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The 30 best biographies of all time.

Biographer Richard Holmes once wrote that his work was “a kind of pursuit… writing about the pursuit of that fleeting figure, in such a way as to bring them alive in the present.”

At the risk of sounding cliché, the best biographies do exactly this: bring their subjects to life. A great biography isn’t just a laundry list of events that happened to someone. Rather, it should weave a narrative and tell a story in almost the same way a novel does. In this way, biography differs from the rest of nonfiction .

All the biographies on this list are just as captivating as excellent novels , if not more so. With that, please enjoy the 30 best biographies of all time — some historical, some recent, but all remarkable, life-giving tributes to their subjects.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great biographies out there, you can also take our 30-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized biography recommendation  😉

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1. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

This biography of esteemed mathematician John Nash was both a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize and the basis for the award-winning film of the same name. Nasar thoroughly explores Nash’s prestigious career, from his beginnings at MIT to his work at the RAND Corporation — as well the internal battle he waged against schizophrenia, a disorder that nearly derailed his life.

2. Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film The Imitation Game - Updated Edition by Andrew Hodges

Hodges’ 1983 biography of Alan Turing sheds light on the inner workings of this brilliant mathematician, cryptologist, and computer pioneer. Indeed, despite the title ( a nod to his work during WWII ), a great deal of the “enigmatic” Turing is laid out in this book. It covers his heroic code-breaking efforts during the war, his computer designs and contributions to mathematical biology in the years following, and of course, the vicious persecution that befell him in the 1950s — when homosexual acts were still a crime punishable by English law.

3. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton is not only the inspiration for a hit Broadway musical, but also a work of creative genius itself. This massive undertaking of over 800 pages details every knowable moment of the youngest Founding Father’s life: from his role in the Revolutionary War and early American government to his sordid (and ultimately career-destroying) affair with Maria Reynolds. He may never have been president, but he was a fascinating and unique figure in American history — plus it’s fun to get the truth behind the songs.

Prefer to read about fascinating First Ladies rather than almost-presidents? Check out this awesome list of books about First Ladies over on The Archive.

4. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

A prolific essayist, short story writer, and novelist, Hurston turned her hand to biographical writing in 1927 with this incredible work, kept under lock and key until it was published 2018. It’s based on Hurston’s interviews with the last remaining survivor of the Middle Passage slave trade, a man named Cudjo Lewis. Rendered in searing detail and Lewis’ highly affecting African-American vernacular, this biography of the “last black cargo” will transport you back in time to an era that, chillingly, is not nearly as far away from us as it feels.

5. Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert

Though many a biography of him has been attempted, Gilbert’s is the final authority on Winston Churchill — considered by many to be Britain’s greatest prime minister ever. A dexterous balance of in-depth research and intimately drawn details makes this biography a perfect tribute to the mercurial man who led Britain through World War II.

Just what those circumstances are occupies much of Bodanis's book, which pays homage to Einstein and, just as important, to predecessors such as Maxwell, Faraday, and Lavoisier, who are not as well known as Einstein today. Balancing writerly energy and scholarly weight, Bodanis offers a primer in modern physics and cosmology, explaining that the universe today is an expression of mass that will, in some vastly distant future, one day slide back to the energy side of the equation, replacing the \'dominion of matter\' with \'a great stillness\'--a vision that is at once lovely and profoundly frightening.

Without sliding into easy psychobiography, Bodanis explores other circumstances as well; namely, Einstein's background and character, which combined with a sterling intelligence to afford him an idiosyncratic view of the way things work--a view that would change the world. --Gregory McNamee

6. E=mc²: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis

This “biography of the world’s most famous equation” is a one-of-a-kind take on the genre: rather than being the story of Einstein, it really does follow the history of the equation itself. From the origins and development of its individual elements (energy, mass, and light) to their ramifications in the twentieth century, Bodanis turns what could be an extremely dry subject into engaging fare for readers of all stripes.

7. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

When Enrique was only five years old, his mother left Honduras for the United States, promising a quick return. Eleven years later, Enrique finally decided to take matters into his own hands in order to see her again: he would traverse Central and South America via railway, risking his life atop the “train of death” and at the hands of the immigration authorities, to reunite with his mother. This tale of Enrique’s perilous journey is not for the faint of heart, but it is an account of incredible devotion and sharp commentary on the pain of separation among immigrant families.

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

Herrera’s 1983 biography of renowned painter Frida Kahlo, one of the most recognizable names in modern art, has since become the definitive account on her life. And while Kahlo no doubt endured a great deal of suffering (a horrific accident when she was eighteen, a husband who had constant affairs), the focal point of the book is not her pain. Instead, it’s her artistic brilliance and immense resolve to leave her mark on the world — a mark that will not soon be forgotten, in part thanks to Herrera’s dedicated work.

9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Perhaps the most impressive biographical feat of the twenty-first century, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about a woman whose cells completely changed the trajectory of modern medicine. Rebecca Skloot skillfully commemorates the previously unknown life of a poor black woman whose cancer cells were taken, without her knowledge, for medical testing — and without whom we wouldn’t have many of the critical cures we depend upon today.

10. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Christopher McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, hitchhiked to Alaska and disappeared into the Denali wilderness in April 1992. Five months later, McCandless was found emaciated and deceased in his shelter — but of what cause? Krakauer’s biography of McCandless retraces his steps back to the beginning of the trek, attempting to suss out what the young man was looking for on his journey, and whether he fully understood what dangers lay before him.

11. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Three Tenant Families by James Agee

"Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us.” From this line derives the central issue of Agee and Evans’ work: who truly deserves our praise and recognition? According to this 1941 biography, it’s the barely-surviving sharecropper families who were severely impacted by the American “Dust Bowl” — hundreds of people entrenched in poverty, whose humanity Evans and Agee desperately implore their audience to see in their book.

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

Another mysterious explorer takes center stage in this gripping 2009 biography. Grann tells the story of Percy Fawcett, the archaeologist who vanished in the Amazon along with his son in 1925, supposedly in search of an ancient lost city. Parallel to this narrative, Grann describes his own travels in the Amazon 80 years later: discovering firsthand what threats Fawcett may have encountered, and coming to realize what the “Lost City of Z” really was.

13. Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang

Though many of us will be familiar with the name Mao Zedong, this prodigious biography sheds unprecedented light upon the power-hungry “Red Emperor.” Chang and Halliday begin with the shocking statistic that Mao was responsible for 70 million deaths during peacetime — more than any other twentieth-century world leader. From there, they unravel Mao’s complex ideologies, motivations, and missions, breaking down his long-propagated “hero” persona and thrusting forth a new, grislier image of one of China’s biggest revolutionaries.

14. Mad Girl's Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted by Andrew Wilson by Andrew Wilson

Titled after one of her most evocative poems, this shimmering bio of Sylvia Plath takes an unusual approach. Instead of focusing on her years of depression and tempestuous marriage to poet Ted Hughes, it chronicles her life before she ever came to Cambridge. Wilson closely examines her early family and relationships, feelings and experiences, with information taken from her meticulous diaries — setting a strong precedent for other Plath biographers to follow.

15. The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes

What if you had twenty-four different people living inside you, and you never knew which one was going to come out? Such was the life of Billy Milligan, the subject of this haunting biography by the author of Flowers for Algernon . Keyes recounts, in a refreshingly straightforward style, the events of Billy’s life and how his psyche came to be “split”... as well as how, with Keyes’ help, he attempted to put the fragments of himself back together.

16. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

This gorgeously constructed biography follows Paul Farmer, a doctor who’s worked for decades to eradicate infectious diseases around the globe, particularly in underprivileged areas. Though Farmer’s humanitarian accomplishments are extraordinary in and of themselves, the true charm of this book comes from Kidder’s personal relationship with him — and the sense of fulfillment the reader sustains from reading about someone genuinely heroic, written by someone else who truly understands and admires what they do.

17. Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts

Here’s another bio that will reshape your views of a famed historical tyrant, though this time in a surprisingly favorable light. Decorated scholar Andrew Roberts delves into the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, from his near-flawless military instincts to his complex and confusing relationship with his wife. But Roberts’ attitude toward his subject is what really makes this work shine: rather than ridiculing him ( as it would undoubtedly be easy to do ), he approaches the “petty tyrant” with a healthy amount of deference.

18. The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson IV by Robert A. Caro

Lyndon Johnson might not seem as intriguing or scandalous as figures like Kennedy, Nixon, or W. Bush. But in this expertly woven biography, Robert Caro lays out the long, winding road of his political career, and it’s full of twists you wouldn’t expect. Johnson himself was a surprisingly cunning figure, gradually maneuvering his way closer and closer to power. Finally, in 1963, he got his greatest wish — but at what cost? Fans of Adam McKay’s Vice , this is the book for you.

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

Anyone who grew up reading Little House on the Prairie will surely be fascinated by this tell-all biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Caroline Fraser draws upon never-before-published historical resources to create a lush study of the author’s life — not in the gently narrated manner of the Little House series, but in raw and startling truths about her upbringing, marriage, and volatile relationship with her daughter (and alleged ghostwriter) Rose Wilder Lane.

20. Prince: A Private View by Afshin Shahidi

Compiled just after the superstar’s untimely death in 2016, this intimate snapshot of Prince’s life is actually a largely visual work — Shahidi served as his private photographer from the early 2000s until his passing. And whatever they say about pictures being worth a thousand words, Shahidi’s are worth more still: Prince’s incredible vibrance, contagious excitement, and altogether singular personality come through in every shot.

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

Could there be a more fitting title for a book about the husband-wife team who discovered radioactivity? What you may not know is that these nuclear pioneers also had a fascinating personal history. Marie Sklodowska met Pierre Curie when she came to work in his lab in 1891, and just a few years later they were married. Their passion for each other bled into their passion for their work, and vice-versa — and in almost no time at all, they were on their way to their first of their Nobel Prizes.

22. Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson

She may not have been assassinated or killed in a mysterious plane crash, but Rosemary Kennedy’s fate is in many ways the worst of “the Kennedy Curse.” As if a botched lobotomy that left her almost completely incapacitated weren’t enough, her parents then hid her away from society, almost never to be seen again. Yet in this new biography, penned by devoted Kennedy scholar Kate Larson, the full truth of Rosemary’s post-lobotomy life is at last revealed.

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

This appropriately lyrical biography of brilliant Jazz Age poet and renowned feminist, Edna St. Vincent Millay, is indeed a perfect balance of savage and beautiful. While Millay’s poetic work was delicate and subtle, the woman herself was feisty and unpredictable, harboring unusual and occasionally destructive habits that Milford fervently explores.

24. Shelley: The Pursuit by Richard Holmes

Holmes’ famous philosophy of “biography as pursuit” is thoroughly proven here in his first full-length biographical work. Shelley: The Pursuit details an almost feverish tracking of Percy Shelley as a dark and cutting figure in the Romantic period — reforming many previous historical conceptions about him through Holmes’ compelling and resolute writing.

25. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Another Gothic figure has been made newly known through this work, detailing the life of prolific horror and mystery writer Shirley Jackson. Author Ruth Franklin digs deep into the existence of the reclusive and mysterious Jackson, drawing penetrating comparisons between the true events of her life and the dark nature of her fiction.

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

Fans of Into the Wild and The Lost City of Z will find their next adventure fix in this 2017 book about Christopher Knight, a man who lived by himself in the Maine woods for almost thirty years. The tale of this so-called “last true hermit” will captivate readers who have always fantasized about escaping society, with vivid descriptions of Knight’s rural setup, his carefully calculated moves and how he managed to survive the deadly cold of the Maine winters.

27. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

The man, the myth, the legend: Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple, is properly immortalized in Isaacson’s masterful biography. It divulges the details of Jobs’ little-known childhood and tracks his fateful path from garage engineer to leader of one of the largest tech companies in the world — not to mention his formative role in other legendary companies like Pixar, and indeed within the Silicon Valley ecosystem as a whole.

