
Ask HN: What are some good biographies to read? - stevenboudreau
I enjoy reading biographies. I'm reading "Classic Feynman" right now and it's great! Which ones would you recommend? Thanks!<p>Update: Thanks for the recommendations, thus far!
======
msg
Linus's biography, Just For Fun, is not bad.

I have sentimental attachments to Man Out of Time, the Tesla biography.

No Man Knows My History is about Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church.
It is naturally controversial to the LDS, for its depiction of Smith as a
polygamist con man who fell sideways into a religious racket and never quite
fell out. I found it very readable, full of color. It might depend on your
interest in the period and the subject matter.

Stephen King's On Writing is about half biography, half writing manual. I
thought it was terrific. It's had several rereads already.

~~~
msg
I forgot another all-time favorite. I must've read this one when I was about
10 and a couple of times since. Genghis Khan: Emperor of All Men, by Harold
Lamb.

------
dedalus
The key thing is to differentiate between a biography and a
hagiography.Oppenheimer is a must read let it be "American Prometheus" or my
favorite
"[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195166736/qid=1151026828/s...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195166736/qid=1151026828/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-5599574-8264820?s=books&v=glance&n=283155)".

This guy is awe-inspiring in almost every sense of the word.Despite reading
all biographies you still feel a sense of enigma about his personality. Try
understanding why the american government revoked his top secret clearance
despite being "da man" at Los Alamos. He could walk into any deep technical
discussion and lead them through their blocking situations.He can write poetry
and amazingly well read about other cultures and still finding time to deliver
more than expected results. Thats one heck of a biography to write..

------
antiform
The Man Who Knew Infinity, about Ramanujan, is a biography that I reread
regularly, if only as an example of somebody who continued to do what he loved
against all odds. Whenever I get overly frustrated with a math or programming
problem that I can't seem to overcome, I go through some of my favorite
passages in there, if only to remind myself how lucky I am to be able to what
I love with the support of the people in my life.

Also, I can now safely say that reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X in high
school was a key moment in my personal development.

~~~
diego
Along the same lines, "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers", about Paul Erdos. Very
enjoyable.

------
rms
The auto-biography of Benjamin Franklin! Incredibly relevant to
entrepreneurship.

<http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/> or

<http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/148>

~~~
kingkongrevenge
I would recommend other biographies over his autobiography. He flatters
himself and omits too much.

------
DTrejo
Craig Venter's autobiography was intriguing. It would be especially good if
you were already familiar with Biology and DNA. I ripped through it and
reading it was quite enjoyable.

~~~
jasonb05
+1

------
dmharrison
I liked 'Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction'
interesting read. It wasn't a cover to cover for me, more something I could
pick up during lulls

------
colortone
Gandhi's autobiography is great

Also Jan Swafford's biography of Charles Ives is amazing (genius American
composer who was also an early 20th century multimillionaire insurance tycoon)

------
byrneseyeview
The most entertaining and useful biographies are of people whose most
interesting features are flaws. You could read about JFK winning elections
despite his crippling levels of charm, and the fact that his dad was one of
the richest people in the world; or you can read about Mao, who (according to
the last biography I read) was disgusting and dull, but still managed to rule
a large country despite the threat of coups. For similar reasons, Shockley is
probably more interesting than Noyce, Jobs more fun than Woz, etc. But that
depends. After thinking about the question for a little while, I realized that
I don't notice that much variation in biography quality. It's there, but I'm
mostly using the book to visit a historical period in the company of some
interesting characters, so the author/tourguide is not such a big deal.

~~~
stevenboudreau
I think I would have to disagree. I think the quality of biographies can vary
greatly. Some do not bring the person "to life." An author may only highlight
and write about the events of the subject's life, without delving deeper into
the personal qualities or characteristics that make someone so intriguing.

I want to be able to understand the subject as thoroughly as possible. Some
authors are able to do this more effectively than others, in my opinion.

------
mattmaroon
I highly recommend Born Standing Up by Steve Martin if you're at all into
comedy. One of the more enjoyable books I read recently. I'd say it was
entirely unrelated to Hacker News, but pmarca did paraphrase it in his talk at
SuS.

~~~
trajan
I second this - I've never really found Steve Martin funny, but I thought his
book was very interesting and different from most biographies in that it was
about success achieved not through prodigious talent but just years and years
of grinding it out and slowly improving.

------
notauser
One about the Roman statesman Cicero.

He was an idealist with huge character flaws, which makes him pretty
interesting to start with. But he lived in a time when Rome was descending
from Republican rule into autocracy - and both resisted and accidentally
advanced the change.

