “modern Leonardo da Vinci” of the 1960s and 1970s who came up with the idea of a “Spaceship Earth” and inspired Silicon Valley’s belief that technology could be a global force for good (while earning plenty of critics who found his ideas impractical). Alec Nevala-Lee’s writing is as serene and precise as one of Fuller’s geodesic domes, and his research into never-before-seen documents makes this a genuinely groundbreaking book full of surprises.

Free Press Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, by Robin D.G. Kelley

The late American jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk has been so heavily mythologized that it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. But Robin D. G. Kelley’s biography is an essential book for jazz fans looking to understand the man behind the myths. Monk’s family provided Kelley with full access to their archives, resulting in chapter after chapter of fascinating details, from his birth in small-town North Carolina to his death across the Hudson from Manhattan.

University of Chicago Press Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography, by Meryle Secrest

There are dozens of books about America’s most celebrated architect, but Secrest’s 1998 biography is still the most fun to read. For one, she doesn’t shy away from the fact that Wright could be an absolute monster, even to his own friends and family. Secondly, her research into more than 100,000 letters, as well as interviews with nearly every surviving person who knew Wright, makes this book a one-of-a-kind look at how Wright’s personal life influenced his architecture.

Ralph Ellison: A Biography, by Arnold Rampersad

Ralph Ellison’s landmark novel, Invisible Man , is about a Black man who faced systemic racism in the Deep South during his youth, then migrated to New York, only to find oppression of a slightly different kind. What makes Arnold Rampersand’s honest and insightful biography of Ellison so compelling is how he connects the dots between Invisible Man and Ellison’s own journey from small-town Oklahoma to New York’s literary scene during the Harlem Renaissance.

Oscar Wilde: A Life, by Matthew Sturgis

Now remembered for his 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde was one of the most fascinating men of the fin-de-siècle thanks to his poems, plays, and some of the earliest reported “celebrity trials.” Sturgis’s scintillating biography is the most encyclopedic chronicle of Wilde’s life to date, thanks to new research into his personal notebooks and a full transcript of his libel trial.

Beacon Press A Surprised Queenhood in the New Black Sun: The Life & Legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks, by Angela Jackson

The poet Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1950, but because she spent most of her life in Chicago instead of New York, she hasn’t been studied or celebrated as often as her peers in the Harlem Renaissance. Luckily, Angela Jackson’s biography is full of new details about Brooks’s personal life, and how it influenced her poetry across five decades.

Atria Books Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century, by Dana Stevens

Was Buster Keaton the most influential filmmaker of the first half of the twentieth century? Dana Stevens makes a compelling case in this dazzling mix of biography, essays, and cultural history. Much like Keaton’s filmography, Stevens playfully jumps from genre to genre in an endlessly entertaining way, while illuminating how Keaton’s influence on film and television continues to this day.

Algonquin Books Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation, by Dean Jobb

Dean Jobb is a master of narrative nonfiction on par with Erik Larsen, author of The Devil in the White City . Jobb’s biography of Leo Koretz, the Bernie Madoff of the Jazz Age, is among the few great biographies that read like a thriller. Set in Chicago during the 1880s through the 1920s, it’s also filled with sumptuous period details, from lakeside mansions to streets choked with Model Ts.

Vintage Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life, by Hermione Lee

Hermione Lee’s biographies of Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton could easily have made this list. But her book about a less famous person—Penelope Fitzgerald, the English novelist who wrote The Bookshop, The Blue Flower , and The Beginning of Spring —might be her best yet. At just over 500 pages, it’s considerably shorter than those other biographies, partially because Fitzgerald’s life wasn’t nearly as well documented. But Lee’s conciseness is exactly what makes this book a more enjoyable read, along with the thrilling feeling that she’s uncovering a new story literary historians haven’t already explored.

Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, by Heather Clark

Many biographers have written about Sylvia Plath, often drawing parallels between her poetry and her death by suicide at the age of thirty. But in this startling book, Plath isn’t wholly defined by her tragedy, and Heather Clark’s craftsmanship as a writer makes it a joy to read. It’s also the most comprehensive account of Plath’s final year yet put to paper, with new information that will change the way you think of her life, poetry, and death.

Pontius Pilate, by Ann Wroe

Compared to most biography subjects, there isn’t much surviving documentation about the life of Pontius Pilate, the Judaean governor who ordered the execution of the historical Jesus in the first century AD. But Ann Wroe leans into all that uncertainty in her groundbreaking book, making for a fascinating mix of research and informed speculation that often feels like reading a really good historical novel.

Brand: History Book Club Bolívar: American Liberator, by Marie Arana

In the early nineteenth century, Simón Bolívar led six modern countries—Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela—to independence from the Spanish Empire. In this rousing work of biography and geopolitical history, Marie Arana deftly chronicles his epic life with propulsive prose, including a killer first sentence: “They heard him before they saw him: the sound of hooves striking the earth, steady as a heartbeat, urgent as a revolution.”

Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History, by Yunte Huang

Ever read a biography of a fictional character? In the 1930s and 1940s, Charlie Chan came to popularity as a Chinese American police detective in Earl Derr Biggers’s mystery novels and their big-screen adaptations. In writing this book, Yunte Huang became something of a detective himself to track down the real-life inspiration for the character, a Hawaiian cop named Chang Apana born shortly after the Civil War. The result is an astute blend between biography and cultural criticism as Huang analyzes how Chan served as a crucial counterpoint to stereotypical Chinese villains in early Hollywood.

Random House Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay, by Nancy Milford

Edna St. Vincent Millay was one of the most fascinating women of the twentieth century—an openly bisexual poet, playwright, and feminist icon who helped make Greenwich Village a cultural bohemia in the 1920s. With a knack for torrid details and creative insights, Nancy Milford successfully captures what made Millay so irresistible—right down to her voice, “an instrument of seduction” that captivated men and women alike.

Simon & Schuster Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

Few people have the luxury of choosing their own biographers, but that’s exactly what the late co-founder of Apple did when he tapped Walter Isaacson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. Adapted for the big screen by Aaron Sorkin in 2015, Steve Jobs is full of plot twists and suspense thanks to a mind-blowing amount of research on the part of Isaacson, who interviewed Jobs more than forty times and spoke with just about everyone who’d ever come into contact with him.

Brand: Random House Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), by Stacy Schiff

The Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov once said, “Without my wife, I wouldn’t have written a single novel.” And while Stacy Schiff’s biography of Cleopatra could also easily make this list, her telling of Véra Nabokova’s life in Russia, Europe, and the United States is revolutionary for finally bringing Véra out of her husband’s shadow. It’s also one of the most romantic biographies you’ll ever read, with some truly unforgettable images, like Vera’s habit of carrying a handgun to protect Vladimir on butterfly-hunting excursions.

Greenblatt, Stephen Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, by Stephen Greenblatt

We know what you’re thinking. Who needs another book about Shakespeare?! But Greenblatt’s masterful biography is like traveling back in time to see firsthand how a small-town Englishman became the greatest writer of all time. Like Wroe’s biography of Pontius Pilate, there’s plenty of speculation here, as there are very few surviving records of Shakespeare’s daily life, but Greenblatt’s best trick is the way he pulls details from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets to construct a compelling narrative.

Crown Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

When Kiese Laymon calls a book a “literary miracle,” you pay attention. James Baldwin’s legacy has enjoyed something of a revival over the last few years thanks to films like I Am Not Your Negro and If Beale Street Could Talk , as well as books like Glaude’s new biography. It’s genuinely a bit of a miracle how he manages to combine the story of Baldwin’s life with interpretations of Baldwin’s work—as well as Glaude’s own story of discovering, resisting, and rediscovering Baldwin’s books throughout his life.

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The 21 most captivating biographies of all time

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• Biographies illuminate pivotal times and people in history. 
• The biography books on this list are heavily researched and fascinating stories.
• Want more books? Check out the best classics , historical fiction books , and new releases.

For centuries, books have allowed readers to be whisked away to magical lands, romantic beaches, and historical events. Biographies take readers through time to a single, remarkable life memorialized in gripping, dramatic, or emotional stories. They give us the rare opportunity to understand our heroes — or even just someone we would never otherwise know. 

To create this list, I chose biographies that were highly researched, entertainingly written, and offer a fully encompassing lens of a person whose story is important to know in 2021. 

The 21 best biographies of all time:

The biography of a beloved supreme court justice.

"Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg" by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $16.25

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a Supreme Court Justice and feminist icon who spent her life fighting for gender equality and civil rights in the legal system. This is an inspirational biography that follows her triumphs and struggles, dissents, and quotes, packaged with chapters titled after Notorious B.I.G. tracks — a nod to the many memes memorializing Ginsburg as an iconic dissident. 

The startlingly true biography of a previously unknown woman

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $8.06

Henrietta was a poor tobacco farmer, whose "immortal" cells have been used to develop the polio vaccine, study cancer, and even test the effects of an atomic bomb — despite being taken from her without her knowledge or consent. This biography traverses the unethical experiments on African Americans, the devastation of Henrietta Lacks' family, and the multimillion-dollar industry launched by the cells of a woman who lies somewhere in an unmarked grave.

The poignant biography of an atomic bomb survivor

"A Song for Nagasaki: The Story of Takashi Nagai: Scientist, Convert, and Survivor of the Atomic Bomb" by Paul Glynn, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $16.51

Takashi Nagai was a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. A renowned scientist and spiritual man, Nagai continued to live in his ruined city after the attack, suffering from leukemia while physically and spiritually helping his community heal. Takashi Nagai's life was dedicated to selfless service and his story is a deeply moving one of suffering, forgiveness, and survival.

The highly researched biography of Malcolm X

"The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X" by Les Payne and Tamara Payne, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $18.99

Written by the investigative journalist Les Payne and finished by his daughter after his passing, Malcolm X's biography "The Dead are Arising" was written and researched over 30 years. This National Book Award and Pulitzer-winning biography uses vignettes to create an accurate, detailed, and gripping portrayal of the revolutionary minister and famous human rights activist. 

The remarkable biography of an Indigenous war leader

"The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History" by Joseph M. Marshall III, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $14.99 

Crazy Horse was a legendary Lakota war leader, most famous for his role in the Battle of the Little Bighorn where Indigenous people defeated Custer's cavalry. A descendant of Crazy Horse's community, Joseph M. Marshall III drew from research and oral traditions that have rarely been shared but offer a powerful and culturally rich story of this acclaimed Lakota hero.

The captivating biography about the cofounder of Apple

"Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $16.75

Steve Jobs is a cofounder of Apple whose inventiveness reimagined technology and creativity in the 21st century. Water Issacson draws from 40 interviews with Steve Jobs, as well as interviews with over 100 of his family members and friends to create an encompassing and fascinating portrait of such an influential man.

The shocking biography of a woman committed to an insane asylum

"The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear" by Kate Moore, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $22.49

This biography is about Elizabeth Packard, a woman who was committed to an asylum in 1860 by her husband for being an outspoken woman and wife. Her story illuminates the conditions inside the hospital and the sinister ways of caretakers, an unfortunately true history that reflects the abuses suffered by many women of the time.

The defining biography of a formerly enslaved man

"Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $12.79

50 years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in the United States, Cudjo Lewis was captured, enslaved, and transported to the US. In 1931, the author spent three months with Cudjo learning the details of his life beginning in Africa, crossing the Middle Passage, and his years enslaved before the Civil War. This biography offers a first-hand account of this unspoken piece of painful history.

The biography of a famous Mexican painter

"Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo" by Hayden Herrera, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $24.89

Filled with a wealth of her life experiences, this biography of Frida Kahlo conveys her intelligence, strength, and artistry in a cohesive timeline. The book spans her childhood during the Mexican Revolution, the terrible accident that changed her life, and her passionate relationships, all while intertwining her paintings and their histories through her story.

The exciting biography of Susan Sontag

"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $20.24

Susan Sontag was a 20th-century writer, essayist, and cultural icon with a dark reputation. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, archived works, and photographs, this biography extends across Sontag's entire life while reading like an emotional and exciting literary drama.

The biography that inspired a hit musical

"Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $11.04

The inspiration for the similarly titled Broadway musical, this comprehensive biography of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton aims to tell the story of his decisions, sacrifice, and patriotism that led to many political and economic effects we still see today. In this history, readers encounter Hamilton's childhood friends, his highly public affair, and his dreams of American prosperity. 

The award-winning biography of an artistically influential man

"The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke" by Jeffrey C Stewart, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $25.71

Alain Locke was a writer, artist, and theorist who is known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Outlining his personal and private life, Alain Locke's biography is a blooming image of his art, his influences, and the far-reaching ways he promoted African American artistic and literary creations.

The remarkable biography of Ida B. Wells

"Ida: A Sword Among Lions" by Paula J. Giddings, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $15.99

This award-winning biography of Ida B. Wells is adored for its ability to celebrate Ida's crusade of activism and simultaneously highlight the racially driven abuses legally suffered by Black women in America during her lifetime. Ida traveled the country, exposing and opposing lynchings by reporting on the horrific acts and telling the stories of victims' communities and families. 

The tumultuous biography that radiates queer hope

"The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" by Randy Shilts, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $11.80

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official in California who was assassinated after 11 months in office. Harvey's inspirational biography is set against the rise of LGBTQIA+ activism in the 1970s, telling not only Harvey Milk's story but that of hope and perseverance in the queer community. 

The biography of a determined young woman

"Obachan: A Young Girl's Struggle for Freedom in Twentieth-Century Japan" by Tani Hanes, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $9.99

Written by her granddaughter, this biography of Mitsuko Hanamura is an amazing journey of an extraordinary and strong young woman. In 1929, Mitsuko was sent away to live with relatives at 13 and, at 15, forced into labor to help her family pay their debts. Determined to gain an education as well as her independence, Mitsuko's story is inspirational and emotional as she perseveres against abuse. 

The biography of an undocumented mother

"The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story" by Aaron Bobrow-Strain, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $18.40

Born in Mexico and growing up undocumented in Arizona, Aida Hernandez was a teen mother who dreamed of moving to New York. After being deported and separated from her child, Aida found herself back in Mexico, fighting to return to the United States and reunite with her son. This suspenseful biography follows Aida through immigration courts and detention centers on her determined journey that illuminates the flaws of the United States' immigration and justice systems.

The astounding biography of an inspiring woman

"The Black Rose: The Dramatic Story of Madam C.J. Walker, America's First Black Female Millionaire" by Tananarive Due, available on Amazon for $19

Madam C.J. Walker is most well-known as the first Black female millionaire, though she was also a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and born to former slaves in Louisiana. Researched and outlined by famous writer Alex Haley before his death, the book was written by author Tananarive Due, who brings Haley's work to life in this fascinating biography of an outstanding American pioneer.

A biography of the long-buried memories of a Hiroshima survivor

"Surviving Hiroshima: A Young Woman's Story" by Anthony Drago and Douglas Wellman, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $15.59

When Kaleria Palichikoff was a child, her family fled Russia for the safety of Japan until the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima when she was 22 years old. Struggling to survive in the wake of unimaginable devastation, Kaleria set out to help victims and treat the effects of radiation. As one of the few English-speaking survivors, Kaleria was interviewed extensively by the US Army and was finally able to make a new life for herself in America after the war.

A shocking biography of survival during World War II

"Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival" by Laura Hillenbrand, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $8.69

During World War II, Louis Zamperini was a lieutenant bombardier who crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 1943. Struggling to stay alive, Zamperini pulled himself to a life raft where he would face great trials of starvation, sharks, and enemy aircraft. This biography creates an image of Louis from boyhood to his military service and depicts a historical account of atrocities during World War II.  

The comprehensive biography of an infamous leader

"Mao: The Unknown Story" by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $15.39

Mao was a Chinese leader, a founder of the People's Republic of China, and a nearly 30-year chairman of the Chinese Communist Party until his death in 1976. Known as a highly controversial figure who would stop at very little in his plight to rule the world, the author spent nearly 10 years painstakingly researching and uncovering the painful truths surrounding his political rule.

The emotional biography of a Syrian refugee

"A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival" by Melissa Fleming, available on Amazon and Bookshop from $15.33

When Syrian refugee Doaa met Bassem, they decided to flee Egypt for Europe, becoming two of thousands seeking refuge and making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. After four days at sea, their ship was attacked and sank, leaving Doaa struggling to survive with two small children clinging to her and only a small inflation device around her wrist. This is an emotional biography about Doaa's strength and her dangerous and deadly journey towards freedom.

• Main content

25 Best Biographies of All Time: Discover History’s Most Intriguing Characters

by Yen Cabag | 2 comments

Biographies are stories of a person’s life written by someone who has thoroughly researched that individual.

This genre offers a great opportunity to learn about important figures, study the time period they lived in, and even understand more about the human condition.

When you’re choosing a biography to read, consider the people you admire, as well as the individuals you’d like to better understand.

What Are the Best Biographies to Read?

We’ve compiled a list of the best biographies to add to your reading list, featuring the life stories of people from all walks of life.

A Beautiful Mind  by Sylvia Nasar

The award-winning film A Beautiful Mind took its inspiration and content from this biography of John Nash, a well-renowned mathematician.

Nasar expertly follows Nash’s career, starting from MIT to his work at RAND Corporation. She also explores his battle against schizophrenia, a disorder that deeply challenged his life.

Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt by George Grant

This biography of former US president Theodore Roosevelt is divided into three parts: the first follows major events in his life in chronological order; the second focuses on the values he held most important; and the third includes famous quotes from the great leader.

Because Grant highlights Roosevelt’s commitment to family and children, Carry a Big Stick will challenge you to prioritize the important things in life.

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

Robert K. Massie, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Romanovs , Nicholas and Alexandra , and Peter the Great , showcases his writing prowess with this biography of Catherine the Great.

Massie follows the journey of this obscure German princess from a minor noble family role to empress of Russia.

She led the government, cultural development, and foreign policy of Russia for 34 years, facing foreign wars, domestic rebellion, and unmatched levels of violence and political change.

The author vividly brings many of Catherine’s family members and friends, enemies, and lovers to life in this fascinating narrative.

Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik

Robert Cwiklik writes about the life of Albert Einstein with a flair that will enchant both adults and children. He explores Einstein’s childhood and school experiences, luring readers into the emotional struggles that the young boy experienced.

Tracing his journey through college and adulthood, the book gives a good insight into the thought processes of this genius known for his unruly hair and ragged outfits.

Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill by Stephen Mansfield

Stephen Mansfield expertly portrays the life and works of respected historian Winston Churchill. With Churchill being among the few who called out the potential darkness in Adolf Hitler’s plans, Mansfield masterfully crafts the narrative behind the man’s thought processes.

The author traces Churchill’s difficult childhood of being unwanted by his father and needing to self-teach in order to advance in life.

Readers will learn how Churchill managed to beat the odds and rise to a position of influence that he wielded with unmatched skill and tenacity.

John Adams by David McCullough

Master historian David McCullough was probably the best person to write this riveting biography of America’s founding father. John Adams, who also became the second president of the United States, is a great inspiration to many young Americans.

McCullough reveals the man of brilliance through his powerful writing in this epic biography. Adams is known for not holding back when it came to his desire for the American Revolution, but he also kept his country from an unnecessary war.

This biography includes insights into politics, social issues, and war, as well as love, faith, friendship, and even betrayal.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow offers readers a look into the life of another primary figure in American history, Alexander Hamilton. This book is the first full-length biography on the man who helped shape America in its youngest years.

With Hamilton being one of the most controversial and misunderstood figures in American history, Chernow sets out to clear the facts about this man.

He presents the direct results of Hamilton’s unrelenting efforts to push his ideas, many of which were disputed greatly during his time.

The book starts with Hamilton’s childhood years as an illegitimate orphan who had much to learn on his own. Hailing from the Caribbean, he grew up to become George Washington’s aide-de-camp in the army.

Chernow shows Hamilton’s passion for patriotism, as well as his steady desire to build foundations for America’s growth and prosperity.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Former Time editor Walter Isaacson wrote this extraordinary biography of the legendary Steve Jobs through a series of more than 40 interviews that took place over two years.

Isaacson also took the time to interview more than 100 of Jobs’s family and friends, enemies and competitors, and colleagues.

The book traces the roller coaster journey of this amazing entrepreneur, highlighting his intense personality and unrivaled desire for perfection.

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

Isaacson once again proves his writing prowess with this biography of one of history’s greatest artists, Leonardo da Vinci.

This book covers not only da Vinci’s great masterpieces, but also delves into the heart of a genius. He portrays the great artist as a self-confident, self-taught entrepreneur: da Vinci never stopped promoting his abilities to wealthy benefactors.

Mozart: A Life by Peter Gay

Historian and National Book Award winner Peter Gay delivers this amazing biography of the world’s greatest composer.

This story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opens with an engaging narrative that delves into the personality of this musical genius. It also unveils many of the economic and political events that impacted his life.

Gay’s biography boldly tackles some of the myths around Mozart’s life. For example, rumors circulate that he was buried in a pauper’s grave and that he was poisoned by a musical rival.

Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Montefiore 2003 biography of Stalin explores what happens when leaders misuse and abuse their power. The writer boldly shows how Stalin came by his power through many violent, and even murderous, ways.

He includes several examples of how Stalin would initially reach out to others, such as fellow politicians or party members, but end up abandoning—or even eliminating them—as he pursued his own goals.

Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt

Stephen Greenblatt candidly explores the humble beginnings of this young man from a small provincial town who would take London by storm—and in a surprisingly short period of time, William rises to become the greatest playwright for generations.

The author gives readers insight to the boy’s highly sensitive nature, allowing us to experience the things he experienced in the richness of life in the Elizabethan era.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Henrietta Lacks, known among scientists as HeLa, did not know her cells would be so pivotal in the study of medicine, but in 1951, scientists took her cells and used them to develop a vaccine for polio and for intensive gene research.

Rebecca Skloot effectively explores the issues of race, ethics, and medicine by studying the life of this virtually unknown black tobacco farmer.

Her family remains in poverty, but scientists have bought and sold her cells by the billions. This biography also challenges readers with real questions from someone directly affected by genetic research.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln  by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Many biographers have undertaken a study of Abraham Lincoln’s life, but Doris Kearns Goodwin’s original take on Lincoln’s prowess in politics gives this biography a distinctive feel.

Goodwin traces Lincoln’s journey from congressman and prairie lawyer to his surprising rise over three great rivals in the national arena, as he became president of the United States. She delves into Lincoln’s character, which the author believes is key to his success.

Goodwin also honors Lincoln’s ability to empathize with others and feel compassion for their needs and desires, an important element in his ability to bring dissatisfied opponents to unity.

Norman Mailer: A Double Life by J. Michael Lennon

Celebrated public figure Norman Mailer was a journalist, novelist, filmmaker and biographer, and in this biography,  J. Michael Lennon effectively captures the ambition that drove this man.

Mailer dreamed not only of being one of the greatest writers in his generation, but to reach fame enough to rival Tolstoy or Dostoevsky.

Lennon describes Mailer, who prided himself as a novelist, as a gifted journalist who used his writing talent to dig into the American psyche. His 35 years of acquaintance with Mailer gave him an unusual look into the life of this driven man.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House  by Jon Meacham

Jon Meacham wrote a remarkable biography of Andrew Jackson, the man often credited with creating the “modern” presidency.

The orphaned Jackson rose from nothing, fighting his way to the heights of power and inspiring the nation to embrace democracy.

In 1828, Jackson’s election paved the way for a new era wherein the people, instead of the elite group, guided American politics.

Meacham uses newly discovered family letters and documents to detail the drama that affected the family and Jackson’s inner circle of advisers.

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

Laura Ingalls Wilder is best known for her Little House on the Prairie series of children’s historical novels. In Prairie Fires, Caroline Fraser takes a deeper look into the true story of Wilder’s life.

Using a collection of letters, unpublished manuscripts, diaries, and legal documents, Fraser crafts a masterpiece biography. She explores the details of Wilder’s real life struggle with poverty, hinted at in the Little House books.

Fraser also deals with the difficult relationship between Wilder and her journalist daughter Rose Wilder Lane, and addresses questions of ghostwriting that have surrounded her books.

The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

Generations ago, Professor James Murray led a team in the daunting task of collecting definitions to create the Oxford English Dictionary.

A man named Dr. W.C. Minor surprised the team by submitting more than 10,000 entries, but further astounded them when they learned that Minor was housed in an asylum for the criminally insane.

Simon Winchester shares the excellently researched life of two men driven by their obsessions, which led to the greatest contribution to American literary history.

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

Michael Finkel traces the journey of Christopher Knight, a shy 20-year-old who left his Massachusetts home back in 1986. After driving into Maine, Knight disappeared into the forest and did not meet another human being for the next thirty years.

The author conducted countless interviews with Knight in order to craft this detailed biography, exploring his motives and experiences.

His first foray back into civilization involved stealing food for survival, so Finkel also delves into these issues as he studied the life of the hermit.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand introduces us to Louis Zamperini, a stubborn delinquent boy who grew into an Olympic runner.

But World War II changes the trajectory of his life, with Zamperini becoming an airman and crashing into the Pacific Ocean one fateful day in May, 1943.

From a struggle in the open ocean, battling starvation and leaping sharks, Zamperini would show resourcefulness and resilience in the midst of hopelessness. Unbroken will inspire you to keep going despite the challenges of life.

The Lost City of Z by David Grann

British explorer Percy Fawcett became a legend when he went into the Amazon jungles in 1925 to search for a fabled civilization and never came back.

Expert journalist David Crann shares this narrative of Fawcett’s desire to find “The Lost City of Z,” where countless others likewise perished in their search for Fawcett and his party.

Through this book, he also unveils one of the greatest mysteries in 20th century exploration.

King of the World by David Remnick

When boxing legend Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay, stepped into the boxing ring in 1964, face to face with Sonny Liston, nobody knew he would emerge as the new world champion for heavyweight boxing.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Remnick, who also wrote Lenin’s Tomb, expertly captures the life of Ali, including all the drama that surrounds the life of this black man who ended up transforming America’s politics around race and culture.

He follows Ali’s matches throughout his career, giving us a glimpse into the courage, grace, speed, and humor of one of the world’s greatest athletes.

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday

The Chinese Cultural Revolution sent ripple effects across the world, but few know the life story of this enigmatic Chinese leader.

Jung Chang and Jon Halliday spent a decade researching and interviewing Mao Zedong’s circle of friends and family in China—a group that has remained largely mum over the years.

This provides this authoritative biography with telltale details, such as what really drove Mao, insight into his relationship with Stalin, and how he resorted to tricks and blackmail to achieve his goals.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson

Remarkably attractive Rosemary, daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy, enjoyed attending exclusive schools and was even presented to the Queen of England as a debutante. But the family guarded an important secret: the girl was intellectually disabled.

Kate Clifford Larson compassionately unveils this much adored girl, piecing information together from Rose Kennedy’s correspondence and letters, doctors’ and school letters, plus interviews with the family.

The author shares the sensitive care Rosemary’s parents gave to her, but also deals with the complexity the family had to face with their rising fame and Rosemary’s limitations.

25. Of Courage Undaunted: Across the Continent with Lewis and Clark by James Daugherty

This unique rendering of the adventures of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark comes to life with James Daugherty’s prowess as both a Newbery and Caldecott Medal winner. The book excellently traces the expedition extending from St. Louis to the West. 

Drawing from original records of the expedition, the biography shows us a clear look at the challenges Lewis and Clark faced in the wilderness, including the possibility of attack from Native Americans, sudden natural disasters, and other hardships. 

What Is the Importance of Biography?

Reading a biography can transport you to the life and times of a certain person. You get to see their thought processes, experiences, how they responded to their environment, and what shaped them as an individual.

This is an excellent and often entertaining way to study history and learn from the successes and failures of others. But biographies aren’t your only option—you can also get firsthand accounts of fascinating lives in the best memoirs .

Do you have a favorite biography? Tell us about it in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

• 20 Best Presidential Biographies to Read This President’s Day
• The 16 Best Memoirs to Read Right Now
• How to Write a Memoir: A Step by Step Guide
• 11 Best Books about History: Fascinating Reads for History Buffs

Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.

You really believe James Boswell’s “The Life of Samuel Johnson” doesn’t deserve a place here?

This is such an interesting mixture of biographies sure to provide great education. Thank you for creating it.

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75 Biographies to Read Before You Die

The Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari:

Wallow in the majesty of the greatest Italian Renaissance artists, such as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Giotto, Brunellschi, and others of lofty, lasting influence.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi:

Renowned graphic artist and cartoonist Marjane Satrapi ruminates on her childhood during the Iranian Revolution, expatriate experiences in a less-than-loving Europe, and return to a militant regime.

Naked at the Feast: A Biography of Josephine Baker by Lynn Haney:

While known primarily as a vaudevillian and muse to the likes of Pablo Picasso, the fabulous Josephine Baker also stood up for Civil Rights and La Resistance and smashed glass ceilings for women of African descent in Europe and America.

Jackson Pollock: An American Saga by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith:

Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith earned a Pulitzer for their look at the troubled life and ideologies behind the heavily influential abstract impressionist painter whose work was far, far more than "just drips."

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby:

As the editor-in-chief of Elle in France, Jean-Dominique Bauby chronicled the latest fashion triumphs and tragedies until a stroke rendered him largely catatonic. But his mind remained lucid, and he communicated using a system of blinks, which eventually led to this amazing biography of a fascinating, trendsetting life.

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin:

Comedy isn't easy, and some of the best, most influential practitioners worked hard and suffered worse in order to achieve even a sliver of what they have.

Just Kids by Patti Smith:

During the 1960s and 1970s, musician and poet Patti Smith and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe stood at the forefront of some major creative, political, and social changes, which the former chronicles in provocative and insightful detail.

Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal by John M. MacGregor:

Although this biography mostly covers the reclusive outsider artist's massive output of thousands of pages of illustrations and writing, his curious life story and almost magical energy for creation fully deserve contemplation.

Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda:

The art world's most famous patroness and cultural icon of the Renaissance era frequently attracted as many scorching detractors as she did ardent admirers, so a rich stew of myths managed to engulf her with time. But once the right historian launched a painstaking inquiry into her personal letters, the reality eventually emerged.

Philip Johnson: The Architect in His Own Words by Hilary Lewis and John O'Connor:

In a series of intimate interviews, a veritable supernova of architectural significance selects his 20 favorite works and explains the thought process behind them and why he considers them so personally and professionally important.

The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait by Frida Kahlo:

Beloved, passionate Frida Kahlo and her tragic, tumultuous life come to readers in her own unique voice and artwork, placing her laudable oeuvre in its proper context.

The Quitter by Harvey Pekar and Dean Haspiel:

Underground comics juggernaut Harvey Pekar of American Splendor fame shows fans the origins of his notoriously negative, but always provocative and insightful, outlook on life.

Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash:

Only the Man in Black himself could perfectly translate his transcendent badassitude from real life onto the printed page.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain:

Culinary arts still qualify as arts! Anthony Bourdain's deliciously snarky, candid autobiography explains his passionate relationship with food as well as the realities of working in a fancy-pants restaurant.

If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell:

Bruce Campbell wrote up a refreshing and fun glimpse into the Hollywood life from the perspective of a man perpetually in the throes of cult status — and, of course, absolutely loving every minute of it!

Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman:

This Pulitzer winner sees the acclaimed artist interviewing his father about his harrowing Holocaust experiences and eventual impact on his later family life.

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller:

Most people know the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who believed in her despite her visual and hearing impairments, but they don't always know about her later career as a hard-hitting activist campaigning for equal rights.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs:

Both Booker T. Washington's Up from Slavery and Frederick Douglass' The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass obviously deserve reading for insight into the experiences of slaves in America, but Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl exists as one of the only surviving autobiographies uniquely exploring the atrocities from a female perspective.

Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCort:

Ireland's saddening history of crushing poverty pops into startling life in this story of a Depression-era family struggling beneath a father whose alcoholism renders his wife and children desperate and an overarching sociopolitical climate with few opportunities to escape.

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung:

Loung Ung lived a charmed life thanks to her father's political clout, but the rise of the despotic Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge dismantled and destroyed everything when she was only five. Her family split, with the children forced into excruciating manual labor.

Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles by Anthony Swofford:

Members of the Armed Forces didn't just fight against the Iraqis during the first Gulf War — they also struggled against intense psychological, mental, emotional, and physical pressure almost as damaging as enemy fire.

Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsebet Bathory by Kimberly L. Craft:

Hungary's "Blood Countess" spawned a plethora of legends about her insatiable predilection for murder and possible vampirism (sorry, Twilight fans, but vampires aren't real) receives a more thorough investigation here, with primary documents either dispelling or confirming some of her more egregious crimes.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank:

During her family's stint hiding from Nazis in a cramped, Netherlands-based attic, 13-year-old (15 at the time of capture) Anne Frank kept a journal meant to bolster her spirits and attempt to make sense of a rapidly crumbling world.

Confessions by Saint Augustine:

Theological heavyweight St. Augustine of Hippo knew a thing or two about sinning, and his reflections on the past came to leave a huge impact on Catholicism. Which, in and of itself, has left a huge impact (for better and for worse) on world history.

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne:

Witness the downfall of the Comanche peoples through the eyes of their courageous, dedicated chief who just couldn't stand up to the raw power of firearms.

Comfort Woman: A Filipina's Story of Prostitution and Slavery Under the Japanese Military by Maria Rosa Henson:

During World War II, the Japanese armed forces imprisoned women from occupied territories and oppressed and raped them as prostitutes and sex slaves. At 15, Maria Rosa Henson found herself chained to such dehumanizing horrors, which she suppressed for nearly five decades before publishing.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah:

12-year-old Ishmael Beah came of age pressed into forced service as a child soldier as Sierra Leone's civil war swelled. He fought for the government, brainwashed and trained to murder rebels with an AK-47 if they dared to challenge the overarching authority.

Night by Elie Wiesel:

One of the most acclaimed, popular autobiographies of all time follows the author's survival at Auschwitz and subsequent trauma of losing everyone and everything he held dear.

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky:

Without the humble cod providing sustenance on long sea voyages, imperialism's reach never would have stretched as far as it did. Even non-humans leave enough of an impact on history to warrant biographies; they just don't make for the most engaging interview subjects.

Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker by Stacy A. Cordery:

The headstrong, hyperintelligent daughter of Teddy Roosevelt never let the prevailing arbitrary expectations of women stand in the way of her enjoyment of everything life had to offer — and not shying away from offering her opinions, either!

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou:

From a small Arkansas town to the streetcars of San Francisco, one of America's most beloved poets ruminates on the life that led her to such a stellar writing career.

Butterfly in the Typewriter: The Tragic Life of John Kennedy Toole and the Remarkable Story of A Confederacy of Dunces by Cory MacLauchlin:

The tragic, complex story behind A Confederacy of Dunces ‘ author and his posthumous publication is as incredible as the Pulitzer-winning novel itself.

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway:

Ernest Hemingway's time amongst the expatriates of Paris between World Wars is immortalized here, with stories of his friendships with Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Ezra Pound, and famously F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein:

Rather than penning a straight-up autobiography, celebrated modernist Gertrude Stein chose to reflect upon her life surrounded by the intellectual and creative elite through the lens of her secretary and lover Alice B. Toklas.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King:

Both an autobiography and a pretty handy-dandy guide to not writing terribly, the master of horror delivers a necessary read for English majors especially. Though, of course, anyone can benefit from his advice!

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi:

Half autobiography, half literary criticism, Reading Lolita in Tehran explores how reading groups kept a professor and her female students together as the Ayatollah Khomeini's rule suppressed their rights to an education.

Why be Happy when You Could be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson:

Oranges are Not the Only Fruit , a landmark of LGBTQIA literature, pulled considerably from author Jeanette Winterson's own personal traumas as the lesbian daughter of radically Pentecostal missionaries.

Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov:

This non-chronological memoir explores the controversial, but still beloved, writer's life in Russia prior to his American immigration.

Why this World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector by Benjamin Moser:

Celebrated existentialist and modernist Clarice Lispector's unusual life saw her transition from the struggling child of Ukranian immigrants to a quirky and beloved Brazilian literary superstar.

What I Talk about When I Talk about Running by Haruki Murakami:

Some of the greatest works of contemporary literature, like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles , Sputnik Sweetheart , and After Dark , burst into existence thanks to their author's passion for marathon training.

I.Asimov: A Memoir by Isaac Asimov:

Even readers who dislike science-fiction still witness Isaac Asimov's thumbprint in the popular culture surrounding them, so it pays to stay in the know about his life, works, and philosophies.

Rent Girl by Michelle Tea:

The Mission District in San Francisco serves as the piquant backdrop for the irreverent, hilarious, and honest writer Michelle Tea's straightforward memoir of prostitution, drug abuse, and the girlfriend who led her down that path.

Lucky: A Memoir by Alice Sebold:

During her freshman year at Syracuse, this bestselling author suffered a horrific rape by a stranger, and she frankly discusses both the trauma and the resulting painful healing and criminal justice process here.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers:

David Eggers' curious memoir mimics the natural state of memory, with plenty of bluntly admitted edits and embellishments meant to illustrate an overarching theme of veracity versus storytelling.

The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain:

Learn all about how one of the literary world's most razor-sharp wits approached his own writing and perceived the world around him with almost eerily keen insight.

The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto "Che" Guevara:

Before his rise to power as a Marxist guerilla in Argentina, this history-making medical student toured South America with a friend, an experience which eventually forged his political ideologies.

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama:

Long before he even considered running for president (much less actually winning!), Senator Barack Obama wrote a memoir regarding his upbringing as a mixed-race child in America, and the father he barely knew.

Gandhi: An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi:

Without ever once resorting to violence, Gandhi drove the British out of India and inspired later peaceful movements — most famously (in America, anyways) the Civil Rights era of the 1960s.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali:

After a fundamentalist terrorist threatened the author with murder, she fled oppression in order to speak out about women's rights under theocratic regimes — specifically Muslim — around the world.

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Clayborne Carson:

Historian Clayborne Carson compiled together the Civil Rights icon's own works into one revealing glimpse into his ideologies personal history.

Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert:

Seeing as how he kinda sorta led Great Britain through World War II, it's probably safe to assume that Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood as a rather important historical and political figure.

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela:

South Africa's first democratically-elected president formed one of the cornerstones of the anti-apartheid movement, eventually freeing indigenous peoples from the tyranny of European subjugation.

Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China by Ezra F. Vogel:

With or without China standing poised to swell into the next great hegemonic entity, it pays to know the political forces that shaped its current form. After Mao Zedong, nobody impacted the nation during the 20th century like Deng Xiaoping, who fronted the Communist Party of China and eventually dismantled the very economic system he fought so hard to implement.

The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk by Randy Shilts:

Prior to his shocking assassination, one of America's very first openly gay politicians worked tirelessly to ensure equal rights for his fellow San Franciscans back in the mid-1900s, setting the foundation for today's LGBT movements.

Hitch-22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens:

Razor-sharp, undeniably inflammatory political commentator Christopher Hitchens reveled in his frequently diametric views, and he dissects the origins of his myriad (not to mention vocal!) opinions here.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley:

One of the all-time bestselling memoirs hails from the American Civil Rights movement, where leader Malcolm X challenged the social injustices allowing for racism and segregation to keep perpetuating their ugly selves.

Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie:

Peter the Great began ruling Russia at only ten years of age in 1682, eventually instigating a cultural overhaul inspired by Western Europe's Renaissance ideologies.

The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi by Peter Popham:

Nobody symbolizes the painful struggle for Burmese democracy at the international level like this courageous woman and politico. Her extraordinary life has taken her around the world, earned her an Oxford education, numerous humanitarian awards (including the Nobel Peace Prize!), and famously involved a 15-year house arrest before the peoples voted her into Parliament in April 2012.

Barbara Jordan: An American Hero by Mary Beth Rogers:

As both an African-American and a woman, Barbara Jordan broke ground as a politician in the South — a region not exactly applauded for its history of racial tolerance and equality.

John Adams by David McCullough:

Although this Founding Father quite loathed politics, he still wound up the second American president and an influential statesman whose ideologies persist on into today.

Science and Technology

My inventions: the autobiography of nikola tesla by nikola tesla:.

Only recently did this brilliant, ahead-of-his-time inventor start receiving his proper due, and anyone wanting to play catch-up should check out his eloquent discussion of his early life and eventual inspirations.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) by Richard Feynman:

Even factoring out the whole "one of the most brilliant physicists of all time" thing, Richard Feynman definitely led an incredibly interesting life. Who else can brag about painting a naked toreador?

Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss:

Together, they discovered radium and polonium, won the Nobel Prize, and furthered humanity's understanding of what radiation meant and what it could do for numerous industries.

Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist by Adrian Desmond and James Moore:

Explore the experiences of one of the most unfairly controversial figures in the biological sciences far beyond the boundaries of his famed voyage with the H.M.S. Beagle , with keen insight into the Victorian culture what shunned and reviled him and the vestiges of that mindset remaining today.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch:

Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Randy Pausch used his final trip to the podium before pancreatic cancer claimed his life to deliver a message of hopes, dreams, and legacies.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot:

Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951, and a literally undying culture made from her cells eventually led to hundreds of astounding medical discoveries — including the polio virus. She never knew, nor did her family ever receive any financial compensation, and her startling legacy remained largely unknown until recently.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl:

Miraculously exiting Auschwitz, Kaufering, and Turkheim alive led to humanistic psychology juggernaut Viktor Frankl to establish some of the most significant social science theories established during the 20th century.

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnik with William L. Simon:

After breaking into some of the most sophisticated networks in the world, Kevin Mitnik decided to play with the FBI's encryption, leading to both a digital chase of crazy proportions and a lucrative partnership.

Find where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life by Mae Jemison:

The very first African-American woman in space also impressed her contemporaries (and the general public!) with additional success as a physician, professor, dancer, actress, and entrepreneur; she's a fantastic role model for any kid or adult who doesn't take too kindly to pigeonholing!

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson:

His name and visage may remain a staple of pop culture iconography, but average readers might not as know much of Albert Einstein's interesting life and contributions to science and humanity as they probably should.

My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor:

After suffering from a devastating stroke wreaking havoc on the left half of her brain, neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor considered the condition a uniquely first-person opportunity to research how the body's most important organ repairs itself after such a major and frightful trauma.

The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics by Robin Marantz Henig:

Genetics research continues pushing its way into the headlines as more and more researchers delve into the body's scientific coding, and it all started with a humble Moravian experimenting with the pea plants in his garden.

Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton by Richard S. Westfall:

Sir Isaac Newton's contributions to science, technology, and mathematics make him seem almost a myth than a man, but biographer Richard S. Westfall infuses his biography with plenty of very human moments to counteract this perception.

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn R. Saks:

Stereotypes continue accusing the mentally ill of incompetence and inferiority, a frankly stupid mindset USC psychology and law professor Elyn R. Saks has devoted her entire career to dismantling. Herself a schizophrenic, she speaks of these dangerous perspectives from personal and professional angles alike in both her memoir and her body of academic work.

The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson:

Copious charm, humor, and intelligence have all established Neil deGrasse Tyson's status as a beloved popular science figurehead who makes the mindbending realities of astrophysics accessible to a wider audience. His engaging autobiography delves into how he first discovered a passion for how the universe keeps a-spinnin' and eventually parlayed it into a career he just plain loves.

The Best Historical Biographies of Influential Figures and Events

From Ulysses S. Grant to Juneteenth, Sylvia Plath to James Baldwin, here are biographies that make you think again about famous historical events and trailblazers.

I was pondering—as one does—what makes history come alive, and I noticed listeners often say, “This is the biography X deserves!” when they love a title. Sometimes biographies are about multiple people or a famous event, but a great biography manages through deep research and narrative arc to provide a fresh take on a familiar subject. Here, I’ve curated my favorite biographies that reveal a “household name” in a whole new way in audio; all of them feature rich historic detail and unpausable, stellar narration. Enjoy!

Jesus Christ

By Reza Aslan

Narrated by Reza Aslan

A fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth....

To look at the historical Jesus within the context of Roman-occupied Palestine seems to fascinate everyone: Christians, atheists, and adherents to other religions. The author’s narration adds to the experience of Zealot .

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

By Jack Weatherford

Narrated by Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford

The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400....

It took an anthropologist—who spent years learning Mongolian, living on the steppes for a part of each year, and listening for the truth of Genghis Khan’s life—to flesh out a biography of a man whose life may actually have been bigger than his myth.

George Washington

You Never Forget Your First

By Alexis Coe

Narrated by Brittany Pressley, Alexis Coe

With irresistible style and warm humor, You Never Forget Your First combines rigorous research and lively storytelling that will have listeners - including those who thought presidential biographies were just for dads - inhaling every word....

The father of our country, up close and personal. Alexis Coe delves into primary sources to assemble a picture of Washington that includes but is not limited to the truth about those wooden teeth, his complex and loving relationship with family members, the enslaved people he owned, and of course his political and military wisdom.

Ulysses S. Grant

By Ron Chernow

Narrated by Mark Bramhall

Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant....

The Civil War didn’t win itself, people. Grant was a brilliant military supply problem-solver who inspired the loyalty of those he commanded, and he was an underrated president too. Ron Chernow’s prose and Mark Bramhall’s narration are both sublime!

On Juneteenth

By Annette Gordon-Reed

Narrated by Karen Chilton

The essential, sweeping story of Juneteenth’s integral importance to American history, as told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Texas native....

Almost everyone has heard of Juneteenth, but it took Annette Gordon-Reed’s essays to drive home the deep and multifaceted meaning of the holiday. Growing up in Texas, she shares how Juneteenth history is a part of her state’s, and our nation’s, history.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Prairie Fires

By Caroline Fraser

Narrated by Christina Moore

Since her wholesome familial autobiographies are almost universally read and nearly synonymous with her name, you might think you know all there is to know about Laura Ingalls Wilder. But through the unfiltered eye of an outsider, Prairie Fires brings the dramatic and tumultuous life of America’s most famous pioneer girl into full light for the first time. As the editor of the Library of America edition of the Little House series , author Caroline Fraser is perhaps more familiar with Ingalls Wilder than anyone else alive. Meanwhile, narrator Christina Moore’s broad background in children’s lit (you may recognize her as the voice behind classics like Practical Magic , Go Ask Alice , and Julie of the Wolves ) makes her the perfect selection to illuminate the woman behind one of the world’s most treasured storybook collections.

I love the Little House books, although they aren’t perfect. Prairie Fires explores how the real Ingalls family was playing a pioneer game they couldn’t win, and how Laura Ingalls Wilder overcame and transmuted her personal grief into beloved, and flawed, works of fiction.

Winston Churchill

The Splendid and the Vile

By Erik Larson

Narrated by John Lee, Erik Larson

John Lee is known for narrating some epic books: Ken Follet's Kingsbridge novels, Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers , and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. He's a narrator, actor, and producer who has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine. With over 500 audiobooks under his belt, he has plenty of experience narrating everything from epic fantasy to fascinating nonfiction.

I tried not to be a fan of this book (I was Churchill-ed out, I guess), but Editor Kat’s interview with Erik Larson, and John Lee’s narration, brought out the greatness of the story. I got chills when I listened to Churchill’s 1941 Christmas Eve speech (included in the audiobook), and to know what was behind it.

Nazi Scientist Diaspora

Operation Paperclip

By Annie Jacobsen

Narrated by Annie Jacobsen

Annie Jacobsen follows more than a dozen German scientists through their postwar lives and into one of the most complex, nefarious, and jealously guarded government secrets of the 20th century....

Annie Jacobsen draws upon declassified American and German documents to sketch out Operation Paperclip, the government program to repatriate (formerly?) Nazi scientists from the defunct Third Reich to America after World War II.

Alan Turing

Alan Turing: The Enigma

By Andrew Hodges

Narrated by Gordon Griffin

It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that the British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954) saved the Allies from the Nazis....

The genius of Alan Turing is as much about what he overcame as about what he accomplished. Bonus: This is the book upon which the film was based!

Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

By Rebecca Skloot

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Bahni Turpin

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences....

Henrietta Lacks wasn’t a household name when I was growing up, but she is now, thanks to this riveting bio. It traces the all-too-brief life of a poor Black mother with cancer, whose cells were used without her consent to pave the way for breakthroughs from the polio vaccine to cancer treatments.

Ethel Rosenberg

By Anne Sebba

Narrated by Orlagh Cassidy

New York Times best-selling author Anne Sebba's moving biography of Ethel Rosenberg, the wife and mother whose execution for espionage-related crimes defined the Cold War and horrified the world....

Executed after her conviction for conspiracy to commit espionage (not even actual espionage!), Ethel Rosenberg was more than a possible spy. Through her prison correspondence and other primary sources, she comes to life as a wife, a mother, an idealist, and a tragic personal story.

Sylvia Plath

By Heather Clark

Narrated by Laura Jennings

The highly anticipated new biography of Sylvia Plath that focuses on her remarkable literary and intellectual achievements, while restoring the woman behind the long-held myths about her life and art....

Red Comet was a revelation to me, the first biography of Sylvia Plath that centered the story on her artistic development, not her mental illness. It was a joy to get to know the poet as the beloved daughter of an immigrant family, an earnest aspiring artist, and—to paraphrase Virginia Woolf—“a mind that consumed all impediments” in her art.

James Baldwin

Begin Again

By Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

Narrated by Eddie S. Glaude

James Baldwin grew disillusioned by the failure of the civil rights movement to force America to confront its lies about race....

Eddie S. Glaude Jr. wrote so much more than a mere biography of James Baldwin. His appreciation for Baldwin’s crucible in the “after-times” of post-civil rights America taught me a lot about Baldwin’s life, and even more about how Baldwin’s lived experience can inform my own path as an ordinary citizen striving for a just society.

Charles Manson

By Tom O'Neill, Dan Piepenbring

Narrated by Kevin Stillwell

Over two grim nights in Los Angeles, the young followers of Charles Manson murdered seven people. Twenty years ago, when journalist Tom O'Neill was reporting a magazine piece about the murders, he worried there was nothing new to say. Then he unearthed shocking evidence of a cover-up....

Helter Skelter was a great story, but it’s not the end of the story, or even the whole story! Chaos puts Manson in context against the backdrop of a drug-soaked youth culture, the Hollywood power structure, and CIA investigations. 20 years in the making and worth the wait!

Jimmy Carter

His Very Best

By Jonathan Alter

Narrated by Michael Boatman

Jonathan Alter tells the epic story of an enigmatic man of faith and his improbable journey from barefoot boy to global icon. Alter paints an intimate and surprising portrait of the only president since Thomas Jefferson who can fairly be called a Renaissance Man, a complex figure....

Jonathan Alter collected thousands of hours of interviews with the Carter family and colleagues to assemble a rich, evenhanded, groundbreaking look at the life of a complex president. Amazingly, there’s no other comprehensive bio that covers Carter’s early life, his Navy career, his presidency, and his post-presidential humanitarian contributions. This one sounds like a novel.

And the Band Played On

By Randy Shilts

Narrated by Victor Bevine

And the Band Played On is both a tribute to these heroic people and a stinging indictment of the institutions that failed the nation so badly....

Victor Bevine’s narration brings to life the widespread grief and hard-won triumphs of the era when AIDS burst upon the world scene. Randy Shilts tells the heroic stories of individuals in science, politics, public health, and the gay community who struggled to alert the nation to the enormity of the danger it faced.

By Walter Isaacson

Narrated by Dylan Baker

From the author of the best-selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive biography of Steve Jobs....

Based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson explores the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

Summitting Mount Everest

Into Thin Air

By Jon Krakauer

Narrated by Philip Franklin

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author who was there (and luckily safe), Jon Krakauer. It’s the comprehensive “biography” of a tragedy, start to finish.

By Dave Cullen

Narrated by Don Leslie

"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror..."  So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders". It is a false script, seized upon by a generation of new killers....

What really happened on April 20, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we "know" is wrong. It wasn't about jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on the scene and spent 10 years on this book, which is widely recognized as the definitive account of the Columbine High School massacre. 

The Best Biography Audiobooks to Educate, Fascinate, and Inspire

We’ve rounded up the most impressive subjects, the best authors, and some expert narrators to bring you the best biography audiobooks available on the market.

100 Years Later, Uncovering the Truth About the Tulsa Race Massacre

The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 was one of the most despicable moments in US history, and it remained obscured for decades. In a growing selection of new books and podcasts, the story of what truly happened is coming to light.

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Best Biographies » Historical Biographies

Browse book recommendations:

Best Biographies

• Ancient Biographies
• Artists' Biographies
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• Literary Biographies
• Scientific Biographies

When you want to find out more about a historical or political figure, a biography is a great place to start. We have interviews dedicated to the best five books on historical figures —which can include primary sources, or books that focus on specific aspects of their life or legacy, as well as the story of their lives—but in this section, we have also included biographies of historical/political figures who don't yet have a dedicated interview on our site.

Best Spartacus biography Best Alexander the Great books Best Margaret Thatcher biography Best Joan of Arc biography Best books on Winston Churchill Best books on Elizabeth I Best Karl Marx Biography Best Eleanor of Aquitaine biography Best Isabella de' Medici biography The best books on Napoleon Bonaparte The best biography of Otto von Bismarck Best Catherine the Great biography The best books on Adolf Hitler The best Franco biography Best Books on Charles de Gaulle Best Florence Nightingale biography

Best books on Mahatma Gandhi Best Mao biography Best Indira Gandhi biography Best Aung San Suu Kyi biography (from 2011) Best Dalai Lama biography

Best Akhenaten biography Best Hatshepsut biography Best Haile Selassie biography Best books on Nelson Mandela Best Steve Biko biography

Best George Washington biography Best Martin Luther King biography Best Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt biography Best Sitting Bull biography Best Rachel Carson biography Best Amelia Earhart biography Best Frederick Douglass biography Best John F Kennedy biography (though this only covers the earlier years) Best Che Guevara biography Best Eva Peron biography Best Lula biography (from 2008)

The best books on Winston Churchill , recommended by Richard Toye

My early life 1874-1904 by winston churchill, churchill and the islamic world: orientalism, empire and diplomacy in the middle east by warren dockter, in command of history: churchill fighting and writing the second world war by david reynolds, churchill and the dardanelles by christopher m bell, winston churchill as i knew him by violet bonham carter.

Winston Churchill’s role as a global statesman remains immensely controversial. For some he was the heroic champion of liberty, saviour of the free world; for others a callous imperialist with a doleful legacy. Here, historian Richard Toye chooses the best books to help you understand the man behind the myths and Churchill's own role in making those myths.

Winston Churchill’s role as a global statesman remains immensely controversial. For some he was the heroic champion of liberty, saviour of the free world; for others a callous imperialist with a doleful legacy. Here, historian Richard Toye chooses the best books to help you understand the man behind the myths and Churchill’s own role in making those myths.

The Best Thomas Cromwell Books , recommended by Benedict King

Thomas cromwell: a life by diarmaid macculloch, the tudor constitution: documents and commentary by g r elton, the reformation parliament 1529-1536 by stanford e lehmberg, henry viii: the quest for fame by john guy, london and the reformation by susan brigden.

The Mirror and the Light— the final instalment of Hilary Mantel's epic trilogy covering the life of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister and architect of the English Reformation—was published to great acclaim this month. Here, Five Books contributing editor Benedict King chooses five of the best books to help you get to grips with the real Thomas Cromwell and the political and religious environment in which he operated. You can watch Benedict talking about his Thomas Cromwell book choices here.

The Mirror and the Light— the final instalment of Hilary Mantel’s epic trilogy covering the life of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister and architect of the English Reformation—was published to great acclaim this month. Here, Five Books contributing editor Benedict King chooses five of the best books to help you get to grips with the real Thomas Cromwell and the political and religious environment in which he operated. You can watch Benedict talking about his Thomas Cromwell book choices here.

The best books on Alexander the Great , recommended by Hugh Bowden

Alexander the great: the anabasis and the indica by arrian, the history of alexander by quintus curtius rufus, the first european: a history of alexander in the age of empire by pierre briant, the persian empire: a corpus of sources from the achaemenid period by amélie kuhrt, fire from heaven by mary renault.

Alexander the Great never lost a battle and established an empire that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent. From the earliest times, historians have argued about the nature of his achievements and what his failings were, both as a man and as a political leader. Here, Hugh Bowden , professor of ancient history at King's College London, chooses five books to help you understand the controversies, the man behind the legends, and why the legends have taken the forms they have.

Alexander the Great never lost a battle and established an empire that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent. From the earliest times, historians have argued about the nature of his achievements and what his failings were, both as a man and as a political leader. Here, Hugh Bowden , professor of ancient history at King’s College London, chooses five books to help you understand the controversies, the man behind the legends, and why the legends have taken the forms they have.

The best books on Napoleon , recommended by Andrew Roberts

The campaigns of napoleon by david g chandler, talleyrand by duff cooper, with eagles to glory: napoleon and his german allies in the 1809 campaign by john h gill, private memoirs of the court of napoleon by louis françois joseph bausset-roquefort, with napoleon in russia: memoirs of general de caulaincourt, duke of vicenza by armand de caulaincourt.

How did Napoleon Bonaparte, an upstart Corsican, go on to conquer half of Europe in the 16 years of his rule? Was he a military genius? And was he really that short? Historian Andrew Roberts , author of a bestselling biography of Napoleon , introduces us to the books that shaped how he sees l'Empereur —including little-known sources from those who knew Napoleon personally. Read more history book recommendations on Five Books

How did Napoleon Bonaparte, an upstart Corsican, go on to conquer half of Europe in the 16 years of his rule? Was he a military genius? And was he really that short? Historian Andrew Roberts, author of a bestselling biography of Napoleon , introduces us to the books that shaped how he sees l’Empereur —including little-known sources from those who knew Napoleon personally. Read more history book recommendations on Five Books

The best books on Gandhi , recommended by Ramachandra Guha

My days with gandhi by nirmal kumar bose, a week with gandhi by louis fischer, mahatma gandhi: nonviolent power in action by dennis dalton, gandhi's religion: a homespun shawl by j. t. f. jordens, harilal gandhi: a life by chandulal bhagubhai.

Gandhi's peaceful resistance to British rule changed India and inspired freedom movements around the globe. But as well as being an inspiring leader, Gandhi was also a human being. Ramachandra Guha , author of a new two-part biography of Gandhi, introduces us to books that give a fuller picture of the man who came to be known as 'Mahatma' Gandhi.

Gandhi’s peaceful resistance to British rule changed India and inspired freedom movements around the globe. But as well as being an inspiring leader, Gandhi was also a human being. Ramachandra Guha, author of a new two-part biography of Gandhi, introduces us to books that give a fuller picture of the man who came to be known as ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi.

The best books on Marx and Marxism , recommended by Terrell Carver

Karl marx by isaiah berlin, karl marx: his life and thought by david mclellan, karl marx's theory of history by g. a. cohen, the young karl marx by david leopold, karl marx: a nineteenth-century life by jonathan sperber.

Few people have had their ideas reinvented as many times as the German intellectual and political activist, Karl Marx. Professor of political theory, Terrell Carver , takes us through the most influential books, in English, about Marx, Marxism and his friend, publicist and financial backer, Friedrich Engels.

Few people have had their ideas reinvented as many times as the German intellectual and political activist, Karl Marx. Professor of political theory, Terrell Carver, takes us through the most influential books, in English, about Marx, Marxism and his friend, publicist and financial backer, Friedrich Engels.

The best books on British Prime Ministers , recommended by Anthony Seldon

Baldwin by keith middlemas and john barnes, lloyd george by john grigg, winston s churchill by martin gilbert, supermac by dr thorpe, margaret thatcher by john campbell.

It's their frailty that makes politicians such interesting characters, says Tony Blair's biographer Anthony Seldon . He tells us about the art of political biography and the writers who've best captured leaders such as Churchill and Thatcher

It’s their frailty that makes politicians such interesting characters, says Tony Blair’s biographer Anthony Seldon. He tells us about the art of political biography and the writers who’ve best captured leaders such as Churchill and Thatcher

The best books on The Kennedys , recommended by David Nasaw

Hostage to fortune: the letters of joseph p. kennedy by amanda smith (editor), conversations with kennedy by benjamin c. bradlee, robert kennedy and his times by arthur m. schlesinger, jr., jfk: reckless youth by nigel hamilton, true compass by edward m. kennedy.

The story and tragedy of the Kennedys is so incredible you don't need to turn to fiction, says the biographer of Joseph P Kennedy, David Nasaw . He talks us through the Kennedy generations.

The story and tragedy of the Kennedys is so incredible you don’t need to turn to fiction, says the biographer of Joseph P Kennedy, David Nasaw. He talks us through the Kennedy generations.

The best books on Hitler , recommended by Michael Burleigh

The fuehrer by konrad heiden, hitler’s vienna by brigitte hamann, hitler: the fuhrer and the people by j p stern, the hitler myth by ian kershaw, hitler by joachim fest.

Hitler has a reputation as the incarnation of evil. But, as British historian Michael Burleigh points out in selecting the best books on the German dictator, Hitler was a bizarre and strangely empty character who never did a proper day's work in his life, as well as a raving fantasist on to whom Germans were able to project their longings.

Hitler has a reputation as the incarnation of evil. But, as British historian Michael Burleigh points out in selecting the best books on the German dictator, Hitler was a bizarre and strangely empty character who never did a proper day’s work in his life, as well as a raving fantasist on to whom Germans were able to project their longings.

The best books on The French Resistance , recommended by Jonathan Fenby

Churchill and de gaulle by françois kersaudy, assignment to catastrophe by edward spears, the resistance by matthew cobb, l’armée des ombres (army of shadows) by jean-pierre melville, bad faith: a history of family and fatherland by carmen callil.

The historian and author chooses five books on de Gaulle and the Resistance. He says the British tried to veto de Gaulle’s famous 1940 speech from London calling on the French to stand up to German occupation

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

© Five Books 2024

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75 Best Biographies of All Time

Biographies and autobiographies give us an insight into the human condition, allowing us to see the world in a different way. Reading how fascinating people overcame their problems and made new discoveries can help us to see a way forward in our lives. As the Open Education Database (OEDb) puts it: "If we can't learn from experience, we can at least learn from the experiences of other people."

The OEDb's list of the 75 biographies to read before you die covers literature, politics, science, the arts and history, and includes household names such as Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Helen Keller, as well as lesser-known historical figures such as Maria Rosa Henson and Henry Darger, plus a woman reputed to be both a vampire and the world's worst female serial killer.

<small> Newsweek has affiliate partnerships so if you make a purchase using our links, we may earn a share of the sale.

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Best Biographies of All Time: Top 20 Most Interesting Reads

Kathy Edens

Have you ever read a biography that was gripping enough to keep you turning pages long after you should’ve been asleep? If not, then maybe you’re not reading the right books.

We culled the best of the best from over a half dozen sources, and still can’t capture all the great biographies worth reading.

Here, in no particular order, are the best biographies that read as good as, if not better than, fiction.

Final Thoughts

1. unbroken: a world war ii story of survival, resilience and redemption by laura hillenbrand.

At once devastating and uplifting, Unbroken is the story of Louis Zamperini, from his incorrigible boyhood actions to the sport that turned him around and led him to the Olympics.

But then WWII came calling, changing Louis and testing his endurance and ingenuity. The story comes full circle when, decades later, Zamperini returns to Japan, not as a POW, but as an honored guest at the Olympics.

2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Henrietta herself didn’t lead a glamorous life, but her cells, taken without her knowledge, have led to such ground-breaking accomplishments as the polio vaccine.

These cells, known as HeLa, are one of the most important tools in medicine and have been bought and sold by the billions. They are still alive today, over sixty years after Henrietta’s death.

3. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

Fiction couldn’t be as suspenseful and seductive as this real story about a death in one of Savannah’s grandest mansions in 1981. Was it murder or self-defense?

Peeling the curtain back on well-bred society ladies, gigolos, and a Southern belle who epitomizes "the soul of pampered self-absorption," this book has everything from drag queens to a voodoo priestess. You can’t make this stuff up.

4. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Imagine a young, well-to-do man who gave away all his money, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, then hitchhiked to Alaska and disappeared into the wilderness.

Four months later, hunters found his decomposed remains. This book tells the story of Christopher Johnson McCandless and his death in the wild.

5. Martin Heidegger: Between Good and Evil by Rüdiger Safranski

Heidegger, a great philosopher without whom there would be no Sartre or Foucault, also had many failures and flaws.

He made a pact with the devil, Adolf Hitler, and teetered between good and evil, brilliance and blindness. This book chronicles his ideas and his personal commitments and betrayals.

6. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Based on over forty interviews with Jobs and hundreds with family, friends, colleagues, competitors, and adversaries, Walter Isaacson’s biography reads like a roller coaster ride.

This is the unvarnished truth: Jobs cooperated, but had no control over what Isaacson wrote or even the right to read it before publication. Nothing was off-limits.

7. John Adams by David McCullough

John Adams was not just one of the founding fathers; he was a brilliant, fiercely independent, and always honest patriot totally committed to the American Revolution. McCullough intertwines politics, war, and social issues with love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, and betrayal to create one book you can’t put down.

8. Savage Beauty by Nancy Milford

Edna St. Vincent Millay was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. She lived a flamboyant life in the Jazz Age alongside other literary heroes like F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Milford goes underneath the dazzling performance Edna puts on for the crowds and uncovers a rich and deep family connection between the three Millay sisters and their mother. One reviewer described it as a little bit Little Women with a touch of Mommy Dearest .

9. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary was a thoroughly ambitious project that collected definitions from around the world.

There was one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, who contributed over 10,000, but the overseeing committee was stunned when they tracked him down to honor him. Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

10. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

Another vivid story about a brilliant man teetering between genius and madness, this book reads like a suspense novel but is the true story of John Nash, a mathematical genius who slipped into madness.

Thanks to the support and loyalty of Nash’s admirers, he eventually won a Nobel Prize for triggering the game theory revolution.

11. Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt

An interesting insight into how a young man from a small provincial town moves to London in the 1500s and becomes the greatest playwright of all time.

Showing Shakespeare as an acutely sensitive and talented boy, Greenblatt helps you see, hear, and feel how he became the world-renowned playwright against the rich backdrop of Elizabethan life.

12. Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston

Author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston tells the gripping and horrifying story of one of the last-known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade.

This is the story of Cudjo Lewis, abducted from Africa and put on the last "Black Cargo" ship to arrive in the United States. Lewis was captured and put in bondage fifty years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in the United States.

13. The Man Who Knew Infinity by Robert Kanigel

In 1913, a young unschooled Indian clerk wrote a letter to G. H. Hardy, a pre-eminent English mathematician, with several ideas about numbers.

Hardy realized the boy’s genius and arranged for Srinivasa Ramanujan to come to England. From the temples and slums of Madras to the courts and chapels of Cambridge University, the story of their journey together is inspiring and magical.

14. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was a woman of extreme magnetism and originality thanks to her childhood experiences near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution.

From a devastating accident that left her crippled and unable to bear children to her tempestuous marriage and intermittent love affairs, this is an extraordinary story of a 20th century woman who has become a legend.

15. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

During the Civil Rights Movement, no one knew the story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians and their role in the space program.

Before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, this group, called the "Human Computers," calculated the flight paths that would lead to historic achievements.

16. John Brown by W.E.B. Du Bois

A groundbreaking political biography, John Brown moved Du Bois from his comfortable life as an academic to a lifelong career in social activism.

John Brown was the first Caucasian man willing to die for the rights of black people. The narrative Du Bois presents is compelling and one that is rarely presented in our history books.

17. Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite With His Mother by Sonia Nazario

Award-winning journalist Nazario tells the vivid and engaging story of a Honduran boy’s unforgettable odyssey to reach his mother in the United States.

He has no money and only a slip of paper with his mother’s US telephone number. Enrique makes the hard and dangerous journey from Mexico the only way he knows how—clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains.

18. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

In an interesting twist to the usual depiction of bloodthirsty pillagers, Weatherford shows how Genghis Khan introduced many progressive advancements to the societies he conquered.

Khan abolished torture, brought universal religious freedom, and destroyed feudal systems wherever he went. This is an engaging story of how he helped form the Mongol empire.

19. Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram

Boyd was a world-class fighter pilot whose machinations changed warfare and strategy not only in the air but on the ground and at sea.

He is the founder of our modern concept of maneuver warfare, and his way of analyzing and solving problems is used today in corporate boardrooms.

20. Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook

Most first ladies didn’t do much beyond party planning, but Eleanor Roosevelt wanted to get things done.

Cook brings Roosevelt to life and shines a light on her political and social acumen in turning a meaningless position into one of power to influence and make change.

We didn’t want to stop here; there are so many more you should read. Let’s get a comprehensive list going in the comments below. What other unforgettable biographies did we miss?

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Kathy Edens is a blogger, a ghost writer, and content master who loves writing about anything and everything. Check out her books The Novel-Writing Training Plan: 17 Steps to Get Your Ideas in Shape for the Marathon of Writing and Creating Legends: How to Craft Characters Readers Adore... or Despise.

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The Best Biographies of Historical Figures

We’re on a mission to uncover the best biographies of historical figures. There’s something special about biographies. They give us a chance to step into somebody else’s shoes and see the world from their perspective. We can learn about their successes and their failures, their motivations and their fears. In many ways, biographies are like time machines that allow us to travel back in history and get to know some of its most important figures.

Of course, not all biographies are created equal. Some are better than others at giving us a well-rounded picture of their subject. And some are simply more enjoyable to read. With that in mind, here are some of the best biographies of historical figures to ever be published. Whether you’re interested in politics, science, or art, these books will give you incredible insight. Let’s get to it!

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Biographies are always interesting to read. They give us a chance to learn about someone’s life, their accomplishments, and what we can learn from them. The biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is no different. Hamilton was one of the most important figures in American history. He was a major contributor to the Constitution, the founder of the financial system of America, and the first Secretary of the Treasury. What’s more, his story is an inspiring one.

He was born in the West Indies and orphaned at a young age. He came to America as a poor boy with no prospects and rose to become one of the most influential men in the country. His story is a testament to the power of hard work and determination.

Queen Victoria by Elizabeth Longford

In her bestselling biography, Elizabeth Longford presents a stunning portrait of one of history’s most remarkable women – Queen Victoria. Born in 1819, Victoria was just eighteen when she ascended the throne. During her sixty-three-year reign, she oversaw a period of unprecedented change, transforming Britain into a powerful industrialized nation. Yet for all her achievements, Victoria remains an enigma.

In this definitive biography, Longford draws on a wealth of primary sources to paint a vivid picture of the Queen’s private life and public persona. We learn about her difficult childhood, her passionate marriage to Prince Albert, and her relationships with her children and grandchildren. Longford also sheds light on Victoria’s complex personality, exploring both her strengths and weaknesses.

Albert Einstein by Walter Isaacson

Albert Einstein is one of the most famous physicists in history. He is best known for his theory of relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of the universe. He also made important contributions to quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. In addition to his scientific work, Einstein was also a committed pacifist and human rights activist.

His biography, Albert Einstein by Walter Isaacson, recounts his extraordinary life and achievements. It is an inspiring read for anyone interested in science or history. Einstein’s story reminds us that great minds can change the world.

Madame Curie: A Biography by Eve Curie

Edwin Currie’s biography of Marie Curie, “Madame Curie: A Biography”, offers readers a glimpse into the life of one of the most renowned scientists of her time. Born in Poland in 1867, Marie Curie was a naturalized French citizen who conducted groundbreaking research on radioactivity.

She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and she is one of only two people to have won the Nobel Prize in two different fields (the other being Linus Pauling). Curie’s work has had a lasting impact on the field of science, and her story is an inspiration to all who are passionate about learning. Reading about her life, we can learn about her determination in the face of adversity, and her dedication to learning.

The Dead Are Arising by Les Payne

If you’re looking for a fascinating read, you can’t go wrong with biographies. And one biographical subject that is particularly compelling is Malcolm X. In The Dead Are Arising, Les Payne provides an in-depth look at the life of this influential figure. Born Malcolm Little in 1925, Malcolm X was a key leader of the Civil Rights Movement.

He was known for his passionate speeches and his commitment to equality and justice for all people. Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, but his legacy continues to inspire new generations. Reading biographies like The Dead Are Arising can help us to learn about the past and to be inspired by those who have fought for change.

Begin Again by Eddie S. Glaude

James Baldwin was an American writer and social critic. His biographies, essays, and novels examine the complexities of race, sexual orientation, and class in America. Baldwin’s work is highly respected and continues to be relevant today. Begin Again is a detailed account of Baldwin’s life, from his early years growing up in Harlem to his later years living in France.

It offers insights into his thought process and the personal struggles he dealt with throughout his life. Reading this biography can help us to better understand race relations in America and the importance of fighting for social justice. It is an inspiring story of one man’s journey to find his identity and voice, and it reminds us that progress is always possible if we are willing to fight for it.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis

Mrs. Rosa Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the world knows for her pivotal role Montgomery Bus Boycott. reading her biography would allow individuals to get a greater understanding of who she was, her upbringing and what drove her passions. Mrs. Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913 and she passed away on October 24, 2005, at the age of 92.

For those who are passionate about reading books, this is one biography that would teach its readers a lot about strength, resistance and perseverance in the face of racism and oppression. Learning about Mrs. Parks would remind everyone that one person really can make a difference in society.

Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert

Reading Winston Churchill’s biography is like sitting down with one of the most fascinating people of the 20th century. You learn about his childhood, his military campaigns, his political career, and his relationships with other world leaders. What’s more, you get to experience Churchill’s wit and wisdom firsthand, in Gilbert’s clear and engaging prose.

Reading Churchill’s biography is not only a great way to learn about one of the most important figures of the last century, but also to gain insights into leadership , courage, and determination. If you’re looking for a book that will both educate and entertain, Churchill: A Life is a great choice.

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton

Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and humanitarian. She was born into slavery but escaped and went on to help hundreds of other slaves escape via the Underground Railroad. Her story is one of courage and determination, and reading her biography can teach us a lot about these important qualities. Tubman risked her life on countless occasions to help others, and she never gave up in the face of adversity.

Her story is an inspiration to us all and a reminder that even one person can make a difference in the world. If you’re looking for a book that will inspire you, look no further than Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton.

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Reading Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin can teach us a lot about the life of Abraham Lincoln. For one, it can give us insight into what made him such a successful president. In addition, reading about his life can also help us to understand the Civil War and the impact that it had on the country. Finally, reading this biography can also inspire us to be better people.

By reading about Lincoln’s life, we can learn how he overcame adversity and rose to the challenge of leading the country during its darkest hour. In doing so, we can be inspired to meet our own challenges with courage and grace.

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang

Mao: The Unknown Story is a 2005 biographical book about Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong, written by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday. Chang and Halliday describe Mao as a “ monster ” who was responsible for more deaths than any other 20th-century leader. They argue that Mao’s actions caused the deaths of up to 70 million people. It remains one of the most popular books about Mao and continues to be widely read.

Reading this biography, we can learn about Mao’s life, his actions and their consequences, and the human cost of his regime. In doing so, we can gain a better understanding of one of the most infamous world leaders of all time.

Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history, having served for more than six decades. Born in 1926, she became Queen at the age of just 25, following the death of her father, King George VI. Throughout her reign, she has been a constant presence on the world stage, embodying strength and stability in times of turbulence and change.

In her biography, Elizabeth the Queen, Sally Bedell Smith brings readers behind the scenes of the royal family, providing an intimate and insightful look at one of the most famous women in the world. Through Smith’s detailed account of Elizabeth’s life, we learn not only about her extraordinary accomplishments but also about her values and the lessons she has learned over the course of her long reign.

Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt

Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt is a detailed account of the life of William Shakespeare. Born in 1564, Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet , and actor who is widely considered to be one of the greatest writers in the English language. Shakespeare’s plays have been performed on stage and screen for centuries, and his works are still studied and performed today.

In addition to his plays, Shakespeare also wrote several poems, including Sonnets 18 and 116. reading Will in the World can give us a better understanding of Shakespeare’s life and work, as well as the historical context in which he lived. In addition, reading biographies can help us to understand the lives of other important figures in history.

Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly

Most people know Bruce Lee as a kung fu master and movie star, but few know the story of his life. In Bruce Lee: A Life, Matthew Polly delves into the fascinating details of Lee’s short but action-packed life. Born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, Lee was raised in Hong Kong and exposed to the vibrant world of kung fu films.

When he was eighteen, he returned to the United States to attend college, where he quickly made a name for himself as a skilled fighter. After a stint in Hollywood, Lee returned to Hong Kong to make films that would revolutionize the martial arts genre. Tragically, Lee died at the age of thirty-two, just as his career was taking off.

Amelia Earhart: A Life from Beginning to End

Amelia Earhart was one of the most celebrated aviators in history. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and she set numerous other aviation records during her career. Despite her accomplishments, Earhart remains best known for her mysterious disappearance during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937. Amelia Earhart was born in Kansas in 1897.

She developed a love for reading at an early age, and her favourite books were about adventure and exploration . After taking her first flying lesson at the age of 23, she quickly fell in love with aviation. In 1928, she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic by plane. She made several more solo flights over the next few years.

Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha

Gandhi is one of the most inspirational and widely-read books out there. It tells the story of Gandhi’s life, from his early years in South Africa to his leading role in India ’s independence movement. Guha’s biography is both an intimate portrait of Gandhi as a man and a detailed account of his political ideology and achievements. Reading Gandhi can be an eye-opening experience for anyone interested in history, politics or religion.

The book offers valuable insights into the mind of one of the twentieth century’s most influential figures and provides a window into the world of India during a tumultuous period in its history. Whether you’re looking to learn more about Gandhi or simply want to be inspired by his life, reading Gandhi is a worthwhile endeavour.

Mother Teresa by Kathryn Spink

Kathryn Spink’s Mother Teresa: A Biography is an informative and moving account of the life of one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable women. Born in Albania in 1910, Mother Teresa spent her early years in Skopje before moving to India, where she joined the Sisters of Loreto. For the next 46 years, she worked tirelessly amongst the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, establishing a network of homes for the sick and dying, and winning worldwide admiration for her selfless dedication to her mission.

In her later years, Mother Teresa became an increasingly vocal opponent of poverty and injustice and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In this clear and concise biography, Spink skilfully captures the essential spirit of Mother Teresa.

Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy

When you think of Julius Caesar, you might think of a great military leader or a powerful politician . But what do we really know about him? Adrian Goldsworthy’s biography, Caesar: Life of a Colossus, offers a detailed and comprehensive look at the life of one of history’s most fascinating figures. Goldsworthy draws on a wealth of primary sources to paint a picture of who Julius Caesar was, what he did, and why he matters.

Reading this biography, we learn about Caesar’s humble beginnings and his rise to power. We see his military exploits and his political acumen. And we get a glimpse into the mind of a truly remarkable man. In reading Goldsworthy’s biography, we come to better understand not only Julius

John Adams by David McCullough

David McCullough’s John Adams is a reading-list staple for a reason: It’s an incredibly detailed and thorough biography of one of the most important founding fathers. At over 900 pages, it’s not a quick read, but McCullough’s writing is engaging and readable, making it well worth the time investment. Adams was an instrumental figure in both the American Revolution and the early days of the Republic, and his story is a fascinating one.

Through Adams, we learn about the sacrifices and challenges that were faced by the founding generation, and we gain a greater understanding of the principles that they fought for. In a time when our country is once again grappling with divisive issues, John Adams is a reminder of what it means to be an American.

Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton

Princess Diana was one of the most photographed women in the world and her every move was followed by the paparazzi. She was adored by many and her untimely death shocked the world. In reading Diana: Her True Story, we learn about the Princess’s difficult childhood, her loveless marriage to Prince Charles, and the immense pressure she felt from being in the public eye.

The book also offers a glimpse into her private life, such as her relationships with her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. By reading Diana’s story, we see that she was a complex woman who was struggling with many personal demons. Despite this, she was able to use her platform to champion causes that were important to her.

Martin Luther King: A Life by Marshall Frady

Anyone who is interested in reading a fascinating and detailed biography of one of the most important figures in American history should pick up a copy of Martin Luther King: A Life by Marshall Frady. This book provides an in-depth look at the life and work of Dr. King, from his early years as a preacher in the segregated South to his leadership of the Civil Rights Movement and eventual assassination.

Along the way, readers will learn about the obstacles King faced and overcame, the principles he fought for, and the legacy he left behind. In addition to being an informative read, Martin Luther King: A Life is also an inspiring story that reminds us of what one person can accomplish when they stand up for what they believe in.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is a 2004 biography of Genghis Khan by Jack Weatherford. The book covers Genghis Khan’s life, his conquests, and his legacy. Weatherford argues that Genghis Khan was one of the most important figures in world history and that his legacy has been largely misunderstood.

The book has been praised for its accessibility and its insights into the life of Genghis Khan. Weatherford provides a detailed account of Genghis Khan’s life, from his childhood as a nomad in Mongolia to his death as the ruler of the largest empire in history. He paints a picture of a complex and nuanced individual, whose vision and leadership were instrumental in forging the modern world.

Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges

Reading Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges is a great way to learn about one of the most important figures in computer science. Alan Turing was a British mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of code-breaking during World War II. He also developed the influential theory of computation, which laid the foundations for the modern computer.

Turing’s life was cut short by tragedy, but his legacy continues to shape the world of computing. Reading his biography can give us a better understanding of his remarkable achievements and how they continue to impact our lives today.

Frida by Hayden Herrera

Most people know Frida Kahlo as a famous Mexican artist , but her life was so much more than that. Born in 1907, Frida was a rebellious spirit from an early age. She was determined to forge her own path in life, and this is evident in her art. After a devastating bus accident left her with many injuries, she turned to painting as a form of self-expression.

Her paintings often contained elements of Mexican culture, as well as autobiographical elements. reading her biography can teach us a lot about determination, resilience, and the power of self-expression.

Being Elvis: A Lonely Life by Ray Connolly

One could learn a lot about who Elvis was and what he is known for by reading his biography, Being Elvis: A Lonely Life. In the book, Ray Connolly details Elvis’ life, starting from his upbringing in Tupelo, Mississippi to his meteoric rise to fame in the 1950s.

In addition to chronicling Elvis’ accomplishments, the book also delves into the personal struggles that he faced throughout his life. By reading Being Elvis: A Lonely Life, readers can gain a greater understanding of both the man and the legend.

Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts

Napoleon is one of the most well-known historical figures, and for good reason. He was a skilled military leader who conquered much of Europe, and his legacy has been the subject of countless books and movies. Napoleon’s life is a fascinating story, and reading about it can teach us a lot about history, war, and politics.

Andrew Roberts’ biography Napoleon: A Life is considered to be one of the best books about Napoleon, and it provides a detailed account of his life, from his humble beginnings to his ultimate downfall. If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating figure, then reading Napoleon: A Life is a great place to start.

Pablo Escobar: My Father by Juan Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar was one of the most notorious drug lords of all time. He was responsible for smuggling tons of cocaine into the United States, and his empire was worth billions of dollars. He was also notoriously violent, and he is believed to have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.

Juan Pablo Escobar is Pablo’s son, and in his biography, he gives us a rare glimpse into the life of a cartel leader. He tells us about his father’s childhood and how he got involved in the drug trade. He also tells us about the inner workings of the cartel and what it was like to live in constant fear of being killed. This book is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the mind of a criminal.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Steve Jobs was an iconic figure in the world of technology. He was the co-founder of Apple and revolutionized the way we use computers and other devices. He was also known for his strong vision and dedication to his work. In Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, readers can learn about Jobs’s life, his impact on the world of technology, and the lessons he learned along the way.

The book offers an intimate look at Jobs, both his successes and his failures. It is an inspiring story of a man who changed the world and left a lasting legacy.

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

John Forbes Nash was an American mathematician who made significant contributions to game theory, differential geometry, and economics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994. Nash is also known for his work on the Nash equilibrium, a concept that has important implications for both game theory and economics. reading his biography can teach us a lot about his life and work.

Nash was born in 1928 in Bluefield, West Virginia. His father was an electrical engineer and his mother was a schoolteacher. He attended Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He then went on to Princeton University, where he received a PhD in mathematics.

Books have the power to transport us to other worlds, introduce us to new and interesting people, and teach us things we never would have known otherwise. Biographies are some of the best books out there because they combine all of these things. They tell true stories of remarkable people who have done amazing things, and by reading about their lives we can learn about history, science, politics, and so much more. If you’re looking for the best biographies of historical figures to read, any of the ones on this list would be a great choice. And if you’re not sure where to start, why not try the biography of your favourite historical figure.

If you enjoyed this list of the best biographies of historical figures, you may also enjoy the best historical fiction novels of all time.

The 20 best biographies and autobiographies of all time

Fascinating lives captured impeccably: these are the best biographies and autobiographies of all time

Lives of the Caesars

Suetonius (c121AD)

Suetonius was private secretary to the emperor Hadrian and although this group biography of the lives of the 12 Caesars might need an occasional pinch of strict historical salt, it is full of racy decadence and colourful detail – such as Julius Caesar’s semi-baldness, and his use of a comb-over to disguise it.

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Martin Amis (2000)

Easily Martin Amis’s best book, in which he leaves behind the struggle for effect, stops trying to say anything serious, and in doing so creates something effective and serious about his early life, his relations with his father, the death of his cousin, his various artistic rivalries, and, of course, those teeth.

A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway (posthumously 1964)

Published three years after his death, this is part road trip, part love letter to Paris, part study of his friendship with characters such as F Scott Fitzgerald, and wholly wonderful. It is a mystery how he remembered a moment of it, though, since he drinks so much alcohol, all the time. Try keeping up with him and you’ll be dead drunk by page four.

The Life of Samuel Johnson

James Boswell (1791)

Less a biography and more an act of homage, this volume not only provides a close-up of the great lexicographer, in all his terrific wit and travels, it also brings to life an entire era. Often hugely funny – and Boswell omits no details.

Eminent Victorians

Lytton Strachey (1918)

Written throughout the Great War – and some think thematically influenced by this cataclysm – this pioneering and witty group biography of major Victorians was the first to dissolve the popular image of that era’s morality and thought.

Goodbye to All That

Robert Graves (1929)

Although Graves recounts the days of his childhood and the early years of his marriage, it is his chronicle of the First World War and his unflinching depiction of life in the trenches – the deadening banality of that horror – that gives this book its enduring force. His comrade Siegfried Sassoon was not happy about some of the descriptions.

The Moon's a Balloon

David Niven (1972)

These only semi-credible memoirs come from a seemingly happier, simpler time, and deal with the first half of the actor’s life as he made his way from Sandhurst to Hollywood. Packed with great stories, they are irresistibly charming.

The Rings of Saturn

W G Sebald (1995)

Ostensibly a memoir of Sebald’s walking tour around Suffolk, this extraordinary and profoundly haunting work is also about the echoes in landscape, the long shadows of history and the inescapability of the past – from sea-submerged villages to air force bases from which bombers flew in the war.

The Diaries of Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys (1660-69)

Probably as close as we can get to a time machine, Pepys famously witnesses the Great Fire of London; but more gripping throughout these hypnotically copious journals is the texture of life and love in 17th-century London.

De Profundis

Oscar Wilde (1897)

The Latin title translates as “from the depths”, and this 50,000-word letter addressed to Lord Alfred Douglas was written while Wilde was in jail. It examines their time together and details Wilde’s spiritual development during his incarceration.

Alan Clark: Diaries (Vol I)

Alan Clark (1993)

Far exceeding anything he might ever have achieved in office, the late Tory MP’s diaries remain a classic of outspoken invective, political plotting, extramarital sex, vividly unpleasant character portraits and a relish-filled panorama of the snakepit that is Parliament.

The Autobiography of Alice B Tokias

Gertrude Stein (1933)

About as modernist as one can get, this is actually art collector Gertrude Stein’s biography, written in the voice of her lover, Alice B Toklas. Stein was close friends with Picasso – he painted her in the manner of a stone idol – and was right at the centre of the Parisian art and literary vortex.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom

T E Lawrence (1922)

An account of Lawrence’s experiences during the Arab Revolt of 1917 when he fought the Ottomans with Emir Faisal, capturing Aqaba and winning the Battle of Tafileh. The romanticism of the imagery captured in photographs – Lawrence in full Bedouin dress out in the desert – made him a sensation back in Britain.

Testament of Youth

Vera Brittain (1933)

In the Great War, Brittain was a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse. She lost her fiancé on the Western Front, then her brother and then her two closest male friends. She vowed to write their stories, and about her war experiences, as a form of a memorial.

My Family and Other Animals

Gerald Durrell (1956)

This account of naturalist Durrell’s childhood years in Corfu is an unforgettable blend of wonderful human comedy – the foibles of older relatives and family associates as seen through a child’s eyes – plus those same eyes looking in wonder at the abundance and variety of wildlife in the world around.

Homage to Catalonia

George Orwell (1938)

A memoir of a searingly intense time: Orwell’s months in Spain during the Civil War, when he fought the fascists alongside mountain peasants. Among many unforgettable images – the terror in Barcelona, the moment he was shot in the neck – was the pervasiveness of the lice, and their fondness for trousers.

The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank (1947)

The story is so well rehearsed and yet the details still astound; not merely the fear and the claustrophobia, but the different shades of human behaviour and endurance. The nightmarish circumstances of her deportation and death in Bergen-Belsen mean that no matter how familiar her story may feel, no one should ever overlook it.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou (1969)

The poet’s hugely influential biography (this was the first volume, dwelling on her early years) was on the US bestseller lists for two years. The story of her childhood is harrowing – the racism of the deep south and the trauma of rape. But it is also to do with the freedom that literacy and poetry brings.

Jung Chang (1991)

Following the lives of three generations of the Chang family through the turmoil of 20th-century China, this biography is a personal account that casts incandescent light on the lives and experiences of ordinary Chinese people in extraordinary and often evil times.

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects

Giorgio Vasari (1550)

The biographical work that laid the foundations for Renaissance art history,Vasari made the reputations of many of the “Old Masters” but he also peppers his “lives” with vivid detail – including allegations that Andrea del Castagno murdered Domenico Veneziano, a claim that is still controversial today.

THE CONTENDERS

Henry David Thoreau (1854)

The Life of Charlotte Brontë

Elizabeth Gaskell (1857)

Out of Africa

Karen Blixen (1937)

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

James Agee and Walker Evans (1941)

Churchill: A life

Martin Gilbert (1969)

The Double Helix

James Watson (1968)

The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion (2005)

Peter the Great: His Life and World

Robert K Massie (1981)

Art Spiegelman (1991)

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Dave Eggers (2000)

Walter Isaacson (2011)

Marjane Satrapi (2000)

Anthony Blunt: His Lives

Miranda Carter (2001)

Giving up the Ghost

Hilary Mantel (2003)

The Hare with the Amber Eyes

Edmund de Waal (2010)

THE 20 BEST BRITISH AND IRISH NOVELS OF ALL TIME

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50 Must-Read Biographies

Rebecca Hussey

Rebecca holds a PhD in English and is a professor at Norwalk Community College in Connecticut. She teaches courses in composition, literature, and the arts. When she’s not reading or grading papers, she’s hanging out with her husband and son and/or riding her bike and/or buying books. She can't get enough of reading and writing about books, so she writes the bookish newsletter "Reading Indie," focusing on small press books and translations. Newsletter: Reading Indie Twitter: @ofbooksandbikes

View All posts by Rebecca Hussey

The best biographies give us a satisfying glimpse into a great person’s life, while also teaching us about the context in which that person lived. Through biography, we can also learn history, psychology, sociology, politics, philosophy, and more. Reading a great biography is both fun and educational. What’s not to love?

Below I’ve listed 50 of the best biographies out there. You will find a mix of subjects, including important figures in literature, science, politics, history, art, and more. I’ve tried to keep this list focused on biography only, so there is little in the way of memoir or autobiography. In a couple cases, authors have written about their family members, but for the most part, these are books where the focus is on the biographical subject, not the author.

The first handful are group biographies, and after that, I’ve arranged them alphabetically by subject. Book descriptions come from Goodreads.

Take a look and let me know about your favorite biography in the comments!

All We Know: Three Lives by Lisa Cohen

“In  All We Know , Lisa Cohen describes their [Esther Murphy, Mercedes de Acosta, and Madge Garland’s] glamorous choices, complicated failures, and controversial personal lives with lyricism and empathy. At once a series of intimate portraits and a startling investigation into style, celebrity, sexuality, and the genre of biography itself,  All We Know  explores a hidden history of modernism and pays tribute to three compelling lives.”

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

“Set amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space program. Before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as ‘Human Computers,’ calculating the flight paths that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women.”

The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage by Paul Elie

“In the mid-twentieth century four American Catholics came to believe that the best way to explore the questions of religious faith was to write about them – in works that readers of all kinds could admire.  The Life You Save May Be Your Own  is their story – a vivid and enthralling account of great writers and their power over us.”

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

“As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.”

The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser

“In a sweeping narrative, Fraser traces the cultural, familial and political roots of each of Henry’s queens, pushes aside the stereotypes that have long defined them, and illuminates the complex character of each.”

John Adams by David McCullough

“In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life-journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot — ‘the colossus of independence,’ as Thomas Jefferson called him.”

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming

“Emotionally riveting and eye-opening,  A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea  is the incredible story of a young woman, an international crisis, and the triumph of the human spirit. Melissa Fleming shares the harrowing journey of Doaa Al Zamel, a young Syrian refugee in search of a better life.”

At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England by Walter Dean Myers

“One terrifying night in 1848, a young African princess’s village is raided by warriors. The invaders kill her mother and father, the King and Queen, and take her captive. Two years later, a British naval captain rescues her and takes her to England where she is presented to Queen Victoria, and becomes a loved and respected member of the royal court.”

John Brown by W.E.B. Du Bois

“ John Brown is W. E. B. Du Bois’s groundbreaking political biography that paved the way for his transition from academia to a lifelong career in social activism. This biography is unlike Du Bois’s earlier work; it is intended as a work of consciousness-raising on the politics of race.”

Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster by Stephen L. Carter

“[Eunice Hunton Carter] was black and a woman and a prosecutor, a graduate of Smith College and the granddaughter of slaves, as dazzlingly unlikely a combination as one could imagine in New York of the 1930s ― and without the strategy she devised, Lucky Luciano, the most powerful Mafia boss in history, would never have been convicted.”

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

“An engrossing record of Mao’s impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love, Jung Chang describes the extraordinary lives and experiences of her family members.”

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

“Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnet, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world.”

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

“Einstein was a rebel and nonconformist from boyhood days, and these character traits drove both his life and his science. In this narrative, Walter Isaacson explains how his mind worked and the mysteries of the universe that he discovered.”

Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother by Sonia Nazario

“In this astonishing true story, award-winning journalist Sonia Nazario recounts the unforgettable odyssey of a Honduran boy who braves unimaginable hardship and peril to reach his mother in the United States.”

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

“After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve ‘the greatest exploration mystery of the 20th century’: What happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett & his quest for the Lost City of Z?”

Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman

“Amanda Foreman draws on a wealth of fresh research and writes colorfully and penetratingly about the fascinating Georgiana, whose struggle against her own weaknesses, whose great beauty and flamboyance, and whose determination to play a part in the affairs of the world make her a vibrant, astonishingly contemporary figure.”

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik Ping Zhu

“Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame she was just trying to make the world a little better and a little freer. But along the way, the feminist pioneer’s searing dissents and steely strength have inspired millions. [This book], created by the young lawyer who began the Internet sensation and an award-winning journalist, takes you behind the myth for an intimate, irreverent look at the justice’s life and work.”

Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston by Valerie Boyd

“A woman of enormous talent and remarkable drive, Zora Neale Hurston published seven books, many short stories, and several articles and plays over a career that spanned more than thirty years. Today, nearly every black woman writer of significance—including Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker—acknowledges Hurston as a literary foremother.”

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

“ Shirley Jackson  reveals the tumultuous life and inner darkness of the literary genius behind such classics as ‘The Lottery’ and  The Haunting of Hill House .”

The Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro

“This is the story of the rise to national power of a desperately poor young man from the Texas Hill Country. The Path to Power reveals in extraordinary detail the genesis of the almost superhuman drive, energy, and ambition that set LBJ apart.”

The Life of Samuel Johnson   by James Boswell

“Poet, lexicographer, critic, moralist and Great Cham, Dr. Johnson had in his friend Boswell the ideal biographer. Notoriously and self-confessedly intemperate, Boswell shared with Johnson a huge appetite for life and threw equal energy into recording its every aspect in minute but telling detail.”

Barbara Jordan: American Hero by Mary Beth Rogers

“Barbara Jordan was the first African American to serve in the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first black woman elected to Congress from the South, and the first to deliver the keynote address at a national party convention. Yet Jordan herself remained a mystery.”

Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

“This engrossing biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her own experiences: her childhood near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age eighteen that left her crippled and unable to bear children.”

Florynce “Flo” Kennedy: The Life of a Black Feminist Radical by Sherie M. Randolph

“Often photographed in a cowboy hat with her middle finger held defiantly in the air, Florynce ‘Flo’ Kennedy (1916–2000) left a vibrant legacy as a leader of the Black Power and feminist movements. In the first biography of Kennedy, Sherie M. Randolph traces the life and political influence of this strikingly bold and controversial radical activist.”

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

“In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food.”

The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma by Peter Popham

“Peter Popham … draws upon previously untapped testimony and fresh revelations to tell the story of a woman whose bravery and determination have captivated people around the globe. Celebrated today as one of the world’s greatest exponents of non-violent political defiance since Mahatma Gandhi, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize only four years after her first experience of politics.”

Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo”   by Zora Neale Hurston

“In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation’s history.”

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

“Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine.”

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

“Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln’s political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president.”

The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart

“A tiny, fastidiously dressed man emerged from Black Philadelphia around the turn of the century to mentor a generation of young artists including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jacob Lawrence and call them the New Negro — the creative African Americans whose art, literature, music, and drama would inspire Black people to greatness.”

Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde by Alexis De Veaux

“Drawing from the private archives of the poet’s estate and numerous interviews, Alexis De Veaux demystifies Lorde’s iconic status, charting her conservative childhood in Harlem; her early marriage to a white, gay man with whom she had two children; her emergence as an outspoken black feminist lesbian; and her canonization as a seminal poet of American literature.”

Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary by Juan Williams

“Thurgood Marshall stands today as the great architect of American race relations, having expanded the foundation of individual rights for all Americans. His victory in the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the landmark Supreme Court case outlawing school segregation, would have him a historic figure even if he had not gone on to become the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court.”

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

“In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself.”

The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk by Randy Shilts

“ The Mayor of Castro Street  is Shilts’s acclaimed story of Harvey Milk, the man whose personal life, public career, and tragic assassination mirrored the dramatic and unprecedented emergence of the gay community in America during the 1970s.”

Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

“The most famous poet of the Jazz Age, Millay captivated the nation: She smoked in public, took many lovers (men and women, single and married), flouted convention sensationally, and became the embodiment of the New Woman.”

How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at An Answer by Sarah Bakewell

This book is “a vivid portrait of Montaigne, showing how his ideas gave birth to our modern sense of our inner selves, from Shakespeare’s plays to the dilemmas we face today.”

The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes by Janet Malcolm

“From the moment it was first published in The New Yorker, this brilliant work of literary criticism aroused great attention. Janet Malcolm brings her shrewd intelligence to bear on the legend of Sylvia Plath and the wildly productive industry of Plath biographies.”

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley   by Peter Guralnick

“Based on hundreds of interviews and nearly a decade of research, [this book] traces the evolution not just of the man but of the music and of the culture he left utterly transformed, creating a completely fresh portrait of Elvis and his world.

Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale

“Kate Summerscale brilliantly recreates the Victorian world, chronicling in exquisite and compelling detail the life of Isabella Robinson, wherein the longings of a frustrated wife collided with a society clinging to rigid ideas about sanity, the boundaries of privacy, the institution of marriage, and female sexuality.”

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

“A young man from a small provincial town moves to London in the late 1580s and, in a remarkably short time, becomes the greatest playwright not of his age alone but of all time. How is an achievement of this magnitude to be explained?”

The Invisible Woman: The Story of Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan by Claire Tomalin

“When Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan met in 1857, she was 18: a professional actress performing in his production of  The Frozen Deep . He was 45: a literary legend, a national treasure, married with ten children. This meeting sparked a love affair that lasted over a decade, destroying Dickens’s marriage and ending with Nelly’s near-disappearance from the public record.”

Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol by Nell Irvin Painter

“Slowly, but surely, Sojourner climbed from beneath the weight of slavery, secured respect for herself, and utilized the distinction of her race to become not only a symbol for black women, but for the feminist movement as a whole.”

The Black Rose by Tananarive Due

“Born to former slaves on a Louisiana plantation in 1867, Madam C.J. Walker rose from poverty and indignity to become America’s first black female millionaire, the head of a hugely successful beauty company, and a leading philanthropist in African American causes.”

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

“With a breadth and depth matched by no other one-volume life, [Chernow] carries the reader through Washington’s troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian Wars, his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention and his magnificent performance as America’s first president.”

Ida: A Sword Among Lions by Paula J. Giddings

“ Ida: A Sword Among Lions  is a sweeping narrative about a country and a crusader embroiled in the struggle against lynching: a practice that imperiled not only the lives of black men and women, but also a nation based on law and riven by race.”

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

“But the true saga of [Wilder’s] life has never been fully told. Now, drawing on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and land and financial records, Caroline Fraser—the editor of the Library of America edition of the Little House series—masterfully fills in the gaps in Wilder’s biography.”

Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon

“Although mother and daughter, these two brilliant women never knew one another – Wollstonecraft died of an infection in 1797 at the age of thirty-eight, a week after giving birth. Nevertheless their lives were so closely intertwined, their choices, dreams and tragedies so eerily similar, it seems impossible to consider one without the other.”

Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee

“Subscribing to Virginia Woolf’s own belief in the fluidity and elusiveness of identity, Lee comes at her subject from a multitude of perspectives, producing a richly layered portrait of the writer and the woman that leaves all of her complexities and contradictions intact.”

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable

“Of the great figures in twentieth-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins’ bullets at age thirty-nine.”

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

“On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.”

Want to read more about great biographies? Check out this post on presidential biographies , this list of biographies and memoirs about remarkable women , and this list of 100 must-read musician biographies and memoirs .

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Town and Country

The 50 Best Biographies of All Time

Posted: April 22, 2024 | Last updated: April 22, 2024

Biographies have always been controversial. On his deathbed, the novelist Henry James told his nephew that his “sole wish” was to “frustrate as utterly as possible the postmortem exploiter” by destroying his personal letters and journals. And one of our greatest living writers, Hermione Lee, once compared biographies to autopsies that add “a new terror to death”—the potential muddying of someone’s legacy when their life is held up to the scrutiny of investigation.

But despite its long history dating back to ancient Rome and Sumeria, biography as a genre didn’t really pop off until the middle of the twentieth century, when we became obsessed with celebrity culture. Since then, biographies of presidents, activists, artists, and musicians have regularly appeared on bestseller lists, while Hollywood continues to adapt them into Oscar bait like A Beautiful Mind, The Imitation Game , and Steve Jobs .

Why do we read so many books about the lives and deaths of strangers, as told by second-hand and third-hand sources? Is it merely our love for gossip, or are we trying to understand ourselves through the triumphs and failures of others?

To keep this list from blossoming into hundreds of titles, we only included books currently in print and translated into English. We also limited it to one book per author, and one book per subject. In ranked order, here are the best biographies of all time.

50) The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, by Tom Reiss

You’re probably familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo , the 1844 revenge novel by Alexandre Dumas. But did you know it was based on the life of Dumas’s father, the mixed-race General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, son of a French nobleman and a Haitian slave? Thanks to Reiss’s masterful pacing and plotting, this rip-roaring biography of Thomas-Alexandre reads more like an adventure novel than a work of nonfiction. The Black Count won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2013, and it’s only a matter of time before a filmmaker turns it into a big-screen blockbuster.

49) Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret, by Craig Brown

Few biographies are as genuinely fun to read as this barnburner from the irreverent English critic Craig Brown. Princess Margaret may have been everyone’s favorite character from Netflix’s The Crown , but Brown’s eye for ostentatious details and revelatory insights will help you see why everyone in the 1950s—from Pablo Picasso and Gore Vidal to Peter Sellers and Andy Warhol—was obsessed with her. When book critic Parul Sehgal says that she “ripped through the book with the avidity of Margaret attacking her morning vodka and orange juice,” you know you’re in for a treat.

48) Inventor of the Future: The Visionary Life of Buckminster Fuller, by Alec Nevala-Lee

If you want to feel optimistic about the future again, look no further than this brilliant biography of Buckminster Fuller, the “modern Leonardo da Vinci” of the 1960s and 1970s who came up with the idea of a “Spaceship Earth” and inspired Silicon Valley’s belief that technology could be a global force for good (while earning plenty of critics who found his ideas impractical). Alec Nevala-Lee’s writing is as serene and precise as one of Fuller’s geodesic domes, and his research into never-before-seen documents makes this a genuinely groundbreaking book full of surprises.

47) Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, by Robin D.G. Kelley

The late American jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk has been so heavily mythologized that it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. But Robin D. G. Kelley’s biography is an essential book for jazz fans looking to understand the man behind the myths. Monk’s family provided Kelley with full access to their archives, resulting in chapter after chapter of fascinating details, from his birth in small-town North Carolina to his death across the Hudson from Manhattan.

46) Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography, by Meryle Secrest

There are dozens of books about America’s most celebrated architect, but Secrest’s 1998 biography is still the most fun to read. For one, she doesn’t shy away from the fact that Wright could be an absolute monster, even to his own friends and family. Secondly, her research into more than 100,000 letters, as well as interviews with nearly every surviving person who knew Wright, makes this book a one-of-a-kind look at how Wright’s personal life influenced his architecture.

45) Ralph Ellison: A Biography, by Arnold Rampersad

Ralph Ellison’s landmark novel, Invisible Man , is about a Black man who faced systemic racism in the Deep South during his youth, then migrated to New York, only to find oppression of a slightly different kind. What makes Arnold Rampersand’s honest and insightful biography of Ellison so compelling is how he connects the dots between Invisible Man and Ellison’s own journey from small-town Oklahoma to New York’s literary scene during the Harlem Renaissance.

44) Oscar Wilde: A Life, by Matthew Sturgis

Now remembered for his 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde was one of the most fascinating men of the fin-de-siècle thanks to his poems, plays, and some of the earliest reported “celebrity trials.” Sturgis’s scintillating biography is the most encyclopedic chronicle of Wilde’s life to date, thanks to new research into his personal notebooks and a full transcript of his libel trial.

43) A Surprised Queenhood in the New Black Sun: The Life & Legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks, by Angela Jackson

The poet Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1950, but because she spent most of her life in Chicago instead of New York, she hasn’t been studied or celebrated as often as her peers in the Harlem Renaissance. Luckily, Angela Jackson’s biography is full of new details about Brooks’s personal life, and how it influenced her poetry across five decades.

42) Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century, by Dana Stevens

Was Buster Keaton the most influential filmmaker of the first half of the twentieth century? Dana Stevens makes a compelling case in this dazzling mix of biography, essays, and cultural history. Much like Keaton’s filmography, Stevens playfully jumps from genre to genre in an endlessly entertaining way, while illuminating how Keaton’s influence on film and television continues to this day.

41) Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation, by Dean Jobb

Dean Jobb is a master of narrative nonfiction on par with Erik Larsen, author of The Devil in the White City . Jobb’s biography of Leo Koretz, the Bernie Madoff of the Jazz Age, is among the few great biographies that read like a thriller. Set in Chicago during the 1880s through the 1920s, it’s also filled with sumptuous period details, from lakeside mansions to streets choked with Model Ts.

40) Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life, by Hermione Lee

Hermione Lee’s biographies of Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton could easily have made this list. But her book about a less famous person—Penelope Fitzgerald, the English novelist who wrote The Bookshop, The Blue Flower , and The Beginning of Spring —might be her best yet. At just over 500 pages, it’s considerably shorter than those other biographies, partially because Fitzgerald’s life wasn’t nearly as well documented. But Lee’s conciseness is exactly what makes this book a more enjoyable read, along with the thrilling feeling that she’s uncovering a new story literary historians haven’t already explored.

39) Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, by Heather Clark

Many biographers have written about Sylvia Plath, often drawing parallels between her poetry and her death by suicide at the age of thirty. But in this startling book, Plath isn’t wholly defined by her tragedy, and Heather Clark’s craftsmanship as a writer makes it a joy to read. It’s also the most comprehensive account of Plath’s final year yet put to paper, with new information that will change the way you think of her life, poetry, and death.

38) Pontius Pilate, by Ann Wroe

Compared to most biography subjects, there isn’t much surviving documentation about the life of Pontius Pilate, the Judaean governor who ordered the execution of the historical Jesus in the first century AD. But Ann Wroe leans into all that uncertainty in her groundbreaking book, making for a fascinating mix of research and informed speculation that often feels like reading a really good historical novel.

37) Bolívar: American Liberator, by Marie Arana

In the early nineteenth century, Simón Bolívar led six modern countries—Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela—to independence from the Spanish Empire. In this rousing work of biography and geopolitical history, Marie Arana deftly chronicles his epic life with propulsive prose, including a killer first sentence: “They heard him before they saw him: the sound of hooves striking the earth, steady as a heartbeat, urgent as a revolution.”

36) Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History, by Yunte Huang

Ever read a biography of a fictional character? In the 1930s and 1940s, Charlie Chan came to popularity as a Chinese American police detective in Earl Derr Biggers’s mystery novels and their big-screen adaptations. In writing this book, Yunte Huang became something of a detective himself to track down the real-life inspiration for the character, a Hawaiian cop named Chang Apana born shortly after the Civil War. The result is an astute blend between biography and cultural criticism as Huang analyzes how Chan served as a crucial counterpoint to stereotypical Chinese villains in early Hollywood.

35) Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay, by Nancy Milford

Edna St. Vincent Millay was one of the most fascinating women of the twentieth century—an openly bisexual poet, playwright, and feminist icon who helped make Greenwich Village a cultural bohemia in the 1920s. With a knack for torrid details and creative insights, Nancy Milford successfully captures what made Millay so irresistible—right down to her voice, “an instrument of seduction” that captivated men and women alike.

34) Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

Few people have the luxury of choosing their own biographers, but that’s exactly what the late co-founder of Apple did when he tapped Walter Isaacson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. Adapted for the big screen by Aaron Sorkin in 2015, Steve Jobs is full of plot twists and suspense thanks to a mind-blowing amount of research on the part of Isaacson, who interviewed Jobs more than forty times and spoke with just about everyone who’d ever come into contact with him.

33) Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), by Stacy Schiff

The Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov once said, “Without my wife, I wouldn’t have written a single novel.” And while Stacy Schiff’s biography of Cleopatra could also easily make this list, her telling of Véra Nabokova’s life in Russia, Europe, and the United States is revolutionary for finally bringing Véra out of her husband’s shadow. It’s also one of the most romantic biographies you’ll ever read, with some truly unforgettable images, like Vera’s habit of carrying a handgun to protect Vladimir on butterfly-hunting excursions.

32) Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, by Stephen Greenblatt

We know what you’re thinking. Who needs another book about Shakespeare?! But Greenblatt’s masterful biography is like traveling back in time to see firsthand how a small-town Englishman became the greatest writer of all time. Like Wroe’s biography of Pontius Pilate, there’s plenty of speculation here, as there are very few surviving records of Shakespeare’s daily life, but Greenblatt’s best trick is the way he pulls details from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets to construct a compelling narrative.

31) Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

When Kiese Laymon calls a book a “literary miracle,” you pay attention. James Baldwin’s legacy has enjoyed something of a revival over the last few years thanks to films like I Am Not Your Negro and If Beale Street Could Talk , as well as books like Glaude’s new biography. It’s genuinely a bit of a miracle how he manages to combine the story of Baldwin’s life with interpretations of Baldwin’s work—as well as Glaude’s own story of discovering, resisting, and rediscovering Baldwin’s books throughout his life.

30) The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, by Randy Shilts

If you’ve never seen the 2008 film Milk starring Sean Penn, you might not be familiar with the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California before his assassination in 1978. Shilts’s biography provides a much more detailed look at the policies and politics Milk fought against in San Francisco to become one of the most crucial advocates for LGBTQ+ rights in American history.

29) The Brontë Myth, by Lucasta Miller

Without Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, we’d have no Wuthering Heights , no Jane Eyre , no The Tenant of Wildfell Hall —and something like half as many BBC television and radio adaptations. The thing that makes Lucasta Miller’s “metabiography” so absorbing is that she doesn’t just recount the lives of the three Brontë sisters in Victorian Yorkshire; she also narrates her own process of discovery as she realizes just how much their first biographer—a family friend who tried to sugarcoat their personal lives—misrepresented the Brontë family.

28) Heartbeat of Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Yuri Kochiyama, by Diane C. Fujino

Yuri Kochiyama is best known as the woman who held Malcolm X in her arms as he died in the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, but she was also “the most prominent Asian American activist to emerge during the 1960s.” Fujino’s biography traces Kochiyama’s life from her family’s experience in an internment camp for Japanese Americans to her advocacy for a variety of causes as an activist—some of which remain extremely controversial to this day, resulting in a remarkable story that will challenge you in every chapter.

27) Wong Kar-Wai: Auteur of Time, by Stephen Teo

In just ten films released between 1988 and 2013—including In the Mood for Love and Fallen Angels —the Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai established himself as a revolutionary, one-of-a-kind director. This engrossing book covers Kar-Wai’s story up until his seventh film, but where it really shines is when Teo turns his attention to the interplay between Kar-Wai’s life and the movies themselves. One can only hope for a follow-up that examines Kar-Wai’s three most recent releases— 2046, My Blueberry Nights , and The Grandmaster .

26) The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History, by Joseph M. Marshall III

You probably learned about the Battle of Little Bighorn in grade school, but this well-paced biography of the Lakota warrior known as Crazy Horse reveals many new details, thanks to Marshall III’s extensive on-the-ground research with oral historians in the Black Hills and beyond. At just over 300 pages, it’s also one of the shortest biographies on this list, which makes it a great gift for readers who are leery of 1,000-page doorstoppers.

25) The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, by Jeffrey C. Stewart

Speaking of 1,000-page doorstoppers! Despite his status as the “father of the Harlem Renaissance,” Alain Locke isn’t quite the household name that many of his mentees became, like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jacob Lawrence. Stewart’s massive biography is absolutely worth its page count—not just because of its velvet-smooth writing about Locke himself, but also because of its revelations about other members of the Harlem Renaissance who were influenced by Locke.

24) Ida: A Sword Among Lions, by Paula J. Giddings

Born into slavery in Mississippi, Ida B. Wells became an investigative journalist after she was thrown from a train car she was attempting to desegregate in 1884. With the eye of a novelist and an exquisite mix of historical summary and dramatic scenes, Giddings traces Wells’s career fighting for civil rights and women’s suffrage from Memphis to Chicago.

23) The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story, by Aaron Bobrow-Strain

Bobrow-Strain’s suspenseful book is the story of an undocumented immigrant, Aida Hernandez, whose mother brought her from Mexico to Arizona to escape her abusive father. After having a child of her own, Aida was deported back to Mexico, and had to fight the American immigration system to be reunited with her son. It’s a chilling look at how U.S. detention centers and immigration courts wreak havoc on the lives of impoverished and vulnerable people.

22) Ali: A Life, by Jonathan Eig

On the heels of his books about Jackie Robinson and Lou Gehrig, the celebrated Chicago sports biographer Jonathan Eig turns his eye to Muhammad Ali in this soaring book based on more than five hundred interviews. It’s also filled with new revelations from long-classified FBI and U.S. Department of Justice files on Ali—and it’s the basis for an upcoming Ken Burns documentary.

21) Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman, by Robert K. Massie

All four of Massie’s Romanov books are fantastic. His biography of Peter the Great earned a Pulitzer Prize, but it can’t help but feel like a prequel to the main event when Catherine (the queen who overthrew Peter in 1724) is an infinitely more fascinating character. If you loved the Hulu TV series The Great (of course you did!) based on Peter and Catherine’s marriage, this book is the perfect entry point into Russia’s imperial dynasty, which reigned from 1613 until the 1917 revolution.

20) Anne Sexton: A Biography, by Diane Wood Middlebrook

Shortlisted for the National Book Award in 1991, Middlebrook’s shocking biography of Anne Sexton made waves for detailing the poet’s infidelity and incest—including the sexual assault of her husband and children. Many of its revelations came from recordings of Sexton’s psychiatric sessions, which were given to Middlebrook by the poet’s therapist and sparked a controversy upon the book’s publication for violating doctor-patient confidentiality. More than thirty years later, it remains a truly chilling read.

19) Joan of Arc: A History, by Helen Castor

Castor’s spellbinding biography of Joan of Arc never really feels like a biography—it feels more like an HBO adaptation of a George R. R. Martin novel. There’s a throne, quite a few castles, and a whole lot of blood in her vivid and violent portrait of fifteenth-century France, as Castor narrates how the fates of nations were swayed by a teenage warrior-woman who believed she could hear the voice of God.

18) The Equivalents: A Story of Art, Female Friendship, and Liberation in the 1960s, by Maggie Doherty

In the 1960s, five extraordinary women met at Radcliffe College’s experimental Institute for Independent Study: the writers Anne Sexton, Maxine Kumin, and Tillie Olsen, and the artists Barbara Swan and Marianna Pineda. Doherty’s moving and masterful group biography shows how these women influenced one another while reshaping conversations about American feminism and culture.

17) The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris

The first of three books in Morris’s series on Teddy Roosevelt won both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award for biography—the closest thing a biographer can get to an EGOT. As the title indicates, The Rise covers the first four decades of Roosevelt’s life between 1858 and 1901, when he “transformed himself from a frail, asthmatic boy into a full-blooded man.” You might expect a presidential biography to be a solemn affair, but reading Morris feels like watching a rock opera.

16) The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father, by Kao Kalia Yang

Few biographers write about their own fathers, but after winning multiple awards for her memoir, The Latehomecomers , Kao Kalia Yang retold the life of her dad in this powerful book written with a daughter’s unique sense of compassion and awe. Bee Yang, a Hmong refugee who immigrated to Minnesota during the Laotian Civil War, shared the story of his people through singing poetry. His own story will absolutely make you cry.

15) Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, by David W. Blight

If you write a book about Frederick Douglass, the influential abolitionist who escaped from slavery in Maryland, you have to compete with Douglass’s own autobiographies, including 1845’s gripping Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave . But Blight’s biography—the literary equivalent of a six-season character-study television series like The Sopranos —is among the best ever written, garnering a Pulitzer Prize and the Lincoln Prize in 2019.

14) Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, by Valerie Boyd

Zora Neale Hurston is on this list twice: once for a book she wrote, and again for a book written about her. Hurston’s latest biographer, Valerie Boyd, was an exquisite narrative journalist who explored every facet of Hurston’s life—her writing, of course, but also her friendships, her sexuality, and her spirituality.

13) The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X, by Les Payne and Tamara Payne

The Paynes’s biography of Malcolm X won both a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, a stunning achievement they absolutely deserved. Les Payne spent almost thirty years writing the bulk of the book, while his daughter Tamara completed it and added additional materials after his death. The Dead Are Arising is a perfect companion to Malcolm X’s autobiography, filling in the gaps and adding new context to his tumultuous life story.

12) W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography 1868-1963, by David Levering Lewis

Originally published as two volumes in 1993 and 2000—both of which won Pulitzer Prizes—this 900-page omnibus is a remarkably told chronicle of the life of W.E.B. Du Bois, the “premier architect of the civil rights movement in America.” With its attention to detail and sweeping historical context, reading it is akin to watching a Ken Burns documentary.

11) Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow

Best known for writing the book that inspired the Broadway musical Hamilton —as well as biographies of Ulysses S. Grant, John D. Rockefeller, and the J.P. Morgan dynasty—Chernow’s best book might be this Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of America’s first president, George Washington. Why? Because Chernow will change your impression of Washington from a boring, frowning statesman to something like an 18th-century punk rocker who liked to dance with women and hunt foxes, all while pulling no punches when it comes to Washington’s military failures and ownership of slaves.

10) The Twelve Caesars, by Suetonius

One of the earliest biographies still in print is this chronicle by the Roman historian Suetonius, written in 121 AD. Two millennia later, it remains the best record of the lives of the first twelve Roman emperors—Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian—and it’s surprisingly easy to read for something almost as old as the Colosseum.

9) A Beautiful Mind, by Sylvia Nasar

A Beautiful Mind is a powerful, heart-wrenching book about the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and is now famous following a 2001 film about his life starring Russell Crowe. More than most books on this list, A Beautiful Mind is full of great dialogue, like the opening exchange between Nash and a Harvard professor who asks, “How could you, a mathematician, believe that extraterrestrials were sending you messages?” Nash responded, “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did.”

8) Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges

The 2014 Benedict Cumberbatch film, The Imitation Game , was based on this heartbreaking 1983 biography of Alan Turing, the English mathematician who invented one of the earliest mechanical computers and helped the Allied Powers win World War II, only to be chemically castrated by the British government under laws prohibiting “homosexual acts.” But like Heather Clark’s biography of Sylvia Plath, Hodges doesn’t overemphasize the worst parts of Turing’s life, and the WWII material is as thrilling as a John Le Carré novel.

7) Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, by Imani Perry

Imani Perry just won a National Book Award for her memoir, South to America , but she also wrote a stunning biography of Lorraine Hansberry, the queer Chicago playwright behind A Raisin in the Sun whose social activism drew the attention of the FBI. The MacArthur Fellow writer Jacqueline Woodson said reading Looking for Lorraine “feels as though Ms. Hansberry has walked into my living room and sat down beside me”—the highest praise a biographer could possibly hope for.

6) Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo", by Zora Neale Hurston

Written nearly 100 years ago but never published until 2018, this book from the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God is the riveting story of the last presumed survivor of the Altantic slave trade, Cudjo Lewis, including his capture in Africa, his journey on the Middle Passage, and his life as a slave in Alabama before the Civil War. Thanks to Hurston’s intimate first-person narration and her preservation of Lewis’s vernacular dialect, it feels like listening to the most fascinating conversation you’ve ever eavesdropped on, and it provides a devastating first-hand account of what it was like to live through the worst atrocity in American history.

5) Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo, by Hayden Herrera

Herrera’s 1983 masterpiece is the definitive biography of Frida Kahlo, adapted by Julie Taymor into the 2002 film Frida starring Salma Hayek. It’s all here in gorgeously written detail: Kahlo’s accident, her paintings, her marriage, her affairs, and her impact on both Mexican history and art. It’s also extremely valuable for correcting the historical record that Kahlo herself sometimes misrepresented for effect—like when she changed her own birth year to match the beginning of Mexico’s revolution.

4) Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life, by Ruth Franklin

It’s rare for the biography of a great writer to be just as good as said writer’s best work, but that’s certainly the case with Ruth Franklin’s captivating book about Shirley Jackson. Her sentences are so good! Her plotting is so smooth! Plus, fans of The Haunting at Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle will eat up Jackson’s real-life inspiration behind those unforgettable novels.

3) Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser

Fraser’s first-ever biography is a genuine masterpiece, both for the quality of its writing and the depth of insights it brings to the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Midwestern author of the Little House on the Prairie books between 1932 and 1943. It won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award for biography in 2018, and it conveys such a strong sense of place, you can smell the Dakota milkweed and switchgrass.

2) The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, by Robert A. Caro

Every volume of Caro’s four-part (so far) series on Lyndon Johnson is amazing, but his crowning achievement might still be this biography of Robert Moses, the urban planner who reshaped New York City in the mid-twentieth century. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1975, and you can instantly see why from page one: Caro can set a scene and establish characters as well as Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola.

1) The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, by Annette Gordon-Reed

“Until very recently, American historians were no more receptive to arguments about a sexual relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings than The Da Vinci Code 's Catholic Church was to a romance between Jesus and Mary Magdalene,” wrote the historian Jane Dailey in 2010. But everything changed thanks to Annette Gordon-Reed’s groundbreaking research proving that Jefferson had children with one of his own slaves. This comprehensive biography of Hemings’s family before, during, and after their lives at Monticello belongs on the biography genre’s Mount Rushmore thanks to Gordon-Reed’s revelatory investigation and her stellar narration of history from a previously hidden perspective.

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15 Memoirs and Biographies to Read This Fall

New autobiographies from Jemele Hill, Matthew Perry and Hua Hsu are in the mix, along with books about Martha Graham, Agatha Christie and more.

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By John Williams ,  Joumana Khatib ,  Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter

• Published Sept. 8, 2022 Updated Sept. 15, 2022

Solito: A Memoir , by Javier Zamora

When he was 9, Zamora left El Salvador to join his parents in the United States — a dangerous trek in the company of strangers that lasted for more than two months, a far cry from the two-week adventure he had envisioned. Zamora, a poet, captures his childhood impressions of the journey, including his fierce, lifesaving attachments to the other people undertaking the trip with him.

Hogarth, Sept. 6

A Visible Man: A Memoir , by Edward Enninful

The first Black editor in chief of British Vogue reflects on his life, including his early years as a gay, working-class immigrant from Ghana, and his path to becoming one of the most influential tastemakers in media.

Penguin Press, Sept. 6

Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman , by Lucy Worsley

Not many authors sell a billion books, but Christie’s nearly 70 mysteries helped her do just that. Born in 1890, she introduced the world to two detectives still going strong in film adaptations and elsewhere: Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Her life even included its own mystery, when she vanished for 11 days in 1926 . Worsley, a historian, offers a full-dress biography.

Pegasus Crime, Sept. 8

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands , by Kate Beaton

This graphic memoir follows Beaton, a Canadian cartoonist, who joins the oil rush in Alberta after graduating from college. The book includes drawings of enormous machines built to work the oil sands against a backdrop of Albertan landscapes, boreal forests and northern lights.

Drawn and Quarterly, Sept. 13

Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir , by Jann S. Wenner

In 2017, Joe Hagan published “Sticky Fingers,” a biography of Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine. Now Wenner recounts his life in his own words, offering an intimate look at his time running the magazine that helped to change American culture.

Little, Brown, Sept. 13

Stay True: A Memoir , by Hua Hsu

A New Yorker staff writer reflects on a life-changing college friendship cut short by tragedy. Hsu — interested in counterculture, zines and above all music — seemed to have little in common with Ken, a Dave Matthews Band-loving fraternity brother, with the exception of their Asian American heritage. In spite of their differences, they forged a close bond; this is both a memoir of their relationship but also Hsu’s journey to adulthood as he makes sense of his grief.

Doubleday, Sept. 27

Wild: The Life of Peter Beard: Photographer, Adventurer, Lover , by Graham Boynton

A biography of the photographer Peter Beard, who had a fondness for risk, drugs and beautiful women. Boynton, a journalist and author, was a friend of Beard’s for more than 30 years.

St. Martin’s, Oct. 11

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir , by Paul Newman

When Newman and his iconic blue eyes died in 2008, the actor left behind taped conversations about his life, which he had put together with hopes of writing his life story. Now, with the participation of Newman’s daughters, the transcripts have been turned into this book, which sees Newman on his early life, his troubles with drinking and his shortcomings as a husband and parent, as well as his decorated career.

Knopf. Oct. 18

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman

Rickman, the English stage and screen actor who died in 2016, was famous for his roles in “Die Hard,” the Harry Potter movies, “Love Actually” and many other films. He kept a diary for 25 years, about his work, his political activism, his friendships and other subjects, and they promise to be “anecdotal, indiscreet, witty, gossipy and utterly candid.”

Henry Holt, Oct. 18

README.txt: A Memoir , by Chelsea Manning

Manning, a former Army analyst, shared classified documents about the U.S. military’s operations in Iraq with WikiLeaks. In this memoir, she explores her childhood and what drew her to the armed services, her eventual disillusionment with the military and her life as a trans woman.

Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Oct. 18

The White Mosque: A Memoir , by Sofia Samatar

Samatar, a novelist, turns to nonfiction in this complex work combining religious and personal history. Raised in the United States, the daughter of a Swiss-Mennonite and a Somali-Muslim, Samatar recounts her life while relating a pilgrimage she undertook retracing the route of German-speaking Mennonites who founded a village in Central Asia in the 1800s.

Catapult, Oct. 25

Martha Graham: When Dance Became Modern , by Neil Baldwin

The biographer Baldwin’s eclectic list of subjects has included William Carlos Williams, Man Ray, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Here he turns his attention to Martha Graham, the American choreographer who revolutionized modern dance and founded her own company, which is still going strong, in 1926.

Knopf, Oct. 25

Uphill: A Memoir , by Jemele Hill

Hill, now a contributing writer at The Atlantic, rose to fame as a TV anchor on ESPN. Her memoir covers the time in 2017 when ESPN suspended her (she had criticized the politics of the Dallas Cowboys’ owner, Jerry Jones, and had called President Trump a white supremacist). But the book offers a much broader canvas that includes her upbringing in Detroit and the trauma of generations of women in her family.

Henry Holt, Oct. 25

Friends, Lovers and the Terrible Thing: A Memoir , by Matthew Perry

Perry, who played Chandler Bing on “Friends,” has been candid about his substance abuse and sobriety. In this memoir, he returns again to discussions of fame and addiction, but also reaches back to his childhood.

Flatiron, Nov. 1

I Want to Die, but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki: A Memoir , by Baek Sehee. Translated by Anton Hur.

A best seller in South Korea, Baek’s memoir recounts her struggles with depression and anxiety, told through discussions with her therapist, which she recorded over a 12-week period. The therapy sessions are interspersed with short essays that explore her self-doubt and how feelings of worthlessness were reinforced by sexism.

Bloomsbury, Nov. 1

Elizabeth A. Harris writes about books and publishing for The Times.  More about Elizabeth A. Harris

Alexandra Alter writes about publishing and the literary world. Before joining The Times in 2014, she covered books and culture for The Wall Street Journal. Prior to that, she reported on religion, and the occasional hurricane, for The Miami Herald. More about Alexandra Alter

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The 55 Best Biographies of All Time

POSTED ON Nov 6, 2023

Written by Nicole Ahlering

There’s something special about a good biography . It can give us insight into the life of someone we admire, entertain and inspire us, and help us learn from other people’s trials.

Thankfully, there’s no shortage of books out there documenting people’s life stories, be it in the form of autobiography or biography .

If you’re looking for a new one to pick up, which offers a captivating third-person account of another person’s life, here’s a list of the 55 best biographies to read (in our humble opinion)!

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson 

Isaacson explores how the innovative Steve Jobs grew up to co-found Apple, Inc. If you’re interested in the tech industry or entrepreneurship, this is a good read for you. You’ll learn about Jobs’ pioneering spirit and the impacts he made on modern technology. 

2. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

You’ll see a few biographies by Isaacson on this list. He’s a lauded and prolific author (not to mention former editor of Time, among other impressive positions). He wrote this biography to explore the man behind the groundbreaking work in physics and more. Read to satiate your intellectual curiosity. 

3. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

We all know these two dynamic brothers changed aviation history, but do you know how they got there? McCullough set out to find out. Read this biography if you want to be inspired by two men who followed their dreams—all the way up into the sky. 

4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

An intriguing title for an equally captivating biography! Lacks’ cells were—unbeknownst to her—used for medical research. Skloot wrote this biography to explore the ethics behind that decision. Read if you’re interested in the intersection between privacy and making medical advances. 

5. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow 

History enthusiasts will love Chernow’s profile of one of America’s founding fathers. Not only will you learn about Hamilton’s personal life, but you’ll witness the ways he shaped a nation. 

6. The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell 

Samuel Johnson did it all: he was a poet, an essayist, a literary critic, and many other things—including a biographer himself! Boswell wrote this biography to explore the mind behind Johnson’s prolific body of work. This one is a fun read if you’re interested in the 18th-Century England literary scene. 

7. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

If the title of this biography alone doesn’t make you want to read it, we don’t know what to tell you! Bonhoeffer—a German pastor who resisted the Nazis—is an excellent inspiration for any reader looking to summon more courage in their life. 

8. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

If you’re under the impression that Cleopatra was Egyptian, exceptionally beautiful, or died from a snake bite, read this biography. Because none of those things are true! Schiff offers a fresh perspective on the famed leader. It’s a great read for any ancient history buff. 

9. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis 

Did you know Parks did a lot of activism work outside of her famous bus encounter? Get a more comprehensive look into the life of this civil rights icon in Theoharis’ biography. 

10. Pablo Picasso: A Biography by Patrick O’Brian 

Did you know Picasso wrote poems and plays and created ceramics? There’s more to this famous artist than his abstract portraits. O’Brian gives us an inside look at this creative genius. Don’t miss this one if you’re in the visual arts. 

11. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris 

Interested in American History? Grab this biography by Morris. It details Roosevelt’s political ascent and the indomitable spirit required of him to get there. 

12. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler

If you’ve ever loved a Disney movie, you’ll want to read Gabler’s biography. He takes readers on a journey through the magical world Disney created and gives us insight into one of the most imaginative brains of the 20th century. 

1 3. Queen Victoria by Lytton Strachey 

Did you know that Queen Victoria was the second longest-reigning monarch? Learn about her life in this biography by Strachey. It’s a great read for anyone intrigued by the Victorian era (which, yes, was named after the queen). 

14. Mozart: A Life by Maynard Solomon 

Can’t get enough of Symphony No. 40 in G Minor? This is the biography for you. Solomon takes a deep dive into Mozart’s creative talent and the world of classical music. 

15. The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles

Interested in entrepreneurship ? There’s no better read for you than Stiles’ biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, a ruthless businessman who dramatically influenced America’s economic landscape. 

16. Grant by Ron Chernow 

Another presidential biography by Chernow, this one profiles Ulysses S. Grant’s journey as the Union general and president of the United States. Read this biography if you’re intrigued by the tumultuous time in American history over which Grant presided. 

17. The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone

We can all agree there aren’t enough biographies written about badass women. (Maybe you’ll be the next to write one ?) But we’re thankful for this epic profile by Fagone. It profiles Elizabeth Smith Friedman, a World War II codebreaker who contributed heavily to the field of cryptography. Read for a serious dose of girl power. 

18. CoCo Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie 

Got a bottle of Chanel No. 5 sitting on your shelf? You should pick up this biography by Picardie. In it, we get a glimpse of the iconic fashion designer’s career journey, and also her personal life. 

19. Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin

Fans of A Tale of Two Cities will want to grab a copy of Tomalin’s excellent memoir . You’ll learn about the famous Victorian novelist, including about his lesser-known social activism. 

20. Kafka: The Early Years by Reiner Stach 

Calling all existentialists. You’ll want to get your hands on Stach’s biography of Kafka. Learn about this enigmatic writer’s relationships, struggles, and unique creative process. (P.S. Be sure to read the other books in this three-volume series on Kafka.)

21. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance 

Looking for something contemporary? Try Vance’s biography of Elon Musk. In it, you’ll get a glimpse of Musk’s efforts to transform various industries. It’s a great read for all the innovative thinkers out there!

22. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi by Katherine Frank 

Gandhi was India’s first female prime minister. In her fascinating biography, Frank explores the personal and political challenges Gandhi faced during her tenure. Read this one to be reminded you can overcome any challenge. 

23. Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith 

Explore the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II in this well-researched biography. Anyone into the monarchy should pick this book up–Elizabeth II is one of the most enduring (and iconic) queens. 

24.   Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin 

Learn how Lincoln won over his opposition and steered the country through civil war in this fascinating biography. It’s a great read if you want to learn more about the early leaders who shaped the United States, or if you're looking for inspiration on how to write a book about war .

25. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and The Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro 

Robert Moses, a power-hungry city planner, is the fascinating subject of this biography by Caro. Read it to understand how one man’s vision can transform an entire city. 

26. Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday 

Learn the sordid history of the scheming Chairman Mao Zedong. The authors of this biography spent a decade researching and interviewing to put together a book that will upend everything you know about this infamous leader. 

27. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie 

Experience the life of Russian empress, Catherine the Great in vivid detail, courtesy of this biography by Massie. As one of the most remarkable female rulers, Catherine has an interesting story—and a tumultuous personal life—to share. 

28. The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill by William Manchester and Paul Reid 

Learn about one of the United Kingdom’s most famous prime ministers and how he guided his country through World War II and beyond. This is a great biography for anyone looking to become a leader; Churchill’s invincible spirit will inspire you. 

29. Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser 

Did you know Antoinette didn’t actually say “Let them eat cake”? She also wasn’t as frivolous, dim-witted, or out-of-touch as she is often portrayed. To get the real picture of what Antoinette was like, read Fraser’s biography. We promise you’ll learn something new about this infamous queen. 

30. Charles Darwin: A Biography , Vol. 1 and 2 by Janet Browne

Interested in science and biology? Don’t miss this two volume biography about Charles Darwin, who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection. You’ll learn that he was not only a scientist but deeply interested in literature and the arts. 

31. Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones

Learn about the bearded dreamer behind the creation of the beloved Muppets. This is a great biography to pick up when you need an infusion of joy and inspiration.

32. Ruth Bader Ginsberg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart

RBG continues to inspire women everywhere, even after her passing. If you’re one of her admirers, you’ll like De Hart’s biography. It details Ginsberg’s journey to the Supreme Court, following her legal career, gender advocacy work, and more. 

33. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson 

Learn about the Argentine Revolutionary in this biography by Anderson. You’ll gain new insights about his ideology and the massive impact he had on Latin American politics. 

34. The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero by William Kalush and Larry Sloman 

Want to learn some of the secrets of the world’s most famous escape artist and magician? This is the biography for you. Get a glimpse into his world of illusion and escape reality for a little while. 

35. Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child by Noël Riley Fitch

We all know and love the ebullient Julia Child. Now you can learn about how she rose to culinary stardom in this biography by Fitch. Read this when you want to feel inspired to get back into the kitchen. 

36. Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda 

Learn about the life of this powerful queen in Frieda’s biography. It’s a great read for anyone interested in the Renaissance, the French court, and the monarchy. 

37. Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw 

Want to know more about one of America’s most famous industrialists? Track down a copy of Nasaw’s biography. It covers not only Carnegie’s business empire but his philanthropic legacy too. Carnegie made many enduring contributions to libraries, education, and more.

38. Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd 

Here’s one for the classic literature students. Learn all about the poet and playwright’s life and literary achievements. This biography would make a great gift for the Romeo and Juliet fan in your life. 

39. The Queen’s Agent: Sir Francis Walsingham and the Rise of Espionage in Elizabethan England by John Cooper

Need a break from mystery novels but still want to read something spy-centric? Cooper’s biography is for you. In it, you’ll explore the life of Elizabeth I’s spymaster, who had a large hand in shaping modern espionage. 

40. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Want to read a biography about something other than a person? Here’s an interesting—if morbid—alternative. Get a comprehensive overview of the history and science of cancer. Plus learn about the progress we’re making to fight the disease. 

41. Madame Curie: A Biography by Eve Curie 

This very special biography of Madam Curie—the first woman to win a Nobel prize—was written by her own daughter. Get Eve’s personal perspective on her mother’s life, her groundbreaking work in the field of radioactivity, and more. This one is a can’t-miss. 

42. Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man Who Invented the 20th Century by Sean Patrick 

Interested in inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla? Here’s the biography for you. Get insights into the brilliant mind behind major innovations in electricity and technology. 

43. The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan by Robert Kanigel  

Torn between your love of math and reading? You don’t have to choose with this biography by Kanigel. It details the life of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius Indian mathematician who changed the game with his contributions to number theory. 

44. The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford 

Ready to get in the holiday spirit? Read Standiford’s biography to learn about Dickens’s life and how his classic literary masterpiece changed the holidays forever. 

45. The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom by Simon Winchester

Are you a Sinophile? You’ll love this biography by Winchester. It details the life of Joseph Needham, a British biochemist who did extensive work on the history of science in China. Read to learn about his contributions to cross-cultural understanding.

46. The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss 

Curious about the man who inspired the character in The Count of Monte Cristo ? Read this biography about Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a mixed-race soldier who had a notable influence on literature and history. 

47. The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers 

Did you know Yemen has a rich coffee heritage? Eggers profiles Mokhtar Alkhanshali, a Yemen-American who revitalizes Yemen’s coffee industry amidst the country’s turmoil. 

48. The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired by Francine Prose 

How about a biography of nine people instead of one? In this unique book, Prose shares a glimpse into the lives of the women behind some of our most famous artists’ influential works. 

49. The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero by Timothy Egan

Interested in the intersection of Irish and American history? Read Egan’s biography to learn about Thomas Francis Meagher, an Irish revolutionary who played a key role in both the Irish Rebellion and the American Civil War. 

50. Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery and Murder in Medieval England by Alison Weir 

Intrigued by the bold queen who helped to overthrow her husband? Pick up Weir’s biography. You’ll get to know the life and politics of one of the most infamous members of the monarchy. 

51. Hannibal: The Enemy of Rome by Leonard Cottrell 

Love learning about epic battles and warfare? Learn about the Carthaginian general and his legendary campaigns against Rome in Cottrell’s biography. 

52. Galileo: A Life by James Reston Jr.

Want to learn more about the famed Italian scientist and astronomer? This biography delves deep into not only Galilieo’s contributions to the scientific revolution but also his turbulent relationship with the Catholic church. 

53. Mary S he lley by Miranda Seymour 

Shelley was just 18 years old when she wrote Frankenstein , an achievement all the more remarkable when you consider the decade in which she wrote it. If you’d like to learn more about this genius author, Seymour’s book is for you. 

54. Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius by Laurence Bergreen

In the mood for something sensual and informative? Look no further than Bergreen’s biography of Casanova. The Italian libertine made a lasting impact on European culture and now you can follow along with his escapades. 

55. Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured by Kathryn Harrison 

Want to be inspired by some serious girl power? Read this biography about the French Heroine who helped alter the course of the Hundred Years’ War. You’ll learn about her faith, her mission, and her incredible leadership prowess.  

Final thoughts 

Now that you know what biographies are a must-read, it’s time to hit the library. Or if you’d like to, you can start writing a biography . Or maybe now you feel inspired to write a memoir (in case you need one, here's a refresher on the difference between a memoir and biography ). If this sounds insurmountable, we’re here to help. After all, when you have a clear plan and someone holding your hand along the way, the process is much easier to complete. 

We’ve helped thousands of writers self-publish their own books, and we can help you too. To get started, just schedule a book consultation or download your Ebook below. We can’t wait to meet you! 

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Blog – Posted on Friday, May 21

45 best history books of all time.

If the mere mention of ‘history books’ is enough to conjure up memories of fighting back yawns in your middle school classroom, then chances are you haven’t been looking in the right places. But fear not — this list is here to bring you some of the most well-researched, entertaining, and readable works by the most preeminent historians of today and generations past.

On this list, you not only find some of the best American history books, on topics spanning slavery and empire, Civil War, and Indigenous histories, but also stories ranging from Asia to Africa, and everywhere in between. This list traverses continents, historical eras, the rise and fall of once-great empires, while occasionally stopping off to hone in on specific, localized events that you might never have heard of.

Whether you’re a history buff looking to flex your muscles, or you struggle to distinguish your Nelson from your Nefertiti, there’ll be something suitable for you. So what are you waiting for? Let’s dive into our 45 best history books of all time.

If you’re looking for history books that give the broader picture as well as the finer details, let us introduce you to some of the most seminal texts on global history. These reads cover the moments and events that form the connective tissue between continents, cultures, and eras. Whether you’re looking for more abstract, theoretical writing on what ‘history’ is and does, or just a broader volume that pans out, rather than in, there’ll be something for you.

1. What Is History? by Edward Hallett Carr

Famous for his hefty History of Soviet Russia , E. H. Carr’s foray into historiography (that is, the study of written history) was panned by critics at first. Initially written off as ‘dangerous relativism’, it is now considered a foundational text for historians, one which probes at the very seams of the discipline. By asking what exactly historical knowledge is and what constitutes history as we have come to understand it, Carr provides a compelling and masterful critique of the biases of historians and their moralized narratives of history. This groundbreaking text also interrogates such notions as fact, science, morality, individualism, and society. Carr’s masterpiece is referenced in countless college applications for a reason — it’s a formidable dive into history as a discipline, and laid the foundations for the subject as it exists in the modern world.

2. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx

Though first and foremost considered a political theorist, much of Marxist thought can be a means to understand history with attention to economic systems and principles. In this seminal text, Marx argues that all of history has been defined by the struggles between the proletariat working-class and the capital-owning bourgeoisie. According to Marx, economic structures have been defined by class relations, and the various revolutions that have occurred throughout history have been instigated by antagonism between these two forces. As Marx famously opined in his 1852 essay, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, “history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”, and he lays out those repetitions with striking clarity here. As an added bonus, since this was originally intended as a pamphlet, the manifesto comes in at under 100 pages, so you have no reason not to prime yourself on one of modern history’s greatest thinkers.

3. Orientalism by Edward W. Said

A titan of Middle Eastern political and historical study, Edward Said coined the titular phrase ‘Orientalism’ to describe the West's often reductive and derisive depiction and portrayal of "The East." This book is an explanation of this concept and the application of this framework to understand the global power dynamics between the East and the West. Orientalism is considered by many a challenging read, but don’t let its formidable reputation put you off — it’ll all be worth it when you find yourself thinking about global history in ways you haven’t before.

4. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen

It’s no big secret that the US school curriculum is more than a little biased — governments have a tendency to rewrite history textbooks in their favour, and the US government is no exception, keeping quiet on the grizzly, harrowing details and episodes which made the USA the country it is today. With particular focus on the American Civil War, Native Americans and the Atlantic Slave Trade, Loewen tries to interrogate and override simplistic, recountings of these events that portray White settlers as heroes and everybody else as uncivilized and barbarous. This is essential reading for anybody wanting to challenge their own preconceptions about American history and challenge the elevated status of American ‘heroes’.

5. Democracy: A Life by Paul Cartledge

From its birth in the city-state of Ancient Athens to contemporary times, democracy’s definition, application, and practice have been fiercely discussed and debated. With this book, Cartledge presents a biography of a political system that has been alternately lauded as the only means to govern a liberal society and derided as doomed to ineffectiveness.

Based on a near-legendary course of lectures Cartledge taught at Cambridge University, this book charts the social, cultural, and political dimensions of democracy, displaying a mastery of the scholarship to brilliant effect. For those that want to know more about democracy beyond ‘governance for the masses’.

6. Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary

When history is so often focalized through a Western lens, reading from alternative positions is essential to challenge these normative understandings of the past. Ansary’s Destiny Disrupted does exactly this. By centering on an Islamic recounting of historical events, it challenges preconceived ideas about Western dominance, colonialism, and stereotyped depictions of Islamic culture and custom. Ansary discusses the history of the Islamic world from the time of Mohammed, through the various empires that have ruled the Middle Eastern region and beyond, right up to contemporary conflicts and the status of Islam in a modern, globalizing world. 

7. Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

If you think salt is a substance useful for not much more than topping fries, let journalist Mark Kurlansky prove otherwise. In this book, Kurlansky charts the origins of civilization using a surprising narrative throughline — salt. Many early settlements were established near natural sources of salt because of its many beneficial properties, and this surprisingly precious mineral has continued to play an important role in societies ever since. From its use as a medium of exchange in ancient times to its preservative properties (which allowed ancient civilizations to store essential food throughout the winter), this innocuous substance has been fundamental to the health and wealth of societies across the globe.

8. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

With his collective bibliography having sold over 16 million copies, you’re probably already familiar with Bryson’s work documenting his travels around the world, or his meditations on the brilliant diversity of global culture. Though primarily a travel writer, he’s also turned his hand to history, and A Short History of Nearly Everything specifically focuses on the scientific discoveries of yore that have defined human society. From quantum theory to mass extinction, Bryson recounts these miraculous, unplanned, sometimes ill-fated marvels of human achievement with humor and insight. If there’s a book that’ll have you repeatedly saying “can you believe this?” to random passers-by, this’ll be it!

9. The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World by Lincoln Paine

A nation's ability to conquer the seas has always been a mark of prestige and greatness, especially for empires looking to expand beyond their borders and nations wanting to trade and connect with other peoples. Paine discusses how many societies managed to transform the murky depths of the ocean from natural obstacle to a means of transporting goods, people, and ideas — from the Mesopotamians wanting to trade with their neighbors in ancient Aegea and Egypt, to those in East Asia who fine-tuned their shipbuilding techniques to conquer foreign lands.

10. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

Here’s another book that frequents the reading lists of politics and history majors the world over! Many have theorized on why certain human societies have failed while others have thrived — but perhaps none have done it as astutely as Jared Diamond has in Guns, Germs, and Steel . The three things featured in the book’s title make up the nexus that Diamond presents as being fundamental to the development (or lack thereof) of human society. Though Diamond's thesis has as many detractors as it has supporters, it’s worth reading to see which side of the debate you fall on.

11. The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity by Amartya Sen

In this collection of sixteen essays, esteemed economist Amartya Sen explores the Indian subcontinent, with particular focus on the rich history and culture that has made it the country it is today. The title refers to what Sen believes is inherent to the Indian disposition: argument and constructive criticism as a means to further progress. In his essays, Sen presents careful and considered analysis on a range of subjects that other academics have often tiptoe around, from the nature of Hindu traditions to the major economic disparities existing in certain regions today (and what their roots might be). Whether you’re an expert or new to the topic, you’ll be sure to learn something from Sen’s incisive commentary.

Ancient kingdoms are shrouded in mystery — a lot of what we know has been painstakingly pieced together by brilliant archaeologists and historians who have uncovered ancient artifacts, documents, and remains, and dedicated their working lives to understanding their significance to ancient people. Aren’t the rest of us lucky they’ve done the hard work for us?

12. Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend

The pre-colonial Central America ruled by the Aztecs was one characterized by remarkable innovation and progressiveness. Western historians, however, often failed to acknowledge this or pay the region and its ancient empires much academic attention. Moreover, the history of the Mexican people as recounted by the Spanish has often leaned into stereotyped, whitewashed versions of events. Townsend’s Fifth Sun changes this by presenting a history of the Aztecs solely using sources and documents written by the Aztec people themselves in their native Nahuatl language. What results is an empathetic and invigorating interpretation of Aztec history for newbies and long-time enthusiasts alike.

13. When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt by Kara Cooney

When you think of Ancient Egyptian queens, Cleopatra probably comes to mind — but did you know that the various Egyptian dynasties boasted a whole host of prominent women? Cooney’s When Women Ruled The World shifts the spotlight away from the more frequently discussed Egyptian pharaohs, placing attention on the likes of Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra, all of whom commanded great armies, oversaw the conquering of new lands, and implemented innovative economic systems. In this captivating read, Cooney reveals more about these complex characters and explores why accounts of ancient empires have been so prone to placing powerful women on the margins of historical narratives. 

14. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 1 by Edward Gibbon

If you’re a fan of serious, in-depth scholarship on ancient history, then this first volume of Gibbon's classic treatise on the Roman Empire is a perfect fit for you. Despite being published in 1776, Gibbon’s work on the Roman Empire is still revered by historians today. Along with five other volumes of this monumental work, this text is considered one of the most comprehensive and pre-eminent accounts in the field. Gibbon offers theories on exactly how and why the Roman Empire fell, arguing controversially that it succumbed to barbarian attacks mainly due to the decline of “civic virtue” within Roman culture. If this thesis has piqued your interest, then we naturally suggest you start with Volume I to understand what exactly Gibbon considers “virtue” to be, and how it was lost. 

15. The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome by Susan Wise Bauer

Historians are often wont to focus on a particular historical era or location when producing historical nonfiction — but Susan Wise Bauer had grander ambitions. In this text, Bauer weaves together events that spanned continents and eras, from the East to the Americas. This book, described as an “engrossing tapestry,” primarily aims to connect tales of rulers to the everyday lives of those they ruled in vivid detail. With an eloquently explained model, she reveals how the ancient world shaped, and was shaped by, its peoples.

16. Foundations of Chinese Civilization: The Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty by Jing Liu

Believe it or not, history doesn’t always mean slogging through page after page of dense, footnoted text. This comic by Beijing native Jing Liu turns history on its head by presenting it in a fun, digestible manner for anybody that has an interest in Chinese history (but isn’t quite ready to tackle an 800-page book on the subject yet). Spanning nearly 3,000 years of ancient history, this comic covers the Silk Road, the birth of Confucianism and Daoism, China's numerous internal wars, and finally the process of modern unification.

Middle Ages and renaissance

Some of the most fearsome and formidable characters in history had their heyday during the Middle Ages and renaissance periods — though it’s hard to know whether their larger-than-life reputations are owed to actual attributes they had, or from their mythologizing during a time where fewer reliable sources exist. Either way, we think they’re great fun to read about — as are their various exploits and conquests. From Genghis Khan to Cosimo de Medici, we’ve got you covered.

17. The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan

The Silk Road, an artery of commerce running from Europe through Russia to Asia (and a vital means of connecting the West with the East), has long been of interest to historians of the old world. In this book, Frankopan goes one step further, to claim that there has been more than one silk road throughout history — and that the region stretching from the Mediterranean to China (modern-day Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan) remains the crossroads of civilization and the center of global affairs. Frankopan argues compellingly that this region should be afforded more attention when historians theorize on centers of power and how they have shifted across time. It’s a convincing argument, and one that is expertly executed by Frankopan’s engaging writing and scrupulous research.

18. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

Genghis Khan is perhaps one of the most formidable figures in global history. Many recognize his iconic topknot-and-horseback image despite not knowing all too much about his life or the military successes he oversaw as leader of the Mongolian empire. Weatherford’s book takes a deep dive into this complex character and explores new dimensions of the society and culture he imposed upon the many peoples he conquered. As a civilization, Khan's was more keenly progressive than its European counterparts — having abolished torture, granted religious freedoms, and deposed the feudal systems that subordinated so many to so few. If you’re in the mood for an epic tale that’ll challenge your understanding of the global past, you’ll want to pick this book up.

19. Precolonial Black Africa by Cheikh Anta Diop

Cheikh Anta Diop, a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician, dedicated his working life to the study of pre-colonial African culture and the origins of human civilization itself. This book, arguably his most influential text, draws out comparisons between European empires and societies with the often overlooked African civilizations. Diop carefully shows that Africa contributed far more to the world’s development than just its exploited labor and natural resources. Precolonial Black Africa thus sets out to reorient our knowledge of a period that is so often derided by non-African thinkers as “uncivilized” and “barbarous” with brilliant attention to detail.

20. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge

In the 11th century, a vast Christian army was summoned and ordered by the Pope to march across Europe. Their aim was to seize Jerusalem and claim back the city considered the holy seat of Christianity. As it happened, Jerusalem was also a land strongly associated with the Prophets of Islam. The Christian mission thus manifested in the Crusaders’ rampage through the Muslim world, devastating many parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Asbridge’s innovative recounting of this momentous event is unique in the way it even-handedly unpacks the perspective of both the Christian and Muslim experiences and their memorializing of the Holy Wars. With rich and detailed scholarship, this book reveals how the Crusades shaped the Medieval world and continue to impact the present day.

21. The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall by Christopher Hibbert

Renaissance Florence is perhaps most famous as the cradle of revered art, sculpture, and architecture by the likes of Michelangelo and Leonardo — but in the 15th century, it was also home to the Medicis, one of the most powerful banking dynasties in Europe. Starting with enterprising Cosimo de Medici in the 1430s, Hibbert chronicles the impressive rise of a family that dominated a city where mercantile families jostled for political and social influence, often to bloody ends. And — spoiler alert, if you can spoil history — as with every great period, the rise of the Medicis naturally involves a spectacular fall. It’s the kind of stuff soap operas are made of: an unmissable tale of family intrigue and the corrupting influence of money. 

In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering. Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.

22. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann

Mainstream history has too often made it seem as though the Americas was all but a vacant wasteland before Columbus and other European conquerors drifted upon its shores in the 15th century. Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth — from the Aztecs to the Incas to the tribes of Northern America, many complex social and cultural structures existed prior to the arrival of Europeans. Southern American peoples in particular had sophisticated societies and infrastructures (including running water!) that have unfortunately been obliviated from the popular (or at least white Western) consciousness. A classic book that challenges the victor’s story, Charles C. Mann’s 1491 provides exciting new information on civilizations that have more to teach us than we have previously acknowledged. 

23. The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones

Is there a more abiding emblem of British history than that of Medieval England’s monarchy and the Wars of the Roses? Though its historical figures and events have often been portrayed in television dramas, plays, and books, little is commonly known about the House of Plantagenets, who ruled from the 12th to the 15th century — an era packed with royal drama, intrigue, and internal division. For a witty, acerbic account of the whole ordeal, visit Dan Jones’s The Plantagenets . He approaches the subject with dazzling storytelling skills and charm that it will feel like you’re reading a novel, not a nonfiction book.

Enlightenment, empire, and revolution

You can’t make sense of the present without understanding the forces that got us here. The mechanized and globalized, mass-producing and mass-consuming world we live in today was forged in the fiery hearth of the Industrial Revolution, on the decks of ships setting out in search of uncharted territory, and in battles that were fought over supposedly ‘undiscovered’ lands. A lot changed for the common man in this period, and a lot has been written about it too — here are some of the best works.

24. The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective by Robert C. Allen

The Industrial Revolution is perhaps the most important phenomenon in modern history. It started in 18th-century Britain, where inventions like the mechanical loom and the steam engine were introduced, changing the nature of work and production. But why did this happen in Britain and not elsewhere in the world, and how precisely did it change things? These questions are answered lucidly in Robert C. Allen’s informative book. From the preconditions for growth to the industries and trades that grew out of them, The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspectives has it all covered. Though it leans a bit on the academic side, it provides valuable knowledge that will vastly improve your understanding of today’s mass-producing, mass-consuming world.

25. A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

For an overview of the history of the US, try this impressive treatise by historian and political scientist Howard Zinn. There’s a reason why this book is so often assigned as mandatory reading for high school and college history courses — it challenges readers to rethink what they’ve been told about America’s past. Rather than focusing on ‘great’ men and their achievements, A People’s History dives unflinchingly into the societal conditions and changes of the last few centuries. Exploring the motives behind events like the Civil War and US international interventions in the 20th century, Zinn shows that while patriotism and morality have often been used to justify America’s social movements and wars, it’s often been economic growth and wealth accumulation that truly drove leaders’ decisions.

26. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown

At Wounded Knee Creek in 1890, the Lakota people confronted the encroaching US Army to protect their homeland and community. What followed was a massacre that for decades was viewed as a heroic victory — exemplifying how history is truly shaped by the victors, unless someone else speaks up. In 2010, Dee Brown did just this, exploring the colonialist treatment that Indigenous Americans suffered throughout the late 19th century in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Using council records and personal accounts from people of various Native American tribes, Brown demonstrates just how destructive the US administration was to these communities: in the name of Manifest Destiny and building new infrastructure, white settlers destroyed the culture and heritage of the Indigenous population. It’s something that's sadly still too familiar now, making this an even more pressing read.

27. Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi

While this isn’t strictly a history book, Four Hundred Souls is certainly an eye-opening volume if you’re looking to explore oft-hidden aspects of history. This collection of essays, personal reflections, and short stories is written by ninety different authors, all providing unique insights into the experiences of Black Americans throughout history. Editors Kendi and Blain do a brilliant job of amalgamating a variety of emotions and perspectives: from the pains of slavery and its legacy to the heartfelt poetry of younger generations. If you’re looking for your fix of African American Literature and nonfiction in one go, consider this your go-to.

Since its U.S. debut a quarter-century ago, this brilliant text has set a new standard for historical scholarship of Latin America. It is also an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital accumulation since Marx.

Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Eduardo Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Thus he is concerned with gold and silver, cacao and cotton, rubber and coffee, fruit, hides and wool, petroleum, iron, nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum ore, nitrates, and tin. These are the veins which he traces through the body of the entire continent, up to the Rio Grande and throughout the Caribbean, and all the way to their open ends where they empty into the coffers of wealth in the United States and Europe.

Weaving fact and imagery into a rich tapestry, Galeano fuses scientific analysis with the passions of a plundered and suffering people. An immense gathering of materials is framed with a vigorous style that never falters in its command of themes. All readers interested in great historical, economic, political, and social writing will find a singular analytical achievement, and an overwhelming narrative that makes history speak, unforgettably.

This classic is now further honored by Isabel Allende’s inspiring introduction. Universally recognized as one of the most important writers of our time, Allende once again contributes her talents to literature, to political principles, and to enlightenment.

28. Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Eduardo Galeano

The instabilities of Latin America over the last century have largely stemmed from its turbulent and violent past, its land and people having been exploited by European imperial powers, followed by American interventionism. In Open Veins of Latin America, Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano passionately and compellingly recounts this history while also keeping it accessible to modern readers. Still on the fence? Let the foreword by Latinx literary giant Isabel Allende convince you: “Galeano denounces exploitation with uncompromising ferocity, yet this book is almost poetic in its description of solidarity and human capacity for survival in the midst of the worst kind of despoliation.”

29. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano Illustrated by Olaudah Equiano

Though it was published in the late 18th century, this autobiography is still being reprinted today. It follows the life of Equiano, a slave who was kidnapped from his village in Nigeria and trafficked to Britain. In this foreign land, he was traded like merchandise time and again, struggling against adversity to find his freedom and define his identity. The accuracy of the story has been called into question, which is why reprinted editions have footnotes and additional details to better explain the social context of the situation. Regardless, the narrative style of the book makes it a hypnotizing read, immersing readers in the world of Georgian England and the horrors of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The World Wars

We thought the biggest events of the 20th century deserved their own section. The fact that so many people across the globe lived to experience these two momentous, destructive wars is perhaps why so much has been written about them — and how they reinvented life as we know it. The books below, covering a variety of perspectives, will intrigue, surprise, and hopefully teach you a thing or two.

30. Ten Days That Shook The World by John Reed

If you’re interested in firsthand accounts of people who've lived through historical moments, then this is the book for you. Published in 1919, Ten Days that Shook the World is the thrilling political memoir of someone who witnessed the October Revolution unfold in St Petersburg, Russia. Reed was a socialist and a newspaper correspondent who happened to be in close contact with the likes of Lenin and Trotsky, aka the innermost circle of the Bolsheviks. His account of the revolution thus provides a very unique perspective — one of both an insider and an outsider. While Reed couldn’t be as impartial as he intended as a journalist, this book is still a useful insight into one of the most important moments in modern history.

31. The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

If you’re a fan of history books, then you’ve probably heard of Barbara Tuchman: she was a historian and author who twice won the Pulitzer Prize, once for this very book. In The Guns of August , Tuchman uncovers the beginnings of World War I. She starts by examining the alliances and military plans that each country had in case of warfare, demonstrating how delicate this moment was before the declarations and the first battles on various fronts. The militaristic theme of the book could’ve made the tone dry, yet Tuchman lets the stories unravel in a way that intrigues and enthralls. As the granddaughter of the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Tuchman was in Constantinople as the war began, and as a result, her work takes on the gravity of someone who was in the thick of it.,

32. Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie

In the 1930s, when Hitler was making moves to acquire land from neighboring countries, the rest of the Allies pursued a policy they called appeasement. In the book of the same name (previously known as Appeasing Hitler ), the reasoning behind such a policy — despite the Nazis’ blatant antisemitism and aggressive nationalism — reveals how that led to World War II. Spoiler alert: ironically, this was all done with the assumption that if Hitler got what he wanted, there wouldn’t be another large-scale war that would last another four years. As informative as it is, Appeasement is also a valuable reminder that what happened in the past wasn’t a given — at that moment in time, things could have gone any number of ways. What matters, looking back, is what we can learn from it for the future.

33. Leningrad: The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-1944 by Anna Reid

From historical fiction novels like Atonement to the somber box office hit Dunkirk , our mainstream knowledge about the Second World War has predominantly featured the French Western Front. Possibly because American forces were much more involved in this side of the war, we tend to overlook the biggest battles, which took place in Eastern Europe.

In Leningrad , Anna Reid sheds a light on one of these epic battles. Breaking Hitler’s vow of non-aggression, German forces poured into the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1941, expecting a quick victory. Little did they know that Leningrad (modern-day St Petersburg) was not about to go down without a vicious fight. Over the next three years, this massive city was put under a siege that resulted in destruction, famine, and countless deaths, though the Germans were ultimately defeated. What was life like in this prolonged blockade, and was it truly a Soviet victory? You’ll have to read Leningrad to find out.

34. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John W. Dower

As the only country to have been a victim of nuclear attacks, Japan’s postwar experience has arguably been one of the most unique and difficult of all the countries that took part in the world wars. Prior to and during WW2, Japan was a major power that had annexed much of East Asia by 1941. After the war, Japan was a defeated nation, strong-armed into surrendering by the Soviet army and two American atomic bombs.

Embracing Defeat is about a nation coming to terms with its new reality in the following years, during which the US-occupied Japan and was actively involved in its rebuilding. Shock, devastation, and humiliation were just a few of the emotions that society had to live through. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning book, MIT professor John Dower explores these sentiments and how they translated into social and cultural changes in Japan.

35. Broken Lives: How Ordinary Germans Experienced the 20th Century by Konrad H. Jarausch

Over the course of the 20th century, Germany truly experienced all possible transformations. From a key European imperial power to an economically crippled state, to Nazism and the Holocaust, and then to Cold War partition — there’s certainly been no shortage of tumult in Germany over the past hundred years. Collecting stories from over 60 people who lived through these ups and downs, Konrad Jarausch presents a down-to-earth picture of what it was like to undergo these changes in everyday life. While we often see historical changes as a given in hindsight, for the people who lived through the period, these transformations were sometimes far from foreseeable — yet have been formative to their individual and collective identities.

It’s remarkable to consider what humanity has achieved in the last century alone, from the first manned flight to landing people on the moon. But that’s not all: world wars were fought, empires were toppled, living conditions improved for many across the world and human rights were advanced in ways many would not have been able to fathom even a few decades before. To absorb more of our “modern” history, peruse the books below.

36. Stalin's Englishman: Guy Burgess, the Cold War, and the Cambridge Spy Ring by Andrew Lownie

If you’re a fan of thrilling spy novels , then Stalin’s Englishman is the history book for you: it’s the biography of Guy Burgess, an English-born Soviet spy from the 1930s onward. In a way, Burgess was made for the job — he was born into a wealthy family, attended prestigious schools like Eton and Cambridge, worked at the BBC and then for MI6, making him entirely beyond suspicion in the eyes of his own people. Though little is officially recorded about Burgess’s life, Andrew Lownie has compiled plenty of oral evidence related to this charming spy, weaving together an exciting narrative that will keep you turning the pages.

37. The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence by Martin Meredith

Since the end of World War II, Africa has seen several waves of independence movements. And while it was once a vision of hope, the effects of colonialism have frequently made post-independence life in Africa unstable and dangerous. Martin Meredith looks into the nuances of this legacy and how it has played out in the post-independence era. Rather than focusing on individual countries, Meredith widens his scope and presents a thorough overview of the continent, making this book an essential read for anyone new to modern African history.

38. Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991 by Eric Hobsbawm

Eric Hobsbawm is a well-known Marxist historian, and so it’s no surprise that his account of 20th-century history leans on the critical side. The Age of Extremes is all about failures: of communism, of state socialism, of market capitalism, and even of nationalism. 

Dividing the century into three parts — the Age of Catastrophe, the Golden Age, and the Landslide — Hobsbawm tracks Western powers and their struggles with world wars, economic failures, and new world orders that involved them losing colonies and influence. In their place, new systems rose to prominence, though all exhibited fundamental faults that made it difficult for them to last. The Age of Extremes is not a jovial read, but it provides an interesting perspective on modern world history. If you’re up for some harsh social commentary, you should definitely pick this book up.

39. Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War by Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Vietnam War, as it is commonly called in the US, still looms large in the American imagination. But while the trauma and camaraderie of American soldiers in the tropical jungles of Vietnam have often been often highlighted, shamefully little has been said about the sufferings of the Vietnamese people — both those who remained in Vietnam and those who eventually left as “boat people.”

The gap in mainstream memory of this heavily politicized war is what Viet Thanh Nguyen addresses in his thought-provoking nonfiction book, Nothing Ever Dies . Having lived through the tail end of that conflict himself, Nguyen offers a perspective that’s too often swept under the rug. Through his writing, he reminds readers that history as we know it is often selective and subjective; it’s more than what we choose to remember, it’s also about why we choose to remember the things we do, and how sinister political motives that can factor in.

40. Age Of Ambition : Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China by Evan Osnos

History isn’t all about the distant past, and with such rapid changes over the last several decades, the contemporary history of China grows ever more fascinating by the year. Following economic reforms in the 1980s, China has grown exponentially and become one of the biggest economies in the world. But this opening up also meant that the Communist Party could no longer control the people’s discourses as effectively as before. In Age of Ambition , Evan Osnos draws on his firsthand observations as a journalist in China, talking about the recent transformation of Chinese people’s aspirations and plans to reach beyond the border of their country through their studies, their work, their consumption, and their communications.

41. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

If you think history can’t be gripping, then let Patrick Radden Keefe convince you otherwise: in this modern history book, he uses a murder investigation as a window into the bitter ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland. The book begins in 1972, in the middle of the Troubles — a 30-year conflict between the Catholic Irish, who wanted to leave the UK, and the Protestants who wanted to stay. A 38-year-old woman by the name of Jean McConville, married to a Catholic former soldier of the British Army, has disappeared. The suspects are members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), known to have executed people they believed were spying on them for the British. All deny the accusation, of course — some even going as far as to deny their involvement in the IRA altogether. Looking back at the incident and its suspects four decades later, Keefe highlights the atrocities that were committed by all parties during this period, and how they still resonate through NI today.

42. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments

An esteemed researcher of African American literature and history, Hartman has produced a trove of work on the practices and legacies of slavery in the US. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments is but one of the insightful titles she’s produced, discussing the lives of Black women in late 19th-century New York and Philadelphia. Looking at the concept and understanding of sexuality in these communities, Hartman found that despite the criminalization practiced by the state, there was space for women to own their sexuality and gender identity. It was a small space, and it would have slipped into oblivion if no one cared to explore the nuances of the urbanizing life of the 1890s — but this book ensures that they can never be left in the dust.

43. Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

This book, written to accompany the 4-episode docuseries of the same name, is a must-read for everyone interested in British history. The common understanding of this island nation’s history is usually related to its seaborne conquests and longstanding monarchies. But what of the servants and slaves, the people that actually did the work and fought the battles? What of the people who were moved here through colonial exchanges? Retracing British history with an eye upon the waves of immigration, Olusoga gives a comprehensive overview of the complexity of Black Britishness in the UK, a group whose stories are often obscured. He also shows that these people were and are integral to the nation’s development, and are thus not to be forgotten.

44. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

For those who enjoy storytelling, check out this thrilling novel-style history book on H. H. Holmes, the man considered to be one of the first modern serial killers. Holmes was only ever convicted for one murder but is thought to have had up to 27 victims, many lured to the World’s Fair Hotel that he owned. The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago is thus the immersive setting of The Devil in the White City , and is written from the point of view of the designers who contributed to the fair. It reads like suspense — think The Alienist — but it also informs on the excitement and uncertainty of the early stages of urbanization, coming together as a marvelous blend of mystery novel and true crime . 

45. Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala by Stephen Schlesinger

In 1954, Guatemalan President Árbenz was overthrown. As with many Cold War-era coups in Asia and Latin America, the US was heavily involved in the plot. Even more absurdly, one of the main forces lobbying for this intervention was the United Fruit Company, which has been benefiting from labor exploitation in Guatemala. The result of this was the installation of an undemocratic and oppressive government, supremely heightened political unrest, and ultimately a prolonged civil war. Bitter Fruit dives into the rationales (or rather irrationalities) behind American involvement, highlighting the powerful paranoia that underlay many decisions throughout the Cold War.

Seeking more fodder for your non-fiction shelf? Why not check out the 60 best non-fiction books of the 21st century !

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Top 50 Greatest Biopics of All Time (The Ultimate List)

A biopic, or a biographical movie, is a film that deals with the story of a well known person or group of people in history. If you guys would like to view my other Top 10/Top 100 lists, feel free to check out my YouTube page and/or my IMDb page at *ChrisWalczyk55*.

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1. Amadeus (1984)

R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music

The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , as told by Antonio Salieri , the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.

Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham , Tom Hulce , Elizabeth Berridge , Roy Dotrice

Votes: 427,701 | Gross: $51.97M

2. Gandhi (1982)

PG | 191 min | Biography, Drama, History

The life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.

Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Ben Kingsley , John Gielgud , Rohini Hattangadi , Roshan Seth

Votes: 240,147 | Gross: $52.77M

3. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Approved | 218 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama

The story of T.E. Lawrence , the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.

Director: David Lean | Stars: Peter O'Toole , Alec Guinness , Anthony Quinn , Jack Hawkins

Votes: 314,139 | Gross: $44.82M

4. Malcolm X (1992)

PG-13 | 202 min | Biography, Drama, History

Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.

Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington , Angela Bassett , Delroy Lindo , Spike Lee

Votes: 101,982 | Gross: $48.17M

5. Schindler's List (1993)

R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History

In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson , Ralph Fiennes , Ben Kingsley , Caroline Goodall

Votes: 1,449,564 | Gross: $96.90M

6. Raging Bull (1980)

R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

The life of boxer Jake LaMotta , whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro , Cathy Moriarty , Joe Pesci , Frank Vincent

Votes: 379,957 | Gross: $23.38M

7. Goodfellas (1990)

R | 145 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro , Ray Liotta , Joe Pesci , Lorraine Bracco

Votes: 1,256,387 | Gross: $46.84M

8. The King's Speech (2010)

R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History

The story of King George VI , his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.

Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth , Geoffrey Rush , Helena Bonham Carter , Derek Jacobi

Votes: 707,701 | Gross: $138.80M

9. Braveheart (1995)

R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, War

Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.

Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson , Sophie Marceau , Patrick McGoohan , Angus Macfadyen

Votes: 1,090,787 | Gross: $75.60M

10. Patton (1970)

GP | 172 min | Biography, Drama, War

The World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton .

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: George C. Scott , Karl Malden , Stephen Young , Michael Strong

Votes: 107,902 | Gross: $61.70M

11. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio , Tom Hanks , Christopher Walken , Martin Sheen

Votes: 1,094,451 | Gross: $164.62M

12. The Last Emperor (1987)

PG-13 | 163 min | Biography, Drama, History

Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: John Lone , Joan Chen , Peter O'Toole , Ruocheng Ying

Votes: 111,437 | Gross: $43.98M

13. Walk the Line (2005)

PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Music

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash 's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley , Jerry Lee Lewis , and Carl Perkins .

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix , Reese Witherspoon , Ginnifer Goodwin , Robert Patrick

Votes: 265,740 | Gross: $119.52M

14. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery

A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.

Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe , Ed Harris , Jennifer Connelly , Christopher Plummer

Votes: 986,348 | Gross: $170.74M

15. The Social Network (2010)

PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama

As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg , Andrew Garfield , Justin Timberlake , Rooney Mara

Votes: 758,125 | Gross: $96.96M

16. The Pianist (2002)

R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music

During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.

Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody , Thomas Kretschmann , Frank Finlay , Emilia Fox

Votes: 911,396 | Gross: $32.57M

17. Capote (2005)

R | 114 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.

Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman , Clifton Collins Jr. , Catherine Keener , Allie Mickelson

Votes: 140,691 | Gross: $28.75M

18. Lincoln (2012)

PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History

As the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis , Sally Field , David Strathairn , Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Votes: 272,515 | Gross: $182.21M

19. The Aviator (2004)

PG-13 | 170 min | Biography, Drama

A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes ' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio , Cate Blanchett , Kate Beckinsale , John C. Reilly

Votes: 383,908 | Gross: $102.61M

20. Notorious (2009)

R | 122 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

The life and death story of The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm.

Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Jamal Woolard , Anthony Mackie , Derek Luke , Momo Dione

Votes: 46,042 | Gross: $36.84M

21. Ed Wood (1994)

R | 127 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama

Ambitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams despite his lack of talent.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp , Martin Landau , Sarah Jessica Parker , Patricia Arquette

Votes: 183,907 | Gross: $5.89M

22. The Elephant Man (1980)

PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.

Director: David Lynch | Stars: Anthony Hopkins , John Hurt , Anne Bancroft , John Gielgud

Votes: 258,301

23. The Imitation Game (2014)

PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller

During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.

Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch , Keira Knightley , Matthew Goode , Allen Leech

Votes: 824,501 | Gross: $91.13M

24. Chaplin (1992)

PG-13 | 143 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama

An elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, recounting his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.

Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Robert Downey Jr. , Geraldine Chaplin , Paul Rhys , John Thaw

Votes: 62,193 | Gross: $9.49M

25. The Theory of Everything (2014)

PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance

Stephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.

Director: James Marsh | Stars: Eddie Redmayne , Felicity Jones , Tom Prior , Sophie Perry

Votes: 481,857 | Gross: $35.89M

26. Milk (I) (2008)

R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History

The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn , Josh Brolin , Emile Hirsch , Diego Luna

Votes: 179,807 | Gross: $31.84M

27. Straight Outta Compton (2015)

R | 147 min | Biography, Drama, History

The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.

Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr. , Corey Hawkins , Jason Mitchell , Neil Brown Jr.

Votes: 218,364 | Gross: $161.20M

28. JFK (1991)

R | 189 min | Drama, History, Thriller

New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Kevin Costner , Gary Oldman , Jack Lemmon , Walter Matthau

Votes: 169,838 | Gross: $70.41M

29. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

R | 180 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime

Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort , from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio , Jonah Hill , Margot Robbie , Matthew McConaughey

Votes: 1,581,624 | Gross: $116.90M

30. Moneyball (2011)

PG-13 | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.

Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Brad Pitt , Robin Wright , Jonah Hill , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 464,232 | Gross: $75.61M

31. The Blind Side (2009)

PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron , Sandra Bullock , Tim McGraw , Jae Head

Votes: 360,296 | Gross: $255.96M

32. Ali (2001)

R | 157 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

A biography of sports legend Muhammad Ali , focusing on his triumphs and controversies between 1964 and 1974.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Will Smith , Jamie Foxx , Jon Voight , Mario Van Peebles

Votes: 105,525 | Gross: $58.20M

33. Ray (I) (2004)

PG-13 | 152 min | Biography, Drama, Music

The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles , from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.

Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Jamie Foxx , Regina King , Kerry Washington , Clifton Powell

Votes: 157,347 | Gross: $75.33M

34. The Fighter (I) (2010)

R | 116 min | Action, Biography, Drama

Based on the story of Micky Ward , a fledgling boxer who tries to escape the shadow of his more famous but troubled older boxing brother and get his own shot at greatness.

Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Mark Wahlberg , Christian Bale , Amy Adams , Melissa Leo

Votes: 388,715 | Gross: $93.62M

35. Remember the Titans (2000)

PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

In 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.

Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Denzel Washington , Will Patton , Wood Harris , Ryan Hurst

Votes: 231,798 | Gross: $115.65M

36. Cinderella Man (2005)

PG-13 | 144 min | Biography, Drama, Romance

The true story of James J. Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer, who returned to the spotlight to win the heavyweight championship of the world.

Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe , Renée Zellweger , Craig Bierko , Paul Giamatti

Votes: 198,245 | Gross: $61.65M

37. Serpico (1973)

R | 130 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino , John Randolph , Jack Kehoe , Biff McGuire

Votes: 134,670 | Gross: $29.80M

38. The Last King of Scotland (2006)

R | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History

Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin 's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s.

Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: James McAvoy , Forest Whitaker , Gillian Anderson , Kerry Washington

Votes: 195,955 | Gross: $17.61M

39. Spartacus (1960)

PG-13 | 197 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama

The slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.

Directors: Stanley Kubrick , Anthony Mann | Stars: Kirk Douglas , Laurence Olivier , Jean Simmons , Charles Laughton

Votes: 143,104 | Gross: $30.00M

40. My Left Foot (1989)

R | 103 min | Biography, Drama

Christy Brown , born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.

Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis , Brenda Fricker , Alison Whelan , Kirsten Sheridan

Votes: 79,729 | Gross: $14.74M

41. Hotel Rwanda (2004)

PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama, History

Paul Rusesabagina , a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.

Director: Terry George | Stars: Don Cheadle , Sophie Okonedo , Joaquin Phoenix , Xolani Mali

Votes: 372,101 | Gross: $23.53M

42. The Theory of Everything (2014)

43. into the wild (2007).

R | 148 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama

After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.

Director: Sean Penn | Stars: Emile Hirsch , Vince Vaughn , Catherine Keener , Marcia Gay Harden

Votes: 657,833 | Gross: $18.35M

44. The Insider (1999)

R | 157 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller

A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Russell Crowe , Al Pacino , Christopher Plummer , Diane Venora

Votes: 180,131 | Gross: $28.97M

45. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

R | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History

World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss , serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.

Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Andrew Garfield , Sam Worthington , Luke Bracey , Teresa Palmer

Votes: 593,468 | Gross: $67.21M

46. Casino (1995)

R | 178 min | Crime, Drama

In Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro , Sharon Stone , Joe Pesci , James Woods

Votes: 563,526 | Gross: $42.44M

47. Nixon (1995)

R | 192 min | Biography, Drama, History

A biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon , from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Anthony Hopkins , Joan Allen , Powers Boothe , Ed Harris

Votes: 32,712 | Gross: $13.56M

48. Donnie Brasco (1997)

R | 127 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the Mafia life--at the expense of his regular one.

Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Al Pacino , Johnny Depp , Michael Madsen , Bruno Kirby

Votes: 332,017 | Gross: $41.91M

49. Miracle (2004)

PG | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History

The true story of Herb Brooks, the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet squad.

Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Kurt Russell , Patricia Clarkson , Nathan West , Noah Emmerich

Votes: 58,866 | Gross: $64.38M

50. October Sky (1999)

PG | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Family

The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.

Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal , Chris Cooper , Laura Dern , Chris Owen

Votes: 97,840 | Gross: $32.48M

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