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

Olympic runner Louis Zamperini was just twenty-six when his US Army bomber crashed and burned in the Pacific, leaving him and two other men afloat on a raft for forty-seven days — only to be captured by the Japanese Navy and tortured as a POW for the next two and a half years. In this gripping biography, Laura Hillenbrand tracks Zamperini’s story from beginning to end… including how he embraced Christian evangelism as a means of recovery, and even came to forgive his tormentors in his later years.

29. Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) by Stacy Schiff

Everyone knows of Vladimir Nabokov — but what about his wife, Vera, whom he called “the best-humored woman I have ever known”? According to Schiff, she was a genius in her own right, supporting Vladimir not only as his partner, but also as his all-around editor and translator. And she kept up that trademark humor throughout it all, inspiring her husband’s work and injecting some of her own creative flair into it along the way.

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

William Shakespeare is a notoriously slippery historical figure — no one really knows when he was born, what he looked like, or how many plays he wrote. But that didn’t stop Stephen Greenblatt, who in 2004 turned out this magnificently detailed biography of the Bard: a series of imaginative reenactments of his writing process, and insights on how the social and political ideals of the time would have influenced him. Indeed, no one exists in a vacuum, not even Shakespeare — hence the conscious depiction of him in this book as a “will in the world,” rather than an isolated writer shut up in his own musty study.

If you're looking for more inspiring nonfiction, check out this list of 30 engaging self-help books , or this list of the last century's best memoirs !

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Jonathan Eig's "King: A Life," a biography of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., was ... [+] recognized as one of the best books of 2023.

Biographies offer a chance to explore the decision-making and circumstances around some of history’s most fascinating events. The best biography books offer fresh insights into familiar situations that you may have learned about in history class but never explored in-depth. You can learn the unexpected reasoning behind why a president went with option A instead of option B, or how a scientist’s early failures led to a groundbreaking discovery. Biographies often chronicle the lives of famous people, but sometimes they focus on people who never attained celebrity status despite doing extraordinary things. This list of the top biographies includes people of all backgrounds who can teach us things about life, passion, perseverance and more.

Top Biography Books

Biographies are different from autobiographies. A biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else. An autobiography is an account of someone’s life that they write themselves. For instance, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was written by the Founding Father. But more than two centuries later, Walter Isaacson wrote a biography of Benjamin Franklin.

Some of the most popular and well-known biographies include Isaacson’s recent book about Elon Musk, Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton , which inspired the musical about the former Secretary of the Treasury, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, about a woman who changed the course of modern medicine. The biographies on this list were selected based on critical acclaim, sales and impact on popular culture.

Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose is the subject of one of the best biographies, a new one called ... [+] "Charlie Hustle."

30. Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball by Keith O'Brien (2024)

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The newest book on the list, this New York Times bestseller chronicles the highs and lows of baseball’s all-time hits leader, who was banned from the Hall of Fame for betting on baseball. Keith O’Brien looks at FBI records and press coverage to build a comprehensive portrait of the former Cincinnati Reds star.

This book is best for sports fans who want to go beyond Xs and Os. Keith O’Brien’s Charlie Hustle is available from Penguin Random House .

29. The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore (2021)

Kate Moore ( Radium Girls ) uncovers the story of Elizabeth Packard, a woman confined to a mental asylum in the 19 th century for daring to have opinions and push back against social norms by giving a voice to other women like herself. It earned a GoodReads Choice nomination for Best History & Biography.

This book is best for history buffs looking for lesser-known stories. Kate Moore’s The Woman They Could Not Silence is available from Sourcebooks .

28. The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine by Janice P. Nimura (2021)

Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female physician in the United States in 1849—and perhaps more remarkably, her sister, Emily, soon became the second. This New York Times bestseller traces their journeys and the founding of the famed New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, the first U.S. hospital run by women.

This book is best for anyone interested in medical history, science pioneers or sibling rivarly. Janice P. Nimura ’s The Doctors Blackwell is available from W.W. Norton .

27. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (2005)

There have been many biographies of the 16 th president, but this stands out for presenting his story based around his cabinet, which (as the title suggests) he stacked with his political enemies. Pulitzer Prize winner Doris Kearns Goodwin presents the story, which inspired Steven Spielberg ’s Oscar-winning movie Lincoln , like a fast-paced novel.

This book is best for those who enjoy the psychology of rivalries. Doris Kearns Goodwin ’s Team of Rivals is available from Simon & Schuster .

Author Doris Kearns Goodwin's Abraham Lincoln biography is one of the best reads about the 16th ... [+] president.

26. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera (2002)

Arguably the most famous Mexican woman of her (or any) generation, Frida Kahlo has inspired many with her art. This biography in turn explores her own inspirations and influences, adding greater depth to her well-known romance with Diego Rivera and other stories. The San Francisco Chronicle said the book made Kahlo “fully human.”

This book is best for those who appreciate art or want to learn more about Mexican history. Hayden Herrera ’s Frida is available from HarperCollins .

25. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2001)

Young mother Henrietta Lacks died of cancer in 1951, but her “immortal cells” live on today, fueling countless medical advances. Yet her family didn’t learn of her contributions until two decades later and didn’t profit from them. Journalist Rebecca Skloot uncovers the racism and disturbing history of discrimination within medicine while telling a human story.

This book is best for anyone who watched the Oprah Winfrey film about Lacks on HBO and wants to learn more. Rebecca Skloot ’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is available from Penguin Random House .

A painting of Henrietta Lacks hangs in the entryway of the Henrietta Lacks Community Center at Lyon ... [+] Homes in the Turner Station neighborhood of Baltimore. She is the subject of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," one of the best biographies.

24. Becoming Dr. Seuss by Brian Jay Jones (2019)

Rhyming isn’t easy, but Dr. Seuss made it look breezy. In this comprehensive look at the former advertising man’s life, Brian Jay Jones traces Theodor Geisel’s career trajectory to political cartoonist and author, as well as discussing some of the views that have received criticism in recent years.

This book is best for anyone who ever read a Dr. Seuss book, which is everyone. Brian Jay Jones ’ Becoming Dr. Seuss is available from Penguin Random House .

23. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (2011)

From his extreme diets to his trademark black turtlenecks, Steve Jobs was a man like none other, for better or worse. Esteemed biographer Walter Isaacson captures the nuance of his personality and the genius that drove him to create companies that made things people feel passionately about. The bestselling book became a 2015 movie.

This book is best for anyone who loves or hates Apple products. Walter Isaacson ’s Steve Jobs is available from Simon & Schuster .

Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs is the subject of an acclaimed biography by Walter Isaacson.

22. All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner (2021)

This National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography made the best books of the year list for Time , The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times . It pulls back the curtain on the women who led the largest resistance groups against the Nazis in Germany, including the author’s great-great aunt.

This book is best for those looking for a new perspective on World War II. Rebecca Donner ’s All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days is available from Little, Brown & Co .

21. Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler and Sonia Paoloni, illustrated by Thibault Balahy (2020)

At what price does commercial success come? That question haunted musicians Pat and Lolly Vegas, Native American brothers who influenced stars like Jimi Hendrix and the Doors, as they rose to fame with the Redbone hit “Come and Get Your Love.” But they later shifted their focus to the American Indian Movement.

This book is best for fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack and those looking for a different take on Native American history. Christian Staebler and Sonia Paoloni ’s Redbone is available from Penguin Random House .

20. The Vice President's Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers (2023)

Richard Mentor Johnson, vice president under Martin Van Buren, married enslaved Black woman Julia Ann Chinn. Though he refused to give her freedom, he did give her power on his estate. The relationship, which was likely not consensual, ultimately cost him his political career, and this book details how.

This book is best for fans of presidential history looking for untold stories. Amrita Chakrabarti Myers ’ The Vice President’s Black Wife is available from University of North Carolina Press .

19. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff (2011)

Cleopatra may be the most famous woman in history, but her notoriety has overshadowed her incredible life and accomplishments. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff adds depth to her story through a thoroughly researched history that also dispels misogynistic myths about the queen of Egypt.

This book is best for anyone curious about Egyptian history or who loves the classics . Stacy Schiff’s Cleopatra is available from Little, Brown & Co .

Stacy Schiff wrote an outstanding biography of Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

18. All That She Carried by Tiya Miles (2021)

This National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller chronicles a bag passed down from an enslaved woman to future generations, which becomes the starting point for this poignant and well-researched book about the generational impact of slavery.

This book is best for everyone and should be required reading to humanize topics too often glossed over in political debates. Tiya Miles ’ All That She Carried is available from Simon & Schuster .

17. 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 (2011)

Quanah Parker, the biracial son of a pioneer woman who became the last Comanche chief, battled white settlers over land in the American West for decades. The book traces both his personal story (he was undefeated in battle) and the greater implications of the stealing of tribal lands.

This book is best for those looking for new stories about the Old West. S.C. Gwynne ’s Empire of the Summer Moon is available from Simon & Schuster .

16. Becoming Nicole: The inspiring story of transgender actor-activist Nicole Maines and her extraordinary family by Amy Ellis Nutt (2016)

Nicole Maines rose to fame when she became the first transgender woman to play a superhero on TV. Chronicling her journey from adoption to getting the job on Supergirl , this Amazon Editors Pick and New York Times bestseller also shows how her family changed their views on gender identity and the impact on their community.

This book is best for fans of comic books. Amy Ellis Nutt ’s Becoming Nicole is available from Penguin Random House .

Actress Nicole Maines speaks at a "Supergirl" presentation at Comic-Con International. She's the ... [+] subject of a heralded biography.

15. Victoria: The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird (2016)

The Victoria depicted in history books is way too dry. An Esquire and New York Times pick for best book of 2016, Victoria illuminates how the future monarch went from fifth in line for the crown to a teenage queen to a mother of nine who somehow survived eight attempts on her life.

This book is best for anyone who’s ever struggled with work-life balance. Julia Baird’s Victoria is available from Penguin Random House .

14. The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs (2021)

This remarkable book draws a line between the mothers of three of the most important Black men in American history, celebrating Black motherhood and shining a light on how they resisted Jim Crow while bringing up their sons. It was named one of Amazon's Best Biographies and Memoirs of 2021.

This book is best for parents and anyone interested in civil rights. Anna Malaika Tubbs ’ The Three Mothers is available from Macmillan .

13. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (2004)

Lin-Manuel Miranda was so inspired by this Founding Father biography that he famously wrote some of the music for Hamilton on his honeymoon. Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow follows Alexandar Hamilton from immigration to member of George Washington’s cabinet to death in a duel with his nemesis, Aaron Burr.

This book is best for fans of the Broadway show and presidential history. Ron Chernow ’s Alexander Hamilton is available from Penguin Random House .

"Hamilton" author Ron Chernow and the cast appear onstage at the opening night curtain call for ... [+] "Hamilton" at the Pantages Theatre on August 16, 2017 in Los Angeles.

12. The Crusades of Cesar Chavez: A Biography by Miriam Pawel (2014)

Pulitzer Prize winner Miriam Pawel tells the story of one of the most influential and revered U.S. labor leaders in this National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. She doesn't cover up his flaws, but she does illustrate why he was so successful while saluting his enduring humanity.

This book is best for those looking for deep dives on labor or Latine history. Miriam Pawel ’s The Crusades of Cesar Chavez is available from Macmillan .

11. Warhol by Blake Gopnik (2020)

Andy Warhol is so famous, you only need to mention his last name for instant recognition. Art critic Blake Gopnik blends understanding of Warhol’s medium with excellent research and conclusions to paint the most complete picture yet of one of the defining artists of the 20 th century.

This book is best for pop culture devotees and fans of art history. Blake Gopnik ’s Warhol is available from HarperCollins .

10. Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Bradley Hope and Tom Wright (2018)

The Financial Times and Fortune tabbed this one of the best books of 2018 for telling the unlikeliest of stories: How a Malaysian MBA used Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions to steal billions of dollars he used to pay for real estate, parties—and even the making of The Wolf of Wall Street .

This book is best for Hollywood and movie lovers. Bradley Hope and Tom Wright’s Billion Dollar Whale is available from Hachette Books .

9. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis (2013)

There’s so much more to Rosa Parks’ story than one day on a bus in Montgomery. Jeanne Theoharis takes a comprehensive look at her six decades of activism and why she wasn’t the “accidental catalyst” the history books have made her sound like, regaining Parks her agency.

This book is best for those who know how the Montgomery Bus Boycott began but don’t know about Parks’ earlier involvement in organizing. Jeanne Theoharis’ The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks is available from Penguin Random House .

8. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (2005)

The inspiration behind Christopher Nolan ’s summer’s blockbuster film Oppenheimer won the Pulitzer Prize and hit No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It tells J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life story, with a particular focus on the bomb and how it played into the Cold War.

This book is best for anyone who saw the movie and wants to know more. Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s American Prometheus is available from Penguin Random House .

"Oppenheimer" cast members Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh. The movie is ... [+] based on the prize-winning biography.

7. Self Made: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A'Lelia Bundles (2002)

Madam C.J. Walker, her enslaved parents’ first freeborn child, became one of the wealthiest women of her time. Entirely self-made, she used wealth gained from her cosmetics empire caring for Black hair to help uplift other women and connect with civil rights leaders. The author is Walker’s great-great granddaughter.

This book is best for people obsessed with the Forbes billionaire lists. A’Lelia Bundles ’ Self Made (originally titled On Her Own Ground) is available from Simon & Schuster .

6. Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins—and WWII Heroes by Tim Brady (2021)

World War II is a hugely popular literary period, and here’s another worthy biography from that era, following the Nazi resistance efforts of Dutch teens Hannie Schaft and sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen. They saved countless children and Jews from concentration camps and even assassinated German soldiers.

This book is best for World War II aficionados and fans of hidden history. Tim Brady’s Three Ordinary Girls is available from Kensington Books .

5. Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly (2018)

This highly rated (4.8/5 stars on Amazon) book incorporates information gleaned from more than 100 interviews, which helped Polly piece together scenes from Lee’s childhood in Hong Kong and the challenges he faced from racism in Hollywood. It also investigates his shocking and still mysterious death.

This book is best for fans of martial arts or who want to know what it was like to be Asian in Hollywood decades ago. Matthew Polly ’s Bruce Lee is available from Simon & Schuster .

Bruce Lee from the 1972 film "The Way of the Dragon." He is the subject of Matthew Polly's ... [+] biography.

4. Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit (2021)

This finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award explores author George Orwell’s career from a unique angle: looking at his passion for gardening. Rebecca Solnit ties his devotion to his plants to his work as a writer and an antifascist. It presents him in a different light than past biographies.

This book is best for gardeners and those who’ve read 1984 . Rebecca Solnit ’s Orwell’s Roses is available from Penguin Random House .

3. Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth by John Szwed (2015)

Billie Holiday’s story is too often simplified to a rags-to-riches tale focusing on her struggles pre- and post-fame. But her influence, accomplishments and enduring power are far too grand to tokenize. This biography focuses on her music, allowing jazz scholar John Szwed to illustrate what made her so spectacular.

This book is best for jazz and music fans. John Szwed ’s Billie Holiday is available from Penguin Random House .

2. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe (2023)

The Sacklers were once revered for their philanthropy, but the opioid epidemic unmasked how they sold and marketed a painkiller that catalyzed the crisis. This New York Times bestseller traces three generations of the family and their insistence on downplaying the addictiveness of opioids. It asks and answers how they avoided accountability.

This book is best for fans of Hulu’s Dopesick and anyone looking for more information about the opioid crisis. Patrick Radden Keefe ’s Empire of Pain is available from Penguin Random House .

Tufts employee Gabe Ryan removes letters from signage featuring the Sackler family name at the Tufts ... [+] building. The biography "Empire of Pain" details what led to the Sacklers' fall from grace.

1. King: A Life by Jonathan Eig (2023)

Hailed by the New Yorker , Washington Post , Time and Chicago Tribune as one of the best books of 2023, King is a definitive biography of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. It’s also the first to rely on recently declassified FBI files, giving greater depth to the narrative and this unique American story.

This book is best for those who want to go beyond the “I Have a Dream” speech. Jonathan Eig ’s King is available from Macmillan .

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the most entertaining biographies.

The most entertaining biographies will teach lessons and impart wisdom while also keeping you on the edge of your seat, anticipating the next development in a storied life. Famed pop culture figures and entertainers make great subjects. 

For an in-depth and fast-paced look at one of our most celebrated jurists, check out 2018’s  Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron de Hart. If you want laughs and a behind-the-scenes peek at a seminal variety show, try David Bianculli’s 2010 book The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour . And to lose yourself in a dishy, reads-like-a-novel bio of the ultimate girlboss, try Marisa Meltzer’s 2023 Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier .

What Are The Best Professional Biographies?

The best professional biographies make connections between the habits and hopes of dreamers and their eventual success. They often provide a blueprint for success that readers can adopt for their own lives. 

To learn how to build a truly impressive empire, read Neal Gabler’s 2006  Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination . Another American legend is the subject of T.J. Stiles’ 2010 National Book Award winner The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt , which is as much about capitalism as Vanderbilt. And in 2016’s Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race , Margot Lee Shetterly shows how Black women professionals were discriminated against at NASA—but still helped land a man on the moon. 

What Are The Best Presidential Biographies?

The best presidential biographies reveal never-before-known details about famous leaders’ lives. It can be challenging to dig up something new but so rewarding because it helps our understanding of how these men governed and led. 

Arguably the best presidential biography is Robert Caro’s portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson, starting with 1990’s  The Path to Power , which traces LBJ’s journey from early childhood to the start of his political career. An enduring book is Edmund Morris’ acclaimed 1979 The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt , which paints a full picture of a complicated man. And 2017’s  The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur by Scott S. Greenberger shows that even a long-forgotten president still has influence and value. 

Bottom Line

Biographies offer an escape into someone else’s story, giving you the chance to see why they made their decisions and second-guess them if you like. Whether you prefer biographies focused on history, pop culture or science, you can find a book you’ll love on this list.

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Who is Doctor Doom? Robert Downey Jr.'s shocking Marvel casting explained

Like Thanos himself, Robert Downey Jr .'s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have been inevitable . But few expected it would go down like this.

On Saturday, Marvel revealed at the pop-culture convention Comic-Con that Downey is coming back to the franchise in the upcoming movie "Avengers: Doomsday" (2026), which will be followed by "Avengers: Secret Wars" (2027). But rather than reviving Tony Stark/Iron Man, he's taking on a new role as one of Marvel's most iconic villains: Doctor Doom.

So who is Doctor Doom (aka Victor Von Doom), and why is it so significant that Downey is playing him?

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Is Robert Downey Jr. coming back to Marvel? What to know about Doctor Doom, his character in the new 'Avengers' movie

Introduced in a 1962 issue of "The Fantastic Four," Victor Von Doom is a genius scientist originally from Latveria, a fictional European country. The infamous supervillain is also the adversary of the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards, whom he met when they were both students. Pedro Pascal has been cast as Reed Richards , aka Mr. Fantastic, and will debut as the character in 2025's "The Fantastic Four: First Steps."

In the comics, Von Doom is scarred after a machine he invents explodes, leading him to wear a mask and suit of armor. He later becomes monarch of Latveria and seeks world domination. Doom "craves power, control, and acknowledgement that he's the best at everything," according to Marvel.com . "Whether he's using time travel, making deals with demons, or even teaming with his enemies to fight a common foe, Doom's endgame is to be the one in charge." He also uses magical spells.

Doctor Doom has been played onscreen by Julian McMahon in the 2005 "Fantastic Four" movie and Toby Kebbell in the 2015 reboot. The character also had a key role in Marvel's 2015 "Secret Wars" comic and creates Battleworld, a planet where various universes collide. This story could serve as inspiration for the movie "Avengers: Secret Wars."

Will Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom be connected to Iron Man ?

Ever since Marvel announced a new "Fantastic Four" movie, Doctor Doom has been expected to come to the MCU. But the idea that the studio would cast the same actor who played Iron Man, one of its most beloved heroes, as the iconic villain was a shocker. How this will work hasn't been made clear.

But "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" takes place in an alternate universe, so Downey's Doctor Doom likely originates from there and not the main MCU timeline. This could mean that the actor's rendition of Doom will actually be an evil, alternate version of Tony Stark.

Or Doctor Doom may happen to look like Tony Stark but be otherwise unrelated to him. If Doom is always hidden behind his mask, Downey could also be disguised to the point that it isn't obvious that it's even him. At Comic-Con, "Avengers" directors Joe and Anthony Russo confirmed simply that their Doctor Doom is still named Victor Von Doom.

The casting was a surprise because many fans expected Downey would reprise a heroic version of Iron Man from an alternate universe in "Avengers: Secret Wars." Given there are infinite universes to pull characters from, that could theoretically still happen on top of the actor's Doom role.

Robert Downey Jr. appears to be replacing Jonathan Majors as Marvel's next big bad

Casting Downey as Doom represented a pivot for Marvel, which at Comic-Con in 2022 announced that its next "Avengers" films would be titled "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty" and "Avengers: Secret Wars." The former would focus on Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, a villain featured in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."

But "Quantumania" underperformed at the box office last year, and Marvel dropped Majors after he was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend. The renaming of the next "Avengers" movie from "The Kang Dynasty" to "Doomsday" suggests Marvel is pivoting away from Kang to make Doom its next big bad.

Every Marvel superhero movie, ranked: Including 'Deadpool & Wolverine'

Fans have mixed feelings about Robert Downey Jr.'s casting, with some suggesting Mads Mikkelsen should have played Doom

The reaction to the bombshell casting news has been mixed, with some fans saying they wished a new actor had been given a chance to play Doom. Others expressed trepidation at the idea that the casting could lead to changes to Doom's backstory, assuming he is a Stark variant.

"RDJ is great, but I sorta hate this casting and if they completely change Victor Von Doom yet again (I'm) going to be disappointed at best," one fan commented on Reddit .

"I just … I don't know … I want the real Dr. Victor Von Doom before I get some stunt variant," writer Adam Frazier posted on X , while writer William Bibbiani said , "Doctor Doom is one of my favorite characters in comic book history and I am genuinely disappointed that he's being sold to us as 'Evil Iron Man' instead of his own, distinct character."

Other fans suggested Mads Mikkelsen, who previously played the villain Kaecilius in "Doctor Strange," would be a better fit as Doom. "If we're bringing back MCU actors … MADS IS RIGHT THERE," one fan commented on Reddit .

All in all, it may be the biggest risk Marvel has taken in years. We'll find out if it pays off when "Avengers: Doomsday" hits theaters in May 2026.

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The Best Reviewed Memoirs and Biographies of 2020

Featuring barack obama, natasha trethewey, helen macdonald, sylvia plath, the beatles, and more.

Natasha Trethewey’s Memorial Drive , Barack Obama’s A Promised Land , Helen Macdonald’s Vesper Flights , Craig Brown’s 150 Glimpses of the Beatles , and Heather Clark’s Red Comet all feature among the best reviewed memoirs and biographies of 2020.

Brought to you by Book Marks , Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.”

1. Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener (MCD)

10 Rave • 19 Positive • 6 Mixed

Read a Profile of Anna Wiener here

“Wiener was, and maybe still is, one of us; far from seeking to disabuse civic-minded techno-skeptics of our views, she is here to fill out our worst-case scenarios with shrewd insight and literary detail … Wiener is a droll yet gentle guide … Wiener frequently emphasizes that, at the time, she didn’t realize all these buoyant 25-year-olds in performance outerwear were leading mankind down a treacherous path. She also sort of does know all along. Luckily, the tech industry controls the means of production for excuses to justify a fascination with its shiny surfaces and twisted logic … It’s possible to create a realistic portrait of contemporary San Francisco by simply listing all the harebrained new-money antics and ‘mindful’ hippie-redux principles that flourish there. All you have to do after that is juxtapose them with the effects of the city’s rocket-ship rents: a once-lively counterculture gasping for air and a ‘concentration of public pain’ shameful and shocking even to a native New Yorker. Wiener deploys this strategy liberally, with adroit specificity and arch timing. But the real strength of Uncanny Valley  comes from her careful parsing of the complex motivations and implications that fortify this new surreality at every level, from the individual body to the body politic.”

–Lauren Oyler  ( The New York Times Book Review )

2. Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey (Ecco)

20 Rave • 3 Positive

Listen to an interview with Natasha Trethewey here

“ Memorial Drive  is, among so many other wondrous things, an exploration of a Black mother and daughter trying to get free in a land that conflates survival with freedom and womanhood with girlhood … A book that makes a reader feel as much as Memorial Drive  does cannot be written without an absolute mastery of varied modes of discourse … In one of the book’s most devastating and artful chapters, Trethewey makes an unexpected but wholly necessary switch to the second person … What happens in most riveting literature is seldom located solely in plot. I’ve not read an American memoir where more happens in the assemblage of language than Memorial Drive … Memorial Drive  forces the reader to think about how the sublime Southern conjurers of words, spaces, sounds and patterns protect themselves from trauma when trauma may be, in part, what nudged them down the dusty road to poetic mastery.”

–Kiese Makeba Laymon  ( The New York Times Book Review )

3. A Promised Land by Barack Obama (Crown)

11 Rave • 14 Positive • 5 Mixed

“The Obama of A Promised Land  seems complicated or elusive or detached only if you think that these two elements of the president’s job—the practical and the symbolic—must be made to add up in every particular. Obama himself doesn’t. Even at his most inspiring, he was never a firebrand speechifier. He preached faith in the ability of Americans’ commonalities to overcome their differences. This is a creed in which he continues to believe, even if A Promised Land  contains its share of dark allusions to the advent of division and acrimony in the form of Donald Trump. Obama is not angry, the sole quality that seems obligatory across party lines in every form of political discourse today … while A Promised Land  is a pleasure to read for the intelligence, equanimity, and warmth of its author—from his unfeigned delight in his fabulously wholesome family to his manifest fondness for the people who worked for and with him, especially early on—it’s also a mournful one. Not because Obama doesn’t believe in us anymore, but because no matter how much we adore him, we no longer believe in leaders like him.”

–Laura Miller  ( Slate )

4. Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (Grove)

18 Rave • 3 Positive • 1 Mixed

Read Helen Macdonald’s “The Things I Tell Myself When I’m Writing About Nature” here

“… a stunning book that urges us to reconsider our relationship with the natural world, and fight to preserve it … The experience of reading Vesper Flights is almost dizzying, in the best possible way. Macdonald has many fascinations, and her enthusiasm for her subjects is infectious. She takes her essays to unexpected places, but it never feels forced … Macdonald is endlessly thoughtful, but she’s also a brilliant writer— Vesper Flights  is full of sentences that reward re-reading because of how exquisitely crafted they are … What sets Vesper Flights  apart from other nature writing is the sense of adoration Macdonald brings to her subjects. She writes with an almost breathless enthusiasm that can’t be faked; she’s a deeply sincere author in an age when ironic detachment seems de rigueur … a beautiful and generous book, one that offers hope to a world in desperate need of it.”

–Michael Schaub  ( NPR )

5. What is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life by Mark Doty (W. W. Norton & Company)

11 Rave • 8 Positive • 1 Mixed

Read an excerpt from What is the Grass here

“… excellent … as a major poet who worked at both evading and establishing his sexual identity, [Whitman] is almost a perfect topic for Doty, who recalls (in some of this book’s most powerful opening chapters) his own youth spent trying to live his life as others expected him to live it … Doty has long been one of our best living American poets, and his recent memoirs, including 2008’s Dog Years,  prove him one of our best prose writers as well. What is the Grass  doesn’t possess a single inelegant sentence or poorly expressed thought. Doty does what traditional academic criticism often fails to do: He makes poetry part of how we live and how we think about living … [Doty] doesn’t simply ‘analyze’ poems or narrate events; instead he continually illuminates how those who love books can grow old reading writers who help make sense of their lives … provides an excellent opportunity to re-examine the work of one of America’s first major poets through the prose of one of its best living ones.”

–Scott Bradfield  ( The Washington Post )

1. The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes (Knopf)

8 Rave • 20 Positive

Read an excerpt from The Man in the Red Coat here

“Barnes is fascinated by facts that turn out to be untrue and by unlikely but provable connections between people and things … While Barnes is concerned in this book to find things that don’t add up, he also relishes the moments when a clear, connecting line can be drawn … Wilde and Pozzi, and perhaps even Montesquiou, admired Bernhardt; Pozzi and James were both painted by Sargent; Wilde and Montesquiou had the same response to the interior décor at the Prousts. Barnes enjoys these connections. But in ways that are subtle and sharp, he seeks to puncture easy associations, doubtful assertions, lazy assumptions. He is interested in the space between what can be presumed and what can be checked.”

–Colm Tóibín  ( The New York Review of Books )

2. 150 Glimpses of the Beatles by Craig Brown (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

12 Rave • 5 Positive • 2 Mixed

“… riveting … This quirky, irreverent book, written in the manner of Mr. Brown’s bestselling Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret  (2017), is a kaleidoscope of essays, anecdotes, party lists and personal reminiscence. You might think there was nothing more to be said about the Beatles, but Mr. Brown, a perceptive writer and a gifted satirist, makes familiar stories fresh. Along the way he unearths many fascinating tidbits … a fascinating study of the cultural and social upheaval created by the band … Mr. Brown has a keen eye for absurdist detail … After reading this book I was inspired to listen to them again. I felt just as I had the first time: sheer joy.”

–Moira Hodgson  ( The Wall Street Journal )

3. Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker (Doubleday)

14 Rave • 1 Positive

Listen to an interview with Robert Kolker here

“… part multi-generational family saga, part medical mystery, written with an extraordinary blend of rigor and empathy. The reporter in Kolker seeks accuracy above all, but there’s a notable lack of judgment in the book that feels remarkable in light of the stigma long felt by those who have the condition in their families … despite the lonely battles fought by both patients and researchers, Kolker’s Hidden Valley Road  is at heart a book about how progress, personal or scientific, can never be achieved on our own.”

–Kate Tuttle  ( The Los Angeles Times )

4. Stranger in the Shogun’s City: A Japanese Woman and Her World by Amy Stanley (Scribner)

13 Rave • 1 Positive

“Through Tsuneno, a woman with no remarkable talents or aspirations, Stanley conjures a teeming world … Tsuneno’s restlessness and bad luck make her a rewarding subject … Stanley’s primary materials are letters from Tsuneno and her relatives, which are delightfully frank … The couple squabble, divorce, and remarry, and Tsuneno’s fortunes continue their erratic, fascinating fall and rise and fall … a lost place appears to the reader as if alive and intact.”

–Lidija Haas  ( Harper’s )

5. Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark (Knopf)

11 Rave • 3 Positive • 3 Mixed

Read an excerpt from Red Comet here

“…just as one is wondering whether there can possibly be anything new to be said, here comes Heather Clark’s Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath  hurtling down the chute, weighing in at more than 1,000 densely printed pages … as Plath and her complex, much analyzed legacy fade with the passing of successive generations, and her work grows more removed from the cultural mainstream, now seems a prime moment to revive her tale and try to bring all of its elements together … poignant … Clark is at pains to see Plath clearly, to rescue her from the reductive clichés and distorted readings of her work largely because of the tragedy of her ending … there is no denying the book’s intellectual power and, just as important, its sheer readability. Clark is a felicitous writer and a discerning critic of Plath’s poetry … Instead of depleting my interest in Plath, the book stimulated it further … Clark’s talent for scene-painting and inserting the stray but illustrative detail contributes to create a harrowing picture of the narrow confines of the London that Plath had moved to with such high hopes.”

–Daphne Merkin  ( The New York Times Book Review )

The Book Marks System: RAVE = 5 points • POSITIVE = 3 points • MIXED = 1 point • PAN = -5 points

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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.

Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links.

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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Kamala Harris: A Baptist with a Jewish husband and a faith that traces back to MLK and Gandhi

FILE - Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at Triumph Church, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Southfield, Mich. Black clergy marvel at the fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded Kamala Harris’ religious faith and social-justice values. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - Rev. Amos Brown speaks during a rally in support of reparations for African Americans as Supervisor Shamann Walton, left, listens outside City Hall in San Francisco, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Black clergy marvel at the fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded Kamala Harris’ religious faith and social-justice values. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the funeral service for Tyre Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Black clergy marvel at the fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded Kamala Harris’ religious faith and social-justice values. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean via AP, Pool, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Black clergy who know Vice President Kamala Harris, now the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, marvel at the fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded her religious faith and social justice values.

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A Baptist married to a Jewish man, she’s inspired by the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and influenced by the religious traditions of her mother’s native India as well as the Black Church.

“She’s had the best of two worlds,” says her longtime pastor, the Rev. Amos Brown, who leads Third Baptist Church in San Francisco.

In interviews, religious leaders and theologians told The Associated Press that Harris’ candidacy has special symbolic significance following President Joe Biden’s departure from election campaign. Not only because she would be the nation’s first female president, but she’s a Black American with South Asian roots and her two cultures are intrinsically linked .

The clergy and scholars noted that the concept of nonviolent resistance, a critical strategy in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, gained influence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi in India, who was an inspiration for many decades to America’s Black preachers and civil rights leaders. Gandhi was a Hindu who preached Hindu-Muslim unity.

“It may be through the Negroes that the unadulterated message of nonviolence will be delivered to the world,” Gandhi said in 1935 to a visiting delegation led by prominent Black U.S. theologian Howard Thurman.

Those shared cultural links can be found in Harris’ family history , too. Her maternal grandmother was a community organizer, and her grandfather P.V. Gopalan, was a civil servant who joined the resistance to win India’s independence from Britain.

Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, even met King as a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, where she participated in civil rights demonstrations.

“She was conscious of history, conscious of struggle, conscious of inequities. She was born with a sense of justice imprinted on her soul,” Harris wrote of her mother in her 2019 book “The Truths We Hold.”

The Black Church tradition also influenced Harris.

“The vice president has a strong Christian faith that she’s talked about a lot,” said Jamal Simmons, a pastor’s son and Harris’ former communications director. As a Democratic strategist, he has helped candidates make inroads with faith communities.

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“She was raised in a Christian church, and attended Christian churches throughout her life, and I think that still influences her, her worldview and her ethical commitments,” he said.

The Rev. Freddie D. Haynes III, a pastor in Dallas, first met Harris at Third Baptist in San Francisco, sparking their more than 30-year friendship.

Haynes – whose family has close ties to Third Baptist – was guest preaching at the time while visiting his mother. Harris, then the Alameda County district attorney, had just joined the congregation.

“She has always understood that Jesus and justice go together. So, it’s not hard to see why she chose a church that has that kind of justice DNA,” said Haynes, whose grandfather shaped Third Baptist’s social justice identity as its pastor. Then his father carried it on during his short time in the pulpit.

Through the years, Haynes and Harris connected over their shared faith. Haynes said she admired his ability to blend Black Christian theology in the pulpit with the cadence and rhythm of hip-hop. It was Harris’s commitment to serving the most vulnerable that impressed him.

