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  1. Genres
  2. ›Biography

Best Biography Books

Life stories of notable people

451 summaries

Showing 433–451 of 451

  1. The Enchanted Places

    Christopher Milne

    ★ 3.8 (530) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Christopher Milne recounts his childhood as the real-life Robin to his father's Pooh, navigating fame's bittersweet embrace and the longing for an ordinary existence.

  2. The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell

    Oren Harari

    ★ 4.0 (513) average on GoodreadsBusiness

    Oren Harari distills Colin Powell's journey through war and politics into a practical guide for aspiring leaders, emphasizing strategic thinking, rational objectives, and challenging old norms.

  3. Brother to a Dragonfly

    Will D. Campbell

    ★ 4.3 (493) average on GoodreadsPolitics

    From the segregated backroads of rural Mississippi to the front lines of the Civil Rights movement, a preacher grapples with faith, family tragedy, and the evolving call for justice, forever bound by the memory of his brother.

  4. Prince

    Matt Thorne

    ★ 3.5 (428) average on Goodreads

    Matt Thorne's biography explores the genius of Prince, tracing his blend of rock, funk, and jazz through every song he recorded.

  5. Spirit of the Rainforest

    Mark Andrew Ritchie

    ★ 4.4 (412) average on GoodreadsHistory

    A Yanomamo shaman tears back the veil of the Amazon, revealing his people's brutal battles for survival against both rival tribes and malevolent spirits, forcing us to confront their complex identity beyond simple labels.

  6. The Northern Lights

    Lucy Jago

    ★ 3.8 (405) average on GoodreadsHistory

    Troubled genius Kristian Birkeland braved arctic wilderness, scientific doubt, and his own struggles to explain the aurora borealis, changing our understanding of the cosmos even as his brilliance went unrecognized.

  7. Chariots of Fire

    William J. Weatherby

    ★ 4.0 (374) average on GoodreadsHistory

    At the 1924 Olympics, two British sprinters, one Jewish and fighting prejudice, the other a devout missionary, test their limits and beliefs, racing for gold and for their principles.

  8. Keats

    Andrew Motion

    ★ 4.2 (346) average on GoodreadsHistory

    Andrew Motion's biography removes layers of myth to show a "skinned alive" Keats, a Romantic genius whose letters, like jazz, pulse with the "headlong charge" of a mind moving through the social and political worlds of his time.

  9. John Brown

    W.E.B. Du Bois

    ★ 4.2 (322) average on GoodreadsPolitics

    W.E.B. Du Bois brings John Brown to life, not just as a historical figure, but as the incendiary prophet whose righteous, violent struggle against slavery ignited the Civil War.

  10. In Love and War

    Jim Stockdale

    ★ 4.3 (297) average on GoodreadsLeadership

    Jim Stockdale's memoir, from his Hanoi prison to post-war life, shows the strength of leadership, love, and philosophy during the Vietnam War.

  11. Force Of Circumstance

    Simone de Beauvoir

    ★ 4.1 (292) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Simone de Beauvoir examines her life, her relationships with figures like Sartre and Camus, and the truths behind the legends, showing the 'force of circumstance' that shaped a pioneering feminist philosopher.

  12. Michael Jordan

    Coleen Lovitt

    ★ 4.3 (277) average on Goodreads

    This updated biography traces Michael Jordan's rise, from his early days and college wins to his final, legendary retirement.

  13. Fireflies

    David Morrell

    ★ 4.1 (265) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    After his son's brave but losing fight with bone cancer, a grieving father finds comfort and understanding in mystical experiences that show the strength of the human spirit.

  14. Light in my Darkness

    Helen Keller

    ★ 4.2 (256) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Helen Keller, a symbol of resilience, describes her spiritual journey, showing how Emanuel Swedenborg's teachings changed her silent, dark world into one of inner light and meaning.

  15. Marie Antoinette

    Hilaire Belloc

    ★ 3.6 (164) average on GoodreadsHistory

    Hilaire Belloc's biography offers a sympathetic, yet clear-eyed, look at Marie Antoinette, the Austrian queen whose early mistakes and unfortunate friendships led her from the French throne to the guillotine.

  16. Life Sentence

    Charles W. Colson

    ★ 4.1 (164) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    After Watergate and prison, Charles Colson finds a difficult path to redemption, fighting skepticism and his past to build a ministry for prisoners.

  17. Free Fall

    Amber Lea Easton

    ★ 4.4 (134) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    After her husband's sudden suicide, a mother navigates the isolating and complex journey of grief, rebuilding her family's life while confronting stigma and finding unexpected peace.

  18. The Passions of Andrew Jackson

    Andrew Burstein

    ★ 3.2 (109) average on GoodreadsHistory

    Andrew Jackson went from an uneducated frontier brawler obsessed with honor to a complex, controversial president who shaped early America with his strong will and drive for power.

  19. Princess in Love

    Meg Cabot

    ★ 3.4 (74) average on Goodreads

    Princess Mia juggles royal lessons, Manhattan traffic, and an unwanted boyfriend, proving even a modern princess can have a less-than-fairy-tale December.

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