Good Biography To Read

[PigletsPal2]

Any of the David McCullough biographies are a certainty. https://www.amazon.com/David-McCullough/e/B000AP9I5I

I enjoyed David McCullough's biography of Harry Truman. I consider him "my" President as he was in office when I was born (OK, stop trying to figure it out - I'm fifty-nineteen).

Noel Coward: A Biography by Philip Hoare

Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellman

Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham

Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith

The Georgetown Ladies Social Club: Power, Passion and Politics in the Nation's Capitol by
C. David Heymann

Life of the Party: The Biography of Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman by Christopher Ogden. This is absolutely one of my favorite books! I've read it 4 or 5 times and learn something new every time.

The following biographies are by Kitty Kelley, who dismissed by some critics as a gossip monger and not a very good researcher. I have to say that I find that her books are extraordinarily well researched, and it should be noted that she's never lost any of the numerous libel or slander suits filed against her.

Nancy Reagan

The Royals (the British Royal Family)

The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Family Dynasty

Can you tell that I love biographies? I also love autobiographies, so when you're ready for some great recommendations for autobiographies, let me know!

Queen Colleen

 

[Kirby]

Lots of good books it looks like. And any recommendation for an autobiography would be great!

 

[Praying Colonel]

Some of my favorites:

Truman by David McCullough
John Adams by McCullough
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss (a biography of Vince Lombardi)
His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis

 

[PigletsPal2]

Lots of good books it looks like. And any recommendation for an autobiography would be great!

You may be sorry you asked! Now, keep in mind that not all of these are by prize-winning authors but they were all interesting (to me) and I learned something from each one.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
It's Always Something by Gilda Radner
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Other Things I've Learned by Alan Alda
The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Anderson Brower
Upstairs At the White House: My Life With The First Ladies by J. B. West
Out Of My League: A Rookie's Survival in the Bigs by Dirk Hayhurst
The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran by Dirk Hayhurst
The Only Way I Know by Cal Ripken

This should be a good start. Let me know if there's someone you're particularly interested in and maybe I've read something about/by him/her.

Queen Colleen

 

[Kirby]

I do have Troublemaker by Leah Remini on my list to show them. I haven't decided on any others yet. I've found that if I give them two or three selections, they usually choose one. An autobiography/biography would be a nice change of pace for the club. We haven't read one in awhile.

 

[DopeyDame]

Any of the David McCullough biographies are a certainty.
https://www.amazon.com/David-McCullough/e/B000AP9I5I

I loved John Adams and Mornings on Horseback about Teddy Roosevelt.

Unbroken is a remarkable book, hard to read in places but ultimately uplifting. Her other book Seabiscuit is really really good too.

+10000 I was going to recommend John Adams. Fantastic book and McCullough is such a good writer.

 

[moniqueand2]

I mentioned this on another biography recommendation thread.

I am Malala - youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner
https://www.amazon.com/Am-Malala-St...F8&qid=1476290041&sr=1-1&keywords=i+am+malala

There is also a young adult version (abridged). Some in the group could read the shorter one if they prefer.
https://www.amazon.com/Am-Malala-Ed...F8&qid=1476290041&sr=1-3&keywords=i+am+malala

 

[HM]

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells

Our book club loved it. It's a memoir not a biography though.

Unbroken was also a book club read that went over well.