“Her spirituality has been informed by a sense of justice for those who are othered, disadvantaged, and treated as second-class citizens,” said Haynes, who leads Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas.

As a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Harris was immersed in a cultural environment influenced by deep faith. The fellowship and service she learned at her alma mater is key to understanding the spirituality driving her sense of purpose, said  Matthew Watley , pastor of nearby Kingdom Fellowship AME, one of the fastest growing churches in America.

Watley said Howard’s commitment to service through religious passion and academic prowess never leaves its students. Several of Harris’ friends, including a line sister in the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., worship at Kingdom Fellowship, where Harris has attended twice in recent years.

Joshua DuBois, former head of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, said because of the influence of Eastern and Western cultural and religious traditions, Harris exudes a kind of ecumenism that makes her candidacy appealing to an array of religious voters.

“I think that presidents are grounded in their faith and inspired by their faith in numerous ways. It’s the wellspring that they draw from,” said DuBois, who worked under former President Barack Obama’s administration. “When you know the world is going mad how do you connect to something larger than yourself?”

“I also think faith can help you with prioritization,” he added. “Often times you can only focus on one thing as president and you face the question: Who needs you the most? I think that is certainly how Jesus walked. That’s how Gandhi walked.”

Black women , including clergy and activists who have not stopped organizing and praying since the COVID-19 pandemic, are quickly embracing Harris.

The Rev. Traci Blackmon, who joined 4,000 Black clergy on a recent pro-Harris call, said the outpouring of support for her is connected to the anticipated ugliness and opposition she is bound to face in her sprint against former President Donald Trump.

“She should be president because she’s equipped, prepared and the best candidate for the job,” said Blackmon, a St. Louis-based United Church of Christ minister, who spoke to the AP as Harris gathered delegate support.

The call was organized by the Black Church PAC, co-founded by the Rev. Michael McBride, a longtime Harris supporter and pastor of The Way Christian Center in Berkeley. McBride told the AP that he was still in the pulpit on Sunday when Biden withdrew his candidacy. After the benediction, McBride said, one of the church mothers stood up, shared that news, and asked, in effect, “What do we do now?”

McBride and many other Black pastors who have been calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war will be looking to Harris for leadership that would bring about peace. Brown, her own pastor, was among the Black clergy who visited the White House in recent months to appeal to the Biden administration.

“To me it’s a matter of peace and justice,” Brown said.

On Sunday, after Harris was endorsed by Biden. she sought out Brown with an evening phone call, about an hour before the AP reached him at his home in San Francisco.

“I’m calling my pastor,” Harris said in her typical greeting, referring to the man that staffers in her office are instructed to get to know during their first week on the job.

She wanted her pastor to pray, and pray Brown did, that Harris “would be the quintessential instrument to bring healing, hope and wholeness” to the United States of America.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Best Biographies

Discover the lives of remarkable individuals through the best biographies, chosen from a wide array of reputable literary sources and biography enthusiasts. these compelling reads offer intimate portraits and have earned accolades across numerous literary discussions..

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The 30 best biographies to add to your reading list

Some stories involve incredible, larger-than-life characters. these are the best biographies ever written..

Writing a great biography is no easy task. The author is charged with capturing some of the most iconic and influential people on the planet, folks that often have larger than life personas. To capture that in words is a genuine challenge that the best biographers relish.

The very best biographies don't just hold a mirror up to these remarkable characters. Instead, they show us a different side of them, or just how a certain approach of philosophy fueled their game-changing ways. Biographies inform, for certain, but they entertain and inspire to no end as well.

Below, we gathered a comprehensive list of the best biographies ever written. Some of these biographies were selected because of the subject matter and others were chosen because of the biographer. It’s often said that reading biographies is the best way to gain new knowledge, so we suggest you start with these great selections. If you love history, you’ll certainly want to include these best history books to your home library.

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro

The former parks commissioner of New York, Robert Moses was a man who got power, loved power, and was transformed by power. This 1,000-plus page biography could be the definitive study of power and legacy. It’s a great learning tool of mostly what not to be and who not to become.

Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Totto-Chan is a special figure in modern Japanese culture and is on the same celebrity status level as Oprah is to us here in the United States. The book describes the childhood in pre-World War II Japan of a misunderstood girl who suffered from attention disorders and excessive energy and who later was mentored by a very special school principal who truly understood her. The book has sold more than 5 million copies in Japan.

Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith

The man who was responsible for winning World War II, twice prevented the use of nuclear weapons, and attempted to keep our soldiers out of Vietnam, all while making it look easy, is none other than Dwight D. Eisenhower. This biography is a history lesson as well as an opportunity to get inside the mind of a brilliant man.

Edison: A Biography by Matthew Josephson

This particular biography dates back more than 50 years, which means it was written without the worry of being politically correct or controversial, but instead focused on providing a conclusive picture of the man. Modern enough to be historically accurate, this biography details a lot of the little-known facts about Mr. Edison in addition to his accomplishments, as well as his failures.

Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office by Zach O’Malley Greenburg

Empire State of Mind is both an unofficial biography of the rap mogul Jay-Z as well as a business book. It shows how the rapper hustled his way to the top of the music industry to become one of the most powerful and influential people in music.

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer

The story of the professional football player who gave up a $3 million NFL contract to join the Army Rangers after 9/11, only to die under suspicious circumstances in the hills of Afghanistan, is a book about everything that is right and wrong with the U.S. military. Pat Tillman wasn’t perfect, but he was a man we could all learn something from. His incredible story is one of bravery and selflessness -- and will forever be tied to the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Titan: The Life of John. D. Rockefeller Sr. by Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow has written some of the best biographies of our time. In this 832-page biography of John. D. Rockefeller, he shares the main lessons you would take away from someone like Rockefeller, a strangely stoic, incredibly resilient, and -- despite his reputation as a robber baron -- humble and compassionate man. Most successful people get worse as they age, but Rockefeller instead became more open-minded and more generous. The biography also details his wrongdoings and permits you the opportunity to make your own judgment on Rockefeller’s character.

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

Another example of Chernow’s brilliance in biographical writing is given in his biography of George Washington. Today, we study Washington not only for his against-the-odds military victory over a superior British Army but also for his strategic vision, which is partially responsible for many of the most enduring American institutions and practices. It’s another long read of the type Chernow is famous for, but it's also a page-turner. Although it’s intimidating to look at, the reading time goes by quickly.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson has written some of the greatest biographies in contemporary literature. Our modern-day genius, Steve Jobs, will forever be remembered as the mastermind who brought us Apple. This biography shows Jobs at his best, which includes illustrations of his determination and creativity but also details the worst of him, including his tyrannical and vicious ways of running a business (and his family). From this book, you will learn to appreciate the man for the genius that he was, but it will most likely not inspire you to follow in his path.

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

Most depictions show the Mongols as bloodthirsty pillagers, but in this biography, we are also shown how they introduced many progressive advances to their conquered nations. You will learn how Genghis Khan abolished torture, permitted universal religious freedom, and destroyed existing feudal systems.

Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time by Joseph Frank

his five-volume retelling of the life and times of Russian literary giant Fyodor Dostoevsky is considered the best biography available on the subject. The mammoth exploration sheds light on Dostoevsky's works, ideology, and historical context. For those who are not specifically interested in the famous author, the also book paints a picture of 19th-century Russia.

Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvelous Works of Nature and Man by Martin Kemp

Kemp’s account of da Vinci’s life and work is considered the go-to biography of the famous Renaissance figure. This incredible book sheds light on one of the most creative figures who ever lived, guiding readers through a fully integrated account of his scientific, artistic, and technological works, as well as the life events that helped form the man that made them.

Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury by Leslie-Ann Jones

After the massive success of the movie recently released about rock legend Freddie Mercury and his band, Queen, you might be interested in learning more about the frontman. This biography draws from hundreds of interviews with key figures in his life to create a revealing glimpse into Mercury’s life.

Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes by Donald Barlett

This is an epic biography of an epic man. It shows the heights of his incredible success as well as the depths of his inner struggles. Readers learn about the tough but eccentric figure in a story that details his incredible success as an aviator, film producer, and more.

Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges

The brilliant mathematician, cytologist, and computer pioneer Alan Turing is beautifully depicted in this biography. It covers his heroic code-breaking efforts during World War II , his computer designs and contributions to mathematical biology in the years following, and the vicious persecution that befell him in the 1950s when homosexual acts were still a crime and punishable by law.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Of course, we couldn’t highlight Ron Chernow’s best works without including his biography on Alexander Hamilton , which is not only the inspiration for a hit Broadway musical but also a work of creative genius itself. Another more than 800-page book (an ongoing theme for Chernow biographies), this book details every knowable moment of the youngest Founding Father’s life, from his role in the Revolutionary War and early American government to his sordid affair with Maria Reynolds. If you’ve seen the musical, this book will help answer a lot of those burning questions that you may have.

Frida: The Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

The focal point of this biography is not the suffering that was endured by Frida Kahlo, but instead, her artistic brilliance and her immense resolve to leave her mark on the world. Herrera’s 1983 biography of one of the most recognizable names in modern art has since become the definitive account of her life.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Recommended reading for any adventurer or explorer -- the story of Christopher McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, who hitchhiked to Alaska and disappeared into the Denali wilderness in April 1992 only to have his remains discovered in his shelter five months later -- Into the Wild retraces his steps along the trek, attempting to discover what the young man was looking for on his journey. Krakauer delivers one of the best biography books in recent memory.

Prince: A Private View by Afshin Shahidi

Compiled after the superstar’s untimely death in 2016, this intimate snapshot into the life of Prince is largely visual. The author served as the musician’s private photographer from the early 2000s until his passing. You already know the expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and in this case, they are worth a lot more.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson

The “Kennedy Curse” didn’t bring forth an assassination or a mysterious plane crash for Rosemary Kennedy, although her fate might have been the worst of them all. As if her botched lobotomy that left her almost completely incapacitated weren’t enough, her parents then hid her away from society, almost never to be seen again. Penned by Kennedy scholar Kate Larson, the full truth of her post-lobotomy life is finally revealed.

Trump Revealed: The Definitive Biography of the 45th President by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is likely the most divisive U.S. president of modern times. The comprehensive biography of Trump is reported by a team of award-winning Washington Post journalists and co-authored by investigative political reporter Michael Kranish and senior editor Marc Fisher. The book gives the reader an insight into Trump, from his upbringing in Queens to his turbulent careers in real estate and entertainment to his astonishing rise as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang

Most are familiar with the revolutionary Mao Zedong. This carefully curated biography by Jung Chang digs deeper into the life of the "Red Emperor." You won't find these interviews and stories about the world leader in history books alone. This extensive account of the man known simply as Mao begins with a horrific statistic: He was responsible for the deaths of more than 70 million people during his regime.

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell 

Biographies often give us the stories of people we know and love, but they can also reveal new stories about people that may have been lost to history. In her bestseller, Sonia Purnell tells the story of Virginia Hall, a prolific and heroic spy from World War II who took down the Axis Powers on one leg. 

Black Boy by Richard Wright

A standard biography is usually given by a historian after years and years of research and writing, but sometimes it’s better to go straight to the source. In his memoir, Richard Wright details his life as he recalls it as a black American in the 20th century. Black Boy is a harsh, painful, beautiful, and revealing read about race in the United States -- and about a towering figure of literature. 

Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

Isaacson represents the gold standard for contemporary biographers, and his tome on Leonardo da Vinci was a bestseller for a reason. Isaacson is able to show a detailed, intimate portrait of the most famous painter of all time from centuries away.

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

Want to know how the biggest sports company of all time came to be? Hear it from the man himself. Phil Knight’s book takes you through how his little sneaker company in Oregon became the worldwide leader in sportswear. 

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley

One of the most famous biographies ever, The Autobiography of Malcolm X remains a classic and an important read. Malcolm X’s politics, though controversial at the time and today, is a valuable and provocative perspective that will make you reconsider how you think about America and the American Dream. 

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Long before becoming Jon Stewart’s successor on The Daily Show, Trevor Noah lived many, many lifetimes. Born to apartheid South Africa, Noah’s story is one of perseverance and triumph, and one that he manages to make funny by some sort of magic trick. 

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae

Of course, today, you know Issa Rae as the writer, actor, and star of HBO’s Insecure, but before her hit show came her webseries and book of the same name, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. Rae’s memoir wrestles with the idea of being an introvert in a world that considers Black people inherently cool.

Robin by Davie Itzkoff

One of the most beloved comedians and actors of all time, Robin Williams' passing in 2014 shook fans across generations. In his book, New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff covers the life, work, and emotions of one of the most complicated and misunderstood comedians ever. Oh captain, my captain...

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Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since. He spent years making, selling, and sipping Pinot Noir in the Dundee Hills before a full return to his journalistic roots in 2016. He's helplessly tied to European soccer, casting for trout, and grunge rock. In addition to The Manual, he writes for SevenFifty Daily , Sip Northwest , The Somm Journal , The Drake , Willamette Week , Travel Oregon , and more. He has a website and occasionally even updates it: markastock.com .

Send all editorial inquiries  HERE .

It's never too late to be a kid. Sure, technically it is, but that's your adult brain at work. With the right state of imagination and a few helpful tools, you can relive your youth.

A great way to do so is by way of our favorite kind of weapon: the fake one. Nerf guns have ruled the category for generations, with their signature soft ammo and inventive designs. Best, they don't hurt anybody involved in a shootout. They'll take you straight back to the playground, with the sound of an ice cream truck and the distance and laughter all around. It's a healthy kind of battle, one that involves lots of exercise and carefree joy. Best, you're also an adult, so if you feel like having a beer or staying out a little later when the battle is over, you can.

Shopping for the best gifts for men can at times seem like a daunting task, whether it be for a birthday, an anniversary, or any gift in between. So, we decided to help you out and lend you a hand and make gift-giving a little less stressful with a thoughtfully curated list of tried-and-true gifts suited for men. And at times, no matter how well or how long you have known someone, you just don't know where to look.

From small everyday carry items and others from the cool tech world to experiences that help you disconnect to reconnect, we offer you a gift guide for every guy on your list or some nice ways to treat yourself, too. Ahead, you will find a list of the best practical gifts for every type of guy. With that being said, here are the best gifts for men in 2023.

We're living in crazy times, especially since this whole pandemic mess started a few long years ago. With so much instability out there, it's easy to feel, well, a little uneasy. That's why it's not a bad idea to consider a few self-defense weapons to have at your disposal, just in case. You never know really know what lies ahead but you can be prepared if things do go very, very wrong.

There are many options out there, but the best of the bunch are packable, discreet, effective, and non-lethal (because you don't necessarily have to put somebody six feet under to "take them out"). Now, it's one thing to have one of these on your person and quite another to use it safely and properly. So make sure you know what you're dealing with beforehand and maybe even set up some training time with your new tool. Whether you're planing to get (intentionally) lost in the backcountry or just milling about in the city, it's not a bad idea to consider getting one of these. Here are the best self-defense weapons for protecting yourself in 2023.

Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over new media rights deal, saying it matched Amazon

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Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit Friday against the NBA over the new media rights deal that cuts out the league’s longtime TV partner Turner Sports.

The suit filed in New York Supreme Court asserts that the NBA breached its current deal by allegedly refusing to honor Turner’s rights to match an offer from Amazon in the new contract that pays the league $77 billion over 11 years starting in the 2025-26 season.

Amazon won rights to stream NBA games in the contract, which also awarded packages to Comcast Corp.-owned NBCUniversal and longtime TV partner ESPN. Amazon is believed to be paying about $1.8 billion a year in its deal, which Turner believed it had the right to match.

The suit claims Turner’s rights agreement with the NBA covers “non-broadcast television,” which includes any method of video distribution other than over-the-air TV. The contractual definition includes distribution by internet, which Turner believes gives it the right to match Amazon’s offer.

Turner said it submitted a matching offer agreeing to pay the same fees for the same number of games in the Amazon offer. The deal would have put NBA games on Turner’s TNT channel and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service.

The NBA told Turner it could not match the Amazon deal because the tech giant’s proposal only included the Prime Video streaming platform, according to the suit. But Turner asserts that its offer to put games on TNT and Max was comparable.

Hollywood Inc.

Warner Bros. Discovery vows to ‘take appropriate action’ after NBA rejects offer

Warner Bros. Discovery’s attempt to match Amazon bid is rejected, ending TNT’s run as an NBA partner after next season.

July 25, 2024

“[Turner] timely exercised these matching rights by accepting a third party offer on the same material terms and conditions that the NBA was willing to accept from Amazon,” the suit said. “The NBA, however has breached the agreement and deliberately refused to honor [Turner’s] rights.”

“Warner Bros. Discovery’s claims are without merit and our lawyers will address them,” the NBA said in a statement.

Turner’s cable channels TNT and TBS have carried the NBA since the 1980s and TNT is known for its highly regarded studio show “Inside the NBA.” But parent company Warner Bros. Discovery did not renew its package during an exclusive negotiating period, enabling the league to put it out in the open market.

Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav publicly said the company did not need the NBA, suggesting the company was not going to overpay in the new deal.

After the NBA reached new agreements, Turner tried to match Amazon’s offer.

When the deal was announced Wednesday, the NBA indicated that including a streaming service as one of its media partners was done to “maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for fans.”

“Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements,” the league said. “All three partners have also committed to substantial services to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”

More to Read

Charles Barkley sounds off on new NBA TV deal: ‘I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance’

July 26, 2024

Benched by the NBA, Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav faces tough questions

Warner Bros. Discovery says it will match Amazon’s bid for NBA rights

July 22, 2024

Inside the business of entertainment

The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Stephen Battaglio writes about television and the media business for the Los Angeles Times out of New York. His coverage of the television industry has appeared in TV Guide, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, Fortune, the Hollywood Reporter, Inside.com and Adweek. He is also the author of three books about television, including a biography of pioneer talk show host and producer David Susskind.

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Acting Secret Service head ‘ashamed’ rooftop wasn’t secure at rally where Trump was shot

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10 Best Biographies/Memoirs of 2023

10 best biographies of 2023.

It’s been a big year for biographies, with everything from Prince Harry to Britney Spear delivering their own books. There have been a lot of excellent books in this category this year .

In this curated list, we delve into the best biographies that captivated us this year. As usual, the books below are listed in no particular order but of course, do let us know your favourites in the comments below!

So join us as we celebrate the narratives that have defined 2023, each a unique testament to the enduring power of storytelling.

The Woman in Me – Britney Spears

The Woman in Me is an intimate and courageous memoir that chronicles the remarkable journey for one of pop music’s most iconic figures, Britney Spears. This deeply personal narrative unfolds against the backdrop of her historic June 2021 court testimony, a moment that not only altered Britney’s trajectory in life, but also resonated with people around the globe. Spears’s story is one of resilience and transformation, capturing the essence of freedom, motherhood, and survival.

Spears opens up about her life in this book with honesty and humor that is both refreshing and profound. She shares her experiences in the limelight, detailing the struggles and triumphs that have defined her career and personal life. Her account goes beyond the sensational headlines, offering readers a glimpse into the heart and soul of an artist who has captivated millions.

Spears’s narrative is more than a memoir; it’s a powerful testament to the strength and resilience inherent in her character. “The Woman in Me” is a celebration of the healing power of music and love, and the vital importance of autonomy in storytelling. Britney’s voice—clear, unfiltered, and unapologetic—echoes throughout the pages, emphasizing the significance of a woman taking control of her narrative and speaking her truth.

This book is not only a milestone in Spears’s life but also an inspiring tale of hope and empowerment, making it a must-read for her fans and supporters of women’s rights alike.

A Memoir of My Former Self – Hilary Mantel

A Memoir of My Former Self is a rich collection of Hilary Mantel’s finest journalistic and personal writings, spanning four decades. Known for her distinguished career as a novelist, Mantel brings her keen insight and eloquent prose to a variety of subjects, offering readers a glimpse into both her life and the broader world as she sees it. Embracing her belief that “ink is a generative fluid,” she crafts essays that resonate with intention and depth.

Mantel’s work traverses a wide array of themes. She reflects on nationalism and her own sense of identity, delves into the interplay between our dreams and waking life, and revisits the enduring mythos of Princess Diana.

From her unique childhood to her obsession with Thomas Cromwell, which culminated in the acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy, this memoir presents the evolution of Hilary Mantel’s life and thoughts. A Memoir of My Former Self is a wonderful book and certainly one of the best released this year.

The Forgotten Girls – Monica Potts

In this poignant and revealing book, an accomplished journalist revisits her roots in a small Arkansas town to unravel the stark contrast between her life and that of her childhood best friend, Darci.

Growing up in the economically declining Ozarks, both Monica and Darci were bright, working-class girls with dreams that stretched far beyond the confines of their troubled community. United by their love for reading and learning, they faced the harsh realities of their town: broken homes, alcoholism, and the gradual decay of local businesses and factories.

While Monica managed to break free, attending college and pursuing her dreams, Darci’s story took a tragically different turn. Years later, as Monica covers poverty and its impacts, she learns of the alarming decrease in life expectancy among women in rural areas like her hometown. 

Darci represents a harrowing statistic: a single mother battling meth and prescription drug addiction, struggling with unemployment and near homelessness. Through her narrative, she sheds light on the critical issues affecting poor, rural white women in America, offering an intimate and eye-opening look at the realities often overlooked in national discourse.

Abroad in Japan – Chris Broad

In Abroad in Japan, Chris Broad shares his adventurous journey into Japan in his often humorous journey of adapting to life in rural northern Japan. Arriving with no experience in teaching and little command of the Japanese language, Chris wonders if his stint as an English teacher might be short-lived. Instead, what unfolds is a decade of rich experiences in one of the world’s most intriguing and complex cultures.

This is a captivating narrative that spans all forty-seven prefectures of Japan, from tranquil rice fields to the vibrant streets of Tokyo. Chris recounts a variety of extraordinary experiences, including a nerve-wracking North Korean missile scare, an embarrassing encounter in a love hotel, and an unforgettable week with Japan’s biggest movie star. His stories are not just entertaining; they offer a deep dive into the heart of Japanese culture.

Chris’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of travel and the value of embracing the unknown with an open mind and heart.

Strong Female Character – Fern Brady

Strong Female Character is a ground-breaking memoir by Fern Brady that confronts the intersection of sexism and neurodiversity. Brady, a neurodivergent, working-class woman from Scotland, offers an eye-opening exploration of how societal expectations clash with the realities of being an autistic woman. The book challenges the preconceived notions of both autism and femininity, highlighting the unique struggles and triumphs that come with navigating these identities.

Brady’s narrative is unflinchingly honest, delving into deeply personal experiences such as sex work, abusive relationships, and her time in teenage mental health units. She critically examines the Manic Pixie Dream Girl stereotype, a trope often misleadingly associated with neurodiverse women, and dismantles it with the force of her lived experience.

This memoir is not just a personal account; it’s a powerful statement on the complexities of being a neurodivergent woman in a world that often misunderstands and overlooks such experiences.

Friendaholic – Elizabeth Day

In Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, Elizabeth Day delves into the oft-overlooked yet vital world of friendships, challenging the societal emphasis on romantic love.

Growing up with few friends, Elizabeth equated the number of friendships with being loved and secure. As an adult, she prides herself on being a Good Friend, only to realize that this pursuit sometimes comes at the cost of her own boundaries and mental health.

The onset of the global pandemic in 2020 sees Elizabeth re-evaluate her understanding of friendship. Confronted with the reality that her closest friends weren’t necessarily those she spent the most time with, she begins to question the nature of these relationships. This introspection leads to broader inquiries: Is there such a thing as having too many friends? How well does one truly understand the role they play as a friend?

The Strength of Love – Kate Garraway

Kate Garraway’s The Strength of Love offers a profound and moving account of resilience and hope amidst life’s most challenging circumstances. This deeply personal narrative unfolds in the wake of her husband Derek’s battle with the severe impacts of Covid, a struggle that has dramatically altered their family life, requiring 24-hour care and frequent hospitalizations.

Kate’s journey is one of constant uncertainty and daily challenges, testing her strength and that of her family at every turn.

Garraway’s book delves into universal themes that resonate with many: the nature of trauma, the critical role of resilience and adaptability, and the power of staying curious and positive in the face of adversity. She candidly discusses the concepts of identity and purpose, offering insights into how to embrace uncertainty and regain control in times of turmoil. Her experiences and reflections provide solace and wisdom to those grappling with loneliness, loss, or fear of the unknown.

Spare – Prince Harry

Much has been made of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, with opinion swinging like a pendulum between outright hatred to incredulous disbelief. Following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey and the subsequent fall-out with the Royal Family, Harry and Meghan have attempted to lift the curtain and explain exactly what’s happened and what’s led them to where we are today.

Spare is a revealing and deeply personal memoir in that respect, ghost-written by J.R. Moehringer but written in first-person perspective to authenticate the feel of what’s in here. Prince Harry’s book is split across three parts in this 410 page book. After a brief prologue starting at Prince Philip’s death, we cut back to just before Princess Diana’s death, leading through Harry’s years growing up as the “Spare” to Prince William (the “heir”) along with his time in the military and up to the Queen’s death.

The writing itself is mostly reserved to short and snappy sub-chapters, which are split into three parts, the first focusing on the past and growing up, the second on Harry’s time in the military and the third on Harry’s love life and meeting Meghan Markle.

It’s a book that reveals far more about the underbelly of the Royal Family than you’re likely to see anywhere else. Quite how this story will eventually end is anyone’s guess but for anyone remotely interested in the Royal Family, this is an absolute must-read.

Elon Musk – Walter Isaacson

In his latest biography, the acclaimed author of “Steve Jobs” presents an intimate and compelling portrait of Elon Musk, one of the most enigmatic and influential figures of our time. This book delves deep into Musk’s journey from a bullied child in South Africa to a visionary entrepreneur reshaping the future with electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. It also explores his dramatic takeover of Twitter, a platform that symbolizes both a personal and professional battleground for him.

Author Isaacson provides an unprecedented look into Musk’s world, having shadowed him for two years, witnessing first-hand the workings of his mind and operations. Through extensive interviews with Musk, as well as those who know him best—family, friends, co-workers, and rivals—the biography paints a vivid picture of a man who is as complex as he is visionary. It raises probing questions: Are the very traits that make Musk a relentless innovator also the sources of his deepest struggles? This biography offers a fascinating exploration of Musk’s life, achievements, and the inner demons that drive him, making it a standout addition to the best biographies of 2023.

Seventeen – Joe Gibson

Seventeen is a shocking and eye-opening memoir, written by Joe Gibson. In this revealing book, we’re whisked back to 1992. Like every other seventeen-year-old boy, Joe has one eye on his studies, the other on his social life. He’s looking ahead to a gap year full of travel and adventure before university. Only, there’s a problem. When Joe’s teacher – attractive, mid-thirties – takes an interest in him, it seems like a fantasy come true.  

For his final two years at school, Joe is bound to her, a woman twice his age, in an increasingly tangled web of coercion, sex and lies. Their affair, a product of complex grooming and a shocking abuse of authority, is played out in the corridors of one of Britain’s major private schools, under the noses of people who suspected, even knew, but said nothing. 

With a heady dose of nostalgia for the 90’s, and the perfectly captured mood of those final months at school, Joe charts the legacy of deceit and indelibility of decisions made at seventeen. 

Closing Thoughts

2023 has been a big year for biography fans. There have been some great selections this year and above our just our favourite picks!

What will 2024 have in store for us? Hopefully more of the same!

So, there we have it, our picks for the best biographies of 2023! Let us know what you think of our choices in the comments below and remind us of any others you enjoyed this year above all others!

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Kamala Harris Book Sales Soaring in Wake of Democratic Presidential Nomination

By Tim Chan

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

Kamala Harris appears to be gaining momentum after President Joe Biden’s news that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Harris as the Democratic Party nominee . In the days since Biden’s announcement, Democrats have seen both fundraising numbers and political allies lining up behind the Vice President, as she prepares to face off against Donald Trump in November.

The momentum is crossing over into the sales arena as well, with unofficial “Kamala 2024” merch dropping online, and renewed interest in the former California senator’s 2019 memoir . In fact, Amazon reports that orders of Harris’ memoir soared a whopping 60,378% at one point, since the weekend, with the book now topping Amazon’s women’s biographies chart , among others (it’s currently up 200% on Amazon’s “Movers & Shakers” chart ).

Harris has written two non-fiction books and one children’s book, though there are other books about the Vice President online. Here’s a look at some of the titles that have returned to the charts since Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey

$9.78 $18.00 46% off

Originally released in 2019, Vice President Harris’ memoir has returned to Amazon’s bestselling biographies chart (ironically just behind J.D. Vance’s “ Hillbilly Elegy “). Harris’ book details her upbringing as the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, and the lessons she learned about social justice and compassion while growing up in Oakland, California. Amazon has Harris’ official memoir on sale for under $10 right now . You can also listen to the official audiobook — narrated by Harris herself — on Audible . The streaming service has a two-month free trial that you can use to listen to “The Truths We Hold” online for free.

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey (Young Readers Edition)

$9.39 $10.92 14% off

Harris also has a “young readers edition” of her book, designed for children ages 12-15. This version is currently topping Amazon’s teen biographies chart , with reviewers calling it an “easy-read version” of the original, that’s “heartwarming” and “inspiring.” As the publisher description states, “This book challenges us to become leaders in our own lives and shows us that with determination and perseverance, all dreams are possible.”

Superheroes Are Everywhere

Released in 2021, Harris’ kids book is currently back on Amazon’s bestselling children’s political biographies chart . Inspired by her own childhood — and her love for superheroes — the 40-page picture book inspires the next generation to find their voice, while showing them that “the power to make the world a better place is inside all of us” — no cape required.  

Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer

Originally written in 2009 by the then-San Francisco District Attorney, “Smart on Crime” details the career prosecutor’s thoughts on how to improve law enforcement while ending the cycle of repeat offenders. As the publisher notes state, “‘Smart on Crime’ spells out the policy shifts required to increase public safety, reduce costs, and strengthen our communities.”

My Little Golden Book About Kamala Harris

$3.98 $5.99 34% off

The “Little Golden Book” series has featured everyone from Taylor Swift to Lady Gaga , and now, the presidential candidate gets the kid-friendly biography treatment in this 24-page picture book. Currently the number-one book on Amazon’s multicultural children’s biographies list , Harris’ “Little Golden Book” is an easy and inspiring read-aloud for young girls, boys and families alike.

Kamala Harris (Little People, BIG DREAMS, 68)

$9.79 $15.99 39% off

Part of the “ Little People, BIG DREAMS ” series, this children’s book tells the story of how Harris made it to the White House, through quirky, full-color illustrations and easy-to-read text. From her early life in California, to going to law school, to becoming a senator and now-Vice President, this book encourages kids to dream big to “achieve incredible things.” (This book is also available in a Spanish version for $7 at Target.com ).

Kamala’s Way: An American Life

$17.89 $28.00 36% off

While much has been written about Vice President Harris in the press, there aren’t many books out (yet) about the Democratic presidential nominee. “Kamala’s Way,” from former Los Angeles Times reporter Dan Morain, tries to fill in the blanks, offering a detailed take from someone who has been following Harris’ career from the very start. Per publisher Simon & Schuster, this book reveals the “values and priorities, the kind of people she brings into her orbit, the sorts of problems she’s good at solving, and the missteps, risks, and bold moves she’s made on her way to the top.”

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Paris 2024 Olympics skateboarding: 14-year-old Yoshizawa Coco of Japan captures Olympic gold medal in women’s street

Picture by Julian Finney/Getty Images

Youth reigned supreme Sunday 28 July as the best women’s skateboarders took to the course at Place de la Concorde in Paris, competing for the women's street Olympic title at Paris 2024 .

Three teenagers claimed their spot on the podium: Yoshizawa Coco , a 14-year-old from Japan, took home the gold with a score of 272.75. Liz Akama , a 15-year-old also from Japan, grabbed silver with a score of 265.95 and 16-year-old Brazilian Rayssa Leal secured bronze with a score of 253.37.

Yoshizawa landed a near-perfect big spin flip frontside boardslide on her fourth trick, which received a score of 96.46 and propelled her to the top of the leaderboard.

Akama got off to a strong start, earning a 92.62 on her first trick. However, she did not record a score on her last three tricks but was able to hold the silver due to her strong second run where she scored 89.26.

Leal, who won silver in this event at Tokyo 2020 , found herself in fourth place as she prepared for her final trick. Calm and collected, she pulled off a kickflip frontside boardslide to earn a score of 88.83 to claim the bronze medal.

Yoshizawa Coco (gold) and Akama Liz (silver) after women's street final on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Three teenagers star in women's s kateboarding street final at Paris 2024 Olympics

Despite being only 14 years old, Yoshizawa displayed great poise and composure throughout her run to the gold medal.

She was the only competitor to land both her run attempts successfully and with remarkable consistency, putting down an 85.02 which she later upgraded to an 86.80. Only Akama had a better run score by the end of the section.

Japan has now won two straight gold medals in the event after Momiji Nishiya won the event at Tokyo 2020.

"I felt that there were areas where I lacked practice and also parts where I was being too meticulous. I need to rethink and not be too fixated," Yoshizawa said. "After this (finishing seventh in the final), I’m really struggling to find out what to do next, but I want to continue pushing as far as I can."

She also expressed her gratitude to friends and family who supported her throughout the competition.

"My family and friends are here. I want to thank them for supporting me and encouraging me to do my best," she said.

Akama provided insight into the special trick she attempted but was unable to land later in the competition.

"Today's performance had good points but also some bad because I couldn't pull off my special trick," she said. "I have been trying it a lot and practising a lot and I have actually done it in a competition before, but today I couldn't make it."

Despite her frustration with missing the trick she worked so hard on, Akama was relieved to achieve her dream of medalling at the Olympics at only 15 years old.

"I am very, very happy because my dream was to get a medal at the Paris Olympics ," she said.

Leal was content with her bronze medal, enjoying the experience of Paris 2024 in comparison to Tokyo 2020 which took place amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, she was just 13 years old and the youngest Brazilian ever to participate in the Olympics.

"Now I know what the real Olympics are," she said. "There are so many Brazilian fans here. It's crazy."

Leal said she battled some nerves during the semi-final but settled in as the finals began.

"I did my best, I did what I could, and I'm really happy," Leal said. "In the semi-finals I was nervous, but in the finals I was home. I'm really, really happy."

Paris 2024 Olympics skateboarding: Women's street podium

Gold: Yoshizawa Coco, Japan

Silver: Liz Akama, Japan

Bronze: Rayssa Leal, Brazil

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David Orr is the author of a poetry collection, “Dangerous Household Items,” and three books about poetry. He teaches poetry and the practice of criticism at Rutgers University.

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THOM GUNN: A Cool Queer Life , by Michael Nott

One version of the life of Thom Gunn might go like this: After a childhood spent in an erratic orbit of Fleet Street journalism, Gunn developed into a remarkably assured young writer and had immediate success as a poet, first in Britain, then in the United States. Openly gay despite the dangers of that identification in the second half of the 20th century, he led a scruffy, cheerfully louche existence (loads of sex with dubious characters, piles of drugs, often with the same dubious characters) while writing poems of elegant astringency. Gunn taught at several universities with conscientiousness, he plunged into leather dive bars as if they were all about to close forever, and he earned a devoted battalion of advocates who viewed him as a world-class writer who, rare among world-class writers, didn’t court the favor of people who use descriptions like “world-class writer.” He died as a prize-bedecked iconoclast, a near contradiction that suited him down to his panther tattoo.

Another version might go like this: A precocious poet but also a haunted, depressive young man, Gunn crossed the Atlantic in 1954 and found companionship and acceptance, particularly in San Francisco, his longtime home. But he could never fully overcome the darkness that had gathered around him since the moment when, at age 15, he found his mother’s body after she’d taken her own life. Though he became a beloved writer and teacher with a strong circle of loyal friends, most notably his longtime partner Mike Kitay, he was driven to risky, compulsive behavior that struck even some of his piratical associates as excessive. He died alone in his bedroom of a drug overdose at age 74, having last been seen “decked out in his leathers like he was going out.”

It’s to the credit of Michael Nott’s new biography, “Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life,” that these versions, and several others, seem equally and sometimes alternately valid. Gunn has always been a puzzle. Incongruity is a primary feature of his poetry, which frequently takes an impersonal, formal stance toward (or against) decidedly informal subject matter; the effect is as if glaciers had somehow been drawn up the slopes of an active volcano. “Venetian Blind,” a poem from the 1980s, begins, “I pull it down while glancing through/Into my neighbour’s room next door,” and quickly moves to sketchier territory: “You know I’m watching. How I wish/You’d come up here, dark sportive sport.” The poem ends:

I study possibility Through rigid slats, or ordered verses, Within which border it rehearses Its partial being, freeing me Slightly adjusting them to scan The self-possession that is you, Who cannot guess at what I do Here, light-sliced, with another man .

The Elizabethan elaboration of this voyeuristic, exhibitionistic scenario is like being offered a bong by someone wearing a doublet.

There are two basic types of poetic biography: the critical study with biographical elements, and the complete life for scholarly posterity. Nott’s is the latter, with an emphasis on “complete.” If you’d like to know where Gunn went for drinks when he lived in New York in 1970, well, he “still frequented the leather bar Keller’s but also enjoyed new bars: His favorites included the Zoo, on West 13th Street, and the Den, a members-only leather bar at West 12th Street and Greenwich Avenue.” A little of such pulverizing detail can go a long way; I would have been content not to learn, for example, that “Andy,” one of Gunn’s dozens and dozens of unstable, much younger conquests, “ruptured a testicle and spent several days in San Francisco General.” But Nott, who previously co-edited a collection of Gunn’s letters , has set out here to produce a work sturdy enough to support decades of future commentary on Gunn. He’s succeeded — this book is everything you ever wanted to know about Thom Gunn but had not even thought about asking.

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/nixon-biographer-recommends-8-biographies-need-read

Nixon biographer recommends 8 other biographies you need to read

John A. Farrell, author of the new biography “ Richard Nixon: The Life ,” — which traces the former president’s life as a young and idealistic navy lieutenant to the leader of a divided nation and, finally, to his resignation — says he doesn’t always read other biographies while he writes. He’ll sometimes read the poetry of William Butler Yeats, or detective and science fiction, which he says keeps his brain relaxed. But over the years Farrell has read and studied a wide range of biographies, and when he recently sat down with NewsHour correspondent Jeffrey Brown, Farrell gave his recommendations for those he considers must-reads. Here are his choices, and why he loves them:

Credit: Doubleday

1. Ron Chernow’s “Alexander Hamilton”

Credit: Vintage

2. Robert A. Caro’s “The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power”

Credit: Simon & Schuster

3. David McCullough’s “Truman”

“The books of these three authors give you a great deal of information, spectacular analysis, and they also all have wonderful writing styles that put you into the 19th century, or put you into Harry Truman’s shoes, when he gets the word that FDR has died, or put you into the Texas Hill Country, in the case of Robert Caro.”

Credit: St. Martin’s Press

4. Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga”:

“I’ve never heard anything about the experience of Irish Americans like Doris Goodwin’s book on the Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys.”

Credit: Knopf

5. Volker Ullrich’s “Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939”

“This is the first of a two part series by Ullrich, a German author, and it’s a marvelous look at Hitler’s rise to power. It gives you a real glimpse of Hitler, almost as an individual, rather than as a caricature and a villain.”

Credit: Ballantine Books

6. Laura Hillenbrand’s “Seabiscuit: An American Legend”

“I think it’s one of the most concise, perfect biographies that you’ll ever pick up and read, and it’s about a horse.”

Credit: North Point Press

7. Evan S. Connell’s “Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn”

“If you want to pick up a book that explores the possibilities of biography, ‘Son of the Morning Star’ is a tremendous book. He was a novelist, so it’s a biography written with a novelist style, flair, and willingness to move time around. You start off after the Battle of Little Bighorn, then you flash back and go to Custer’s childhood, and then go to the court marshal of the soldiers after the battle, and then back to the battle. It’s just a wonderful, evocative way of capturing this man.”

8. T.J. Stiles’ “Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America”

“This Pulitzer prize-winning book about Custer is done in a more traditional style, but I would highly recommend it.”

Farrell’s comments have been edited lightly for clarity.

Elizabeth Flock is an independent journalist who reports on justice and gender. She can be reached at [email protected]

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Neha is an editor living in Dallas, TX who reads a little more than her optometrist would like. She works fulltime as a medical editor but also loves proofreading and copyediting all types of fiction on the side as well as conducting sensitivity/authenticity reads for Indian characters and Hinduism. When she's not reading or editing, she's writing her fantasy novel, bookstagramming at @bookishdesi , or collecting records. More at neha-patel.com

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It’s always a challenge to find new books that’ll not only pique your interest, but also to make you fall in love with them. Most readers rely on recommendations from friends or good old-fashioned Google. Now over the past decade, social media has really showed up for readers. Personally, I love surfing through Goodreads or StoryGraph for new releases or books that are similar to those I’ve enjoyed in the past.

But sometimes I need a breath of fresh air and to see what people from other corners of the internet are reading. So here comes Reddit, which I can’t decide is my savior or nemesis, but goodness can I kill an afternoon going down a thread. I love seeing what sort of niche books people are reading and sometimes get a great Reddit book recommendation out of it (which I’ll get to reading…eventually).

Surfing through Reddit, I noticed that the site is particularly good at diving deeper into social trends and the books associated with them. Unlike TikTok, which only gives you a short video explanation, recommendations from Reddit come with conversations between users about what they liked and disliked about the book. Now, Goodreads is great for this as well, but I’ve found the conversations from Reddit to be more in depth and wide ranging because folks tend to have full conversations and debates with one another.

I will also say that the lack of a star system is helpful. The format of Reddit forces you to at least surf through a thread to get the gist of a book and why you should read it. For example, if you’re curious about reading the social media famous A Court of Thorns and Roses series , just checkout a Reddit thread . To be honest, when I’m on Goodreads, I don’t even bother sometimes to rate a book based on its cover (shocker) but rather how many stars it has. This means that I go into the comments section with preconceived notions about a book. In fact, it’s standard operating procedure for me to filter reviews by star rating first. And because I thrive in chaos, I always, without fail, check out the one-star reviews first. I like to be disappointed.

However, because Reddit doesn’t give me preconceived notions, I’m able to read threads with a clear head and enjoy the repartee between users debating their likes and dislikes about a book as well as debating really specific questions. I mean, if Reddit doesn’t have an answer for me, then I doubt anyone else will.

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So I consulted Reddit Reads to figure out any trends in what everyone is interested in. From my research, it seems that the following genres/sub-genres of books are recommended at the highest frequencies:

• Self-help and professional development books
• Beginner software engineering books
• Space operas
• High fantasy
• Books on finding love
• Human behavior and psychology
• Niche nonfiction

Below I’ll break down the best books Reddit recommends for each.

1. Self-Help and Professional Development Books

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Feeling Good by David Burns
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

For self-help books I noticed the likes of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and Feeling Good by David Burns claiming top spots. This makes sense. It’s not only the beginning of the year (for the most part), but the pandemic made everyone revaluate how they want to live their lives. Reclaiming their lifestyle, mental health, and work/life balance are things that everyone spoke about passingly, but even in my own circles, I’ve noticed friends and family taking serious steps to rectify how they live their lives.

As such, it makes sense that books such as The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg are being consistently discussed on Reddit. Now I will say that books such as these are predominantly written by white men, but I have an entire post with recommendations on leadership books by women , so believe me, there are more options out there. That said, I will warn you that controversial books such as No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert Glover are regularly recommended on Reddit, so be sure to conduct your own research as well.

2. Beginner Software Engineering Books

• Introduction to Algorithms by Thomas H. Cormen
• Clean Code by Robert Martin
• Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell
• Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold

Another interesting trend I noted was that coding books were also rather popular. I have to wonder that the popularization and normalization of working from home has played a role here. It’s pretty common for tech companies to allow their employees to work from home or for various other companies to allow their contract or in-house developers to work from home. Considering that the pay is enviable and a successful software engineer doesn’t have to rack up thousands of dollars in student debt, it makes sense that those interested are turning to books.

3. Space Operas

• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Science fiction is such a diverse genre, increasingly so in recent years. But it’s classic space operas such as Dune that seem to get a lot of attention on Reddit . I sometimes wonder if a desire to read the “classics” first is what prevents some folks from branching out. I did notice though that Dune , Ender’s Game , and The Martian were all adapted into pretty big movies, so I’m sure that helped them being upvoted.

4. High Fantasy

• The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
• The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

If space operas are popular on Reddit, then it makes perfect sense that high fantasy is right behind it. I imagine that the release of The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time have played a hand in this. That said, I have to say that the books that are most popular are already popular outside of Reddit. Let’s be honest, how many of us need to be told by Reddit to read The Fellowship of the Ring ? But if you need that extra nudge, here it is!

5. Books on Relationships

• Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagasaki
• The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman
• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help YouFind – and Keep – Love by Amir Levine
• She Comes First: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pleasuring a Woman by Ian Kerner

I generally rely on TikTok for my relationship advice (mature, I know). But the pandemic really did make a lot of folks rethink their own relationships and how they want to treat their partners, as evidenced by the most popular relationship books on Reddit. Now I didn’t do a deep dive into Reddit threads about relationships, but I can only imagine that a few of these books popped up here and there.

6. Human Behavior and Psychology

• The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness by John Yates, Matthew Immergut, and Jeremy Graves
• Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder by Paul T. T. Mason MS and Randi Kreger
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini PhD

Subreddits are perfect for diving into topics that interest you. Some books that are popular on the psychology subreddit have also appeared on the list of most mentioned books on Reddit , which is fascinating. I suppose that while we’ve been socially distancing from each other, we’ve also been trying to learn more about one another?

7. Niche Nonfiction

• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
• The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt
• The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

I was rather surprised to find such niche nonfiction books being recommended on Reddit. But then again, because Reddit is good for those niche recommendations, this does track. However, it is fascinating that books about dictators and human cadavers are so popular. These books do have excellent ratings and are well regarded by their own niche communities, so perhaps quality speaks for itself?

While these trends are overarching, I do recommend perusing Reddit to see which sort of books people are talking about. Goodreads is great to see what bookish people are talking about, and while those conversations are great, I think it’s important to see what sort of books the rest of world is finding interesting and/or useful. That said, if you’re looking for more tailored book recommendations, check out our TBR service, where our hardworking Bibliologists (including yours truly) tailor book recommendations that get you out of comfort zone (or keep you in it).

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