Best Biography Books: 200 Books List

The best biography books give us the ability to take a peek inside another person’s life without being invasive while still maintaining our curiosity. It’s human nature to want to know more about stellar athletes, beautiful celebrities, and influential characters, which is why social media is as popular as it is. With an astounding number of biographies on the market, you can learn about anyone, from Rod Stewart to Carl Jung.

There’s something about biographies that is so satisfying, especially if you are a fan of a specific person or have always wondered what their life is like. For example, have you ever considered what it was like to be in a hair metal band in the ‘80s? Perhaps you wanted to know what it was like for an individual to work for a First Lady while living in the White House.

If there’s one thing to be said about the best biography books, it’s that it appeases every reader’s appetite. From sports personalities to YouTube vloggers, biographies can capture every demographic perfectly while still maintaining their informative nature. It truly is as if you are given an inside look into some of the most influential personalities in sociology, history, philosophy, politics, and popular culture.

Frequently, understanding a person and their character enables you to follow developments, decision-making, and, at times, better understand yourself in a positive light. You might find that you are more relatable to a particular individual than you had initially thought, which can help you to pave a new path in your life.

Alternatively, you can make immediate changes if you find that you are too relatable to a particular personality. It’s true when they say that to understand the importance of Amelia Earhart, for example, you must first understand the life of a woman in the 1900s.

The best biography books help to make it all possible, as you will be transported to any point in time to any country in the world and be able to learn. Some of the smartest people on the planet have bookshelves filled with biographies, and for a good reason, because you can always learn something new from them.

Best Biography Books

My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla

I didn't read actually very many general business books, but I like biographies and autobiographies, I think those are pretty helpful. Actually, a lot of them aren't really business. [...] I think it's also worth reading books on scientists and engineers. Tesla, obviously.

Elon Musk

Founder/SpaceX

George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon

Related and with equal weight, I want to recommend George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon by Stephen W. Sears (a biography of the talented but utterly delusional General George McClellan), Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne (a biography of the brilliant but manic Stonewall Jackson) and Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton (an equally brilliant, more accomplished but equally tragic founding father). All these books made me angry, sad, and confused. But they also made me look inward and taught me quite a bit.

Ryan Holiday

Founder/Brass Check

Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson

Related and with equal weight, I want to recommend George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon by Stephen W. Sears (a biography of the talented but utterly delusional General George McClellan), Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne (a biography of the brilliant but manic Stonewall Jackson) and Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton (an equally brilliant, more accomplished but equally tragic founding father). All these books made me angry, sad, and confused. But they also made me look inward and taught me quite a bit.

Ryan Holiday

Founder/Brass Check

Universal Man: The Seven Lives of John Maynard Keynes

Sorrell, CEO of the communications house/ad agency, WPP, has a rather eclectic mix this summer:

• Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency—James Andrew Miller
• Universal Man: The Seven Lives of John Maynard Keynes—Richard Davenport-Hines
• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future—Ashlee Vance

Sir Martin Sorrell

CEO/WPP

Open: An Autobiography

I don’t read “business books”. I may read books which were classified as “Business”, “Leadership”, etc; but, if I do, I do so in spite of the category they’ve been deemed to belong to, not because of it.

I generally split books into three main categories. Here are the titles –sorry, but I simply can’t pick just one– that currently hold the top spots in each:

[...]

Biography/Memoir: Andre Agassi’s and J. R. Moehringer’s “Open“; Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love“; and Salman Rushdie’s “Joseph Anton“.

Gabriel Coarna

Founder/Readable

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

I really enjoyed Brad Stone's The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. Anyone who wants to better understand the dynamics of disruption or just gain a better understanding of the website we've come to love, must read this book.

Shane Parrish

Founder/Syrus Partners

Gandhi: An Autobiography – The Story of My Experiments With Truth

According to the president’s Facebook page and a 2008 interview with the New York Times, this title is among his most influential forever favorites.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

Born to Run

I am currently reading: Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run, Einstein's Puzzle Universe, Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe and I am Ozzy. (I’m going through a physics and biographies period)

Andi Dumitrescu

Musician, Film Maker

Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley

Wollstonecraft and Shelley are two of the most important women most people have rarely thought about. They believed passionately (and at great cost) in the equality of women and the vital, distinctive contribution women should be able to make to human history. Their stories alone are remarkable, but Charlotte Gordon’s idea to interweave the two biographies brilliantly explores the deep relationship between the mother and the daughter who never knew each other. In their search for a richer and more liberated way of life, the Romantics cherished Wollstonecraft’s writing and the daughter they hoped would embody the life of imaginative emancipation. What a legacy — but what an inspiration.

Margaret Heffernan

CEO/Dunnes Stores

Montaigne

If you’ve been struggling with the onslaught of negative news and political turmoil, start with Montaigne. Why? It’s the biography of man who retreated from the chaos of 16th century France to study himself, written by a man fleeing the chaos of 20th century Europe. [...] This book helped me get through 2017, no question.

Ryan Holiday

Founder/Brass Check

Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill

Sonia Purnell’s examination of Winston’s better half was truly revelatory. (Churchill said the best decision he ever made in his life was marrying Clementine and this book makes it clear just how many times she saved his ass).

Ryan Holiday

Media Strategist, Author, Founder/Brass Check

Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman

I’ve been reading Perfectly Reasonable Deviations, and I’ve also been rereading Genius.

Naval Ravikant

CEO & Co-Founder/AngelList

The Billionaire Who Wasn’t: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune

A remarkable biography of one of my personal heroes: Chuck Feeney. This is probably the book that’s inspired me most in my professional career.

Rand Fishkin

Founder/Moz

The Uber Story: The Founding of Uber and The Real Story Behind The Founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp

The Amazon book comes out, the Google book comes out and then the AirBnB book came out and the Uber story came out, so whatever company is new or a big hit will eventually get their bio. That’s always excites me and I do enjoy those.

Yaro Starak

Founder/Entrepreneurs-Journey.com

American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic

Lucky is the biographer who can resurrect a forgotten figure and retrieve a major reputation lost to the passage of time. In this captivating and intensely readable book, Victoria Johnson rescues the remarkable life of Dr. David Hosack, physician and botanist extraordinaire and a towering benefactor of New York and the early republic. A welcome achievement.

Ron Chernow

Author

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