Margot Mifflin’s The Blue Tattoo about Olive Oatman.
Almost forgot - I’m a big fan of James Gleick’s Genius, his biography of physicist Richard Feynman.
I found Gleick’s biography of Isaac Newton much less compelling, alas.
I doubt whether it’s as entertaining as Feynman’s autobiography! There’s a memorable book for you.
Feynman’s book is mostly entertaining anecdotes rather than a substantive biography; it’s certainly an amusing read but it’s much more lightweight than Gleick’s. Gleick does of course include several of the stories from Feynman’s book in his own but also includes a lot of other people’s stories about him as well as some good laymen’s explanations of Feynman’s scientific work.
Abraham Pais, an eminent physicist in his own right, and historian wrote several biographies of the great physicists of the 20th century. Many of whom he worked with closely or had to some degree crossed paths. Most notably Albert Einstein https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Lord-Science-Albert-Einstein/dp/0192806726
My favorites personally though are his books on Niels Bohr who he worked with as a younger man (and who never has been covered deeply as a person the way Einstein was) and especially his book on J.Robert Oppenheimer whose life was a Greek tragedy.
Pais died before completing the manuscript for Oppenheimer but he left behind copious amounts of notes and a close friend and eminent historian Robert Crease used those notes to finish the book. Pais had a lot of investment put into telling the story of Oppenheimer because they had a close but complicated relationship.
Pais doesn’t try to hide his connections with the men he’s writing on but he wrote in a way to be as impartial as possible. He’s honest in relaying conversations and letters between him and then but not stamping his point of view at that time as who they were.
Have recently finished Hilary Mantel’s trilogy on Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s right hand man after Wolsey. While historical fiction rather than strict biography, it is a magnificent achievement and totally engaging.
I don’t read that many biographies but one I really enjoyed was John Adams by David McCullough. Overshadowed by Jefferson though he was, he was certainly the more admirable human being.
Quite right, Ulfreida.
Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington by Richard Brookhiser is a good short intro to the man, exploring not only what made Washington great in his day, but why he seems so remote to us now.
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow is the best one-volume full biography of Washington out there, I think. Detailed but very readable.
Alexander Hamilton by Chernow is also excellent (and inspired an obscure musical you may have heard of).
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis places Washington in the context of his fellow Founders as a leader, hero, exemplar and sometimes rival, and explains why he stood out even from that august group. Ellis won the Pulitzer Prize for the book, and rightly so.
David Herbert Donald’s Lincoln is the go-to bio I always suggest to people who want to learn more about the wise, politically adroit, ultimately tragic Civil War leader.
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, about two smart young men from Ohio and their amazing accomplishment on a shoestring budget, is quite good.
I’d also recommend Roy Jenkins’s Churchill: A Biography, a witty and erudite one-volume bio of Churchill by a British statesman who also long served in the House of Commons, and Mary S. Lovell’s The Churchills: In Love and War, a just as well-researched but quite a bit more gossipy account of his extended family.
McCullough’s Truman is also a great read. I came away with a much greater appreciation of the man from Independence after reading it.
Robert Cato’s “Path to Power” series on Lyndon Johnson show LBJ’s ambition, ruthlessness and talent. It’s a fascinating look at one of the most beloved and despised men (and incredibly gifted politician) of the mid-20th century. It’s warts and all, but gripping.
Thanks, DCS, but it’s “Caro,” and he was already mentioned upthread.
How about a biography of the NYPD through the eyes of a family of officers? Very interesting read; a few pages covers the early days of the investigation which became known as “The French Connection”.
Look on Amazon for biographies of famous explorers like Stanley, Livingston, James Cook, Mackenzie, Lewis and Clarke, Magellan, Vitus Bering, Percival Fawcett, etc. Larger than life, all of them, and some of the bravest people to trod the earth.
First of all, I’d like to sincerely thank those who have shared their thoughts and suggestions here. You’ve definitely helped shape my reading list for the winter.
I’m just a bit surprised at how many of these specific books are completely unknown to me. I liked to think of myself as fairly well read. Your answers squashed that thought right quick.
That looks fascinating, Skywatcher. Thanks for mentioning it.
Einstein by Walter Isaacson is very good