20 Best Biographical Books (2023 Update)

The first biography of the most popular anchor in cable news.rachel maddow has beaten the odds in a way that’s novel in today’s america: she uses her brain. in a world of banal and opinionated soundbites, she regularly crushes sean hannity’s ratings thanks to her deeply researched reports. and in our highly polarized world, maddow amiably engages the staunchest conservatives, while never hesitating to expose their light-on-facts defenses. as a result, she's become the top anchor for msnbc and a beloved representative for all that progressive america holds dear. the news that maddow was the first publicly-out lesbian to anchor a prime-time tv news show seemed almost anticlimactic to her millions of viewers, who will be surprised and intrigued by little-known details of her life, as written by new york times bestselling biographer lisa rogak. growing up in a conservative california town – and viewing herself as a perennial outsider – helped spark an early interest in activism. after attending stanford and oxford, she opted for a minimum-wage job as a radio dj in a tiny massachusetts market while finishing her ph.d. she planned to pursue a career as an activist, but 9/11 changed all that, so she returned to local radio where she could help listeners by "explaining stuff." a stint at air america raised her national profile, which led to her groundbreaking msnbc show where she dissects the news of the day with an approach found nowhere else on tv.

If there was any one man who articulated the anger the struggle and the beliefs of african americans in the 1960s that man was malxolm x. his autobiography is now an established classic of modern america a book that expresses like none other the crucial truth about our times. extraordinary. a brilliant painful important book.

An international bestseller – one of barnes & noble's best biographies & memoirs of 2022selected by the guardian as one of the best books of 2022madly, deeply is a rare invitation into the mind of alan rickman—one of the most magnetic, beloved performers of our time. from his breakout role in die hard to his outstanding, multifