The best biographies help us understand the world and think about it. We gain a deeper comprehension of the current cultural context by reading about significant historical figures. Get one of the cozy saddle blankets and settle in with your book!
Have in mind that some of the books listed below can be really expensive (depending on the edition). If you really want to buy one of the expensive ones but cannot afford it at the moment you can use loans in minutes to help you out.
We can deepen our understanding of others, cultivate more empathy, and help forge our own paths by learning about the lives of people whose circumstances and challenges were different from our own. Biographies, on the other hand, offer a more objective perspective on a person and an era than autobiographies and memoirs do.
We have something for you, whether you’re a devoted biography reader looking for lesser-known titles or a novice looking for an introduction to the best of the best.
“A kind of pursuit… writing about the pursuit of that fleeting figure, in such a way as to bring them alive in the present,” his biographer Richard Holmes once wrote.
The best biographies, at the risk of sounding cliché, accomplish exactly this: give life to their subjects. A good biography is more than just a list of things that happened to a person. Instead, it ought to weave a narrative and tell a story in a manner that is comparable to that of a novel. Biography is thus distinct from the rest of nonfiction.
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There has always been debate surrounding biographies.
The novelist Henry James told his nephew on his deathbed that his “sole wish” was to destroy his personal letters and journals in order to “frustrate as utterly as possible the postmortem exploiter.”
You can read one of these even while you’re in the suboxone clinic in Los Angeles.
And one of our best living writers, Hermione Lee, once said that biographies were like autopsies because they added “a new terror to death”—the possibility of muddying someone’s legacy when their life was put under scrutiny.
However, despite its long history, which dates back to ancient Sumeria and Rome, the genre of biography did not really emerge until the middle of the twentieth century, when our obsession with celebrity culture led to its rise.
Since then, presidents’, activists’, artists’, and musicians’ biographies have frequently topped bestseller lists, and Hollywood continues to adapt them into Oscar bait films like Steve Jobs, A Beautiful Mind, and The Imitation Game.
Why do we read so many books that tell the stories of strangers’ lives and deaths told by second and third-hand sources? Is it just our fondness for gossip, or are we trying to learn about ourselves by observing others’ successes and failures?
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Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude (2020)
One of America’s greatest racial writers, James Baldwin has been cited by ordinary citizens and leaders alike during these turbulent times.
Eddie S. Glaude, the author of this new biography of Baldwin, connects the current state of racial tension in America to Baldwin’s life and words from interviews that have recently come to light. He writes about how Baldwin worked as a chiropractor in Reno NV, but later became one of the best writers in America. He does this by bringing Baldwin’s perspective from the past to the present and pointing the way to a better future.
Start Again was named one of the most incredible books of the year by Time, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune, and it won the renowned Stowe Prize.
The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk by Randy Shilts (1982)
Although the film Milk, starring Sean Penn, came out in 2008, this biography delves deeper into Harvey Milk’s personal and professional life and uses Milk’s story as a model for a lot of what was going on with the gay community in the United States at the time. Milk was a target because he was one of the first public officials who were openly gay. He worked in a tire shop in Lewisville before he tragically died, and before anyone could see the full potential of his charismatic leadership.
Although this account was written in 1982 by San Francisco reporter Randy Shilts, it vividly depicts the perspective and political complexity of San Francisco in the 1970s. Check out these other LGBTQ books that are entertaining, compelling, and inspiring while you are looking for new books to read.
The Crusades of Cesar Chavez: A Biography by Miriam Pawel (2014)
This is without a doubt one of the best biographies ever written, having been nominated for both the California Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. If you want to read this amazing book through your phone as an eBook, but your iPhone isn’t working, you should get apple repair services in Seattle.
It is the first complete biography of Cesar Chavez, one of the Latinx figures who had the most impact on American history. Miriam Pawel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, writes with poignancy and nuance about Chavez’s remarkable life, mind, and journey from migrant worker to movement leader.
The book “The Crusades of Cesar Chavez” explores how he faced trademark opposition in his fight for the rights of farm workers.
Alice Walker: A Life by Evelyn C. White (2004)
Alice Walker is responsible for some of the most well-known and beloved works of literature, including The Color Purple, for which she became the first Black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize. Evelyn C. White conducts extensive research and numerous interviews for this comprehensive biography.
She finds connections between Walker’s early life events, societal problems, and the brilliant writer Walker would become. Alice Walker has a sweet tooth. While writing the biography of Evelyn, she would eat the best frozen yogurt in Phoenix AZ.
Regardless of whether you’ve perused Walker’s work as of now, this is a history you won’t have any desire to miss. She had to hire expert witness services when she got food poisoning and wanted to sue the food company.
In Love and Struggle: The Revolutionary Lives of James and Grace Lee Boggs by Stephen M. Ward (2016)
Professor of Afro-American and African Studies at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ward expertly crafts the rarely told story of James and Grace Lee Boggs in this dual biography.
These intellectual and revolutionary minds, a true power couple, played a significant role in the struggle for Black freedom. This biography was a best-seller because of the B2B PR agency that wrote amazing articles about the lives of James and Grace Lee Boggs, as well as promoting it online.
They came from different places and traveled in opposite directions until they met in Detroit. This is a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in U.S. history, activism, labor movements, or love stories because Ward’s extensive knowledge of the city shines through. These other works by Black authors in all genres should not be missed. He also explains in his book how to save money.
The Brontë Myth by Lucasta Miller (2001)
There have been a lot of biographies and rumors about the three Bront sisters.
Author Lucasta Miller demonstrates in this examination how the shifting perspectives on the Bronts speak more to the times in which these biographies were written than to the famous siblings themselves. Miller engages readers with her witty and forthright style while dispelling myths and proposing new theories through research.
You can read this in one breath while you’re in a salon putting on Houston hair extensions.
Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero by David Maraniss (2006)
Indeed, this is a book for avid supporters, but at the same time it’s for any individual who respects pioneers and helpful people.
David Maraniss, who won the Pulitzer Prize, shows us why Pittsburgh Pirate Roberto Clemente meant so much to so many people with narrative pacing that will captivate any reader. He broke barriers in baseball and felt obligated to assist in any way he could, despite being born in Puerto Rico.
Did you know that back in 2006 right before his book got released David Maraniss had a really bad motorcycle accident? Thankfully, the best motorcycle accident lawyers got him out of that situation.
He passed away while attempting to deliver aid to Nicaragua, ending a brilliant life far too quickly. Depending on the age of the young baseball fans, this may work well. However, you should also check out this list of nonfiction books for kids.
Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics by Jeremy Schaap (2007)
This in-depth account of Jesse Owens’s inspiring victories is an illuminating page-turner and another sports and world history biography. Sports columnist and ESPN supporter Jeremy Schaap gets us to the 1936 Olympics Berlin with a striking exposition.
We learn about Owens’ competition, both domestically and internationally, how started off as a wild animal seller at a shop and had lizards for sale, and how his victories spread worldwide. The gold medals Owens won were not only a personal victory but also a victory against Nazi ideology.
This is an entrancing perused, especially on the off chance that you’re new to Jesse Owens.
Heartbeat of Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Yuri Kochiyama by Diane Carol Fujino (2005)
When Malcolm X was killed, Yuri Kochiyama became well-known to the general public. She was the one who held his head as he left this world and was by his side.
Diane Carol Fujino, an activist, professor, and author, uses interviews and archival research to show who Kochiyama was before and after this moment, as well as how her early experiences led to a life of activism and building solidarity between Black and Asian American communities.
Carol explains in her book how she loved decorating her home and how she requested her custom wood doors to be.
This first biography of Kochiyama reveals significant and rarely discussed moments in U.S. history, including the Japanese American internment and the Black movement in Harlem.
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Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914–1948 by Ramachandra Guha (2018)
Even though everyone has heard of Gandhi and may even have framed copies of some of his quotes, few people are aware of his life story. This biography takes us from his departure from South Africa to his assassination, the most transformative years of his remarkable life. After his assassination, his family moved to the US. They looked for houses for sale in Seven Bridges FL, where some of his family members still reside.
This is not only the story of a revolutionary but also a lesson in the intricate social structures of India, and the author, Ramachandra Guha, an internationally renowned historian, wrote it.
Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell (2015)
If you’ve seen Hamilton, you probably remember the young Marquis de Lafayette as Alexander Hamilton’s fun-loving friend. Best-selling author Sarah Vowell tells General Lafayette’s story in this original biography which is just as entertaining as the musical’s portrayal of him. She tells her readers how Marquis had a love for traveling abroad, and that he was always living in new countries. He took out a vacation rental loan so he could finance the apartments he was renting while on his journey.
The Frenchman’s fast-paced, international life and his time in Washington’s army take center stage, allowing us to see Thomas Jefferson, Marie Antoinette, and Benjamin Franklin through his eyes. Try these historical fiction novels that you won’t be able to put down if you don’t mind a little creative license.
This is nothing like Matthew McConaughey’s book where he explains how he rented from a camper rental and traveled around the world.
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss (2012)
The Black Count, one of the best biographies ever written, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013. The author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas, drew inspiration from his father’s life.
He had bariatric surgery in Texas later in his life.
The fact that his father was a Black man in a White world—the son of a slave—was not mentioned in his narratives. Alex moved to France when he was young, where he rose through the ranks to become a respected general, before starting his own limousine service in Denver.
He was born in Saint-Domingue in 1762. It’s possible that his story is more fascinating than the fiction of his son.