On top of that it is pretty interesting reading for a geek - a poor reserved
law scholar with speaking problems became one of the greatest orators of
history and clawed his way to the top of one of the Roman system, partly due
to his command of the minute details of the law.

~~~
kingkongrevenge
I found Cato more interesting. The Cato vs Caesar rivalry almost has a good vs
evil dynamic to it. A Caesar biography should be required reading.

On the subject of evil people, Mao's biography is great. It's hard to believe
people so nuts exist, and that people will follow them.

Albert Speer's autobiography is also good.

------
markm
These might not be biographies but they are good non fiction.

 _It's not about the bike, my journey back to life._ \- Lance Armstrong

 _Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman!_ \- R. Feynman

 _Into thin air_ \- J. Krakauer

------
gruseom
Ray Monk's biography of Wittgenstein is superb if you have the slightest
interest in him.

------
tgdavies
Tim Pat Coogan's "Michael Collins" is good -- it's as much a condensed history
of Ireland from 1916 to the mid 1920s as about Michael Collins.

------
herdrick
<http://www.biographicon.com>

<http://www.biographicon.com/view/lypys/Democritus>

<http://www.biographicon.com/view/r8r22/Hypatia_of_Alexandria>

<http://www.biographicon.com/view/4yf4i/Ethan_Allen> \- a good start on the
New England rebel. One of my favorite books is this entertaining work on the
amazing life of Allen: [http://www.amazon.com/Ethan-Allen-Charles-Albert-
Jellison/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/Ethan-Allen-Charles-Albert-
Jellison/dp/0815601891)

<http://www.biographicon.com/view/hhnvz/Johnny_Ramone>

------
ahsonwardak
Though I know it may not be a single biographical book, Founders at Work is a
great series of short biographies/interviews. If you're more interested in any
one of them, you can probably find a biography on them or even their personal
blogs.

------
colinplamondon
The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie- there's an unmistakably personal feel to
it, as if Carnegie is sitting right there imparting the lessons and stories of
his life to you and you alone. He's an incredible writer and it shines through
in every page.

Free download link (don't you love the public domain?):
<http://manybooks.net/titles/carnegiea1797617976-8.html>

Richard Branson's autobiography, Losing My Virginity, is also a great read
even discounting the perfect title- together, Branson and Carnegie really
drive home the importance of taking risks and leveraging up at every
opportunity.

------
lux
Not that it's an actual autobiography, but "Journey to the End of the Night"
by Louis Ferdinand Celine was based closely on his own life and was really
something to read, albeit a tough something to get through at times.

I was warned that it would be difficult to relate to as a "modern-day young
democrat" and in my case at least, they were right. I've since bought two more
of his books though (all of which seem to be fairly autobiographical) and
can't wait to read them as well now.

A word of caution: Not very inspiring material, just interesting literature.
And it definitely had a profound influence on many subsequent authors.

------
dcminter
Assuming you're looking for a slightly hacker oriented biography then I can
heartily recommend "The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Inventive Life of Robert
Hooke" by Stephen Inwood.

It gives an interesting insight to what it might have meant to have something
of the hacker mindset in the 17th Century, and his connection with some of his
contemporaries (Newton, Halley, and Wren notable amongst them) add to the
general interest. Plus he was a supremely odd and cranky person.

------
rglovejoy
John Forbes Nash: "A Beautiful Mind" by Sylvia Nasir

Richard Feynman: "Genius" by James Gleick

"The Passion of Ayn Rand" by Barbara Brandon

"John Adams" and "Truman" by David McCullough

"Lincoln the Unknown" by Dale Carnegie

~~~
mhartl
I second the recommendation of _Genius_. It is incredibly rich and stands up
well to rereading.

------
vena903
[http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Tycoon-Henry-American-
Century/...](http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Tycoon-Henry-American-
Century/dp/0375707255/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212090149&sr=8-1) The
People's Tycoon - Henry Ford and the American Century. He was a lot of things
people didn't realize he was and wasn't a lot things people want to believe he
was.

------
aditya
James Dyson - Against the odds ([http://www.amazon.com/Against-Odds-
Autobiography-James-Dyson...](http://www.amazon.com/Against-Odds-
Autobiography-James-Dyson/dp/1587991705))

Very inspiring read, especially the parts about how he kept going for almost
10 years and persevered to truly innovate in a market that had seen no
innovation for a long time.

------
herdrick
Don't miss this short read by Tom Wolfe on co-founder of Intel, Robert Noyce:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=190524>

Better yet, read the full version: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=60385>
It's excellent.

------
hendler
If you have any relatives, famous or not, that have kept a journal, or written
family history - it offers a unique biographical reflection. You can read
biographies about the greats, but you also can not be something you are not,
and reading about relatives can offer needed perspective about your
capacities.

------
calvin
I just finished reading "My Startup Life" by Ben Casnocha. It's a good
introduction to the entrepreneurial world for people just starting the
journey, and it has some good insights that can benefit anybody. (Book site:
<http://mystartuplife.com/>)

------
aheilbut
It's a bit more than a biography, but I'd recommend "The Metaphysical Club: A
Story of Ideas in America" by Louis Menand. It's about the lives and history
surrounding Oliver Wendell Holmes, William James, Charles Peirce, and John
Dewey, and the pragmatist philosophy they were involved in creating.

------
mynameishere
Peter the Great: His Life and World, by Massie (this book won a Pulitzer but
all his histories are very good)

------
apstuff
"Yeager" The biography of Chuck Yeager -- first test pilot to break the speed
of sound. His description of going above 80,000 feet, the subsequent failure
of the aircraft and what he does to regain control is chilling. The book's a
good read. Direct and to the point -- like the man himself.

------
TrevorJ
George Washington Carver
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver>

Edward W. Bok <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_W._Bok>

------
sohamdas
"Surely you are joking Mr. Feynman" [absolutely rockstar of a autobiography]

"Every Second Counts" Lance Armstrong [poignant]

"A beautiful mind" John Forbes Nash [moving, and heart wrenching]

My personal favourite: "Icon" Steve Jobs

------
augustus
I must have read close to 50 biographies.

I love "Titan" about John D. Rockefeller (in many ways a hero of mine). and
Losing my Virginity - Richard Branson (so honest and realistic).

------
dhbradshaw
"Made in America" by Sam Walton turned out to be an unexpectedly good read.

"Let my people go surfing" by Yvon Chouinard (climber and founder of
Patagonia) is an all-time favorite.

------
mattdennewitz
Lincoln's War Cabinet by Hendrick Burton - learn to surround yourself with
ideas you don't necessarily agree with and be influenced by the most unlikely
minds

~~~
plinkplonk
>"Lincoln's War Cabinet by Hendrick Burton - learn to surround yourself with
ideas you don't necessarily agree with and be influenced by the most unlikely
minds"

"Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin explores the same topic, specifically
how Lincoln made up his cabinet from talented rivals.

Apparently Obama referred to this book (reference
[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/obama-
propos...](http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/obama-
proposes.html)) which made me curious enough to buy it. It is a great read and
a fascinating study in leadership.

~~~
mattdennewitz
ah, yes - great book!

------
epi0Bauqu
I'm just finishing reading The Fabulous Showman: The Life and Times of P. T.
Barnum by Wallace, Irving. Recommended.

------
ComputerGuru
Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin. Such brilliant minds with some many little
anecdotes us hackers can relate to.

------
aniketh
Iacocca: An Autobiography He was responsible for the ford mustang, and later
went on the revive Chrysler.

------
kaens
I found Peter Kropotkin's autobiography (Memoirs of a Revolutionist) to be
rather interesting.

------
uuilly
The Last Lion - Churchill

------
rrival
J Paul Getty - As I See It.

Carl Icahn (unofficial, out of print) - King Icahn

------
ra
Shantaram - amazing.

~~~
yagibear
Too amazing to be biographical; so classified as fiction
[http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=loc...](http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+2004050316&CNT=10+records+per+page)

------
astrec
Monash: The outsider who won a war. - Roland Perry.

------
nmeyer
theodore Roosevelt, Lincoln. Great leaders

~~~
kingkongrevenge
White supremacist imperialists and proto-fascists, but hey whatever floats
your boat.

------
albertcardona
Richard Feynman: "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman".

Not a conventional biography, but Richard wasn't a conventional man either.

------
visakhcr
If you want to go philosophical, read Gandhi's My Expirements with Truth.

~~~
gaika
Not just philosophical, very practical.

PG's "lies we tell kids" is just scratching the problem that Gandhi dedicated
his whole life: can you live in a society and always tell the truth and only
truth?

~~~
visakhcr
Very true. He has noted that he had told only one lie in his life. You can
find his famous quotes here.

<http://thinkexist.com/quotes/mahatma_gandhi/>

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kingkongrevenge
I found Crazy Horse fascinating. He was this eccentric loner and then much to
his dismay thousands of people started to follow him around in a time of
crisis because he seemed to know what he was doing. Then he had this bizarre
christ-like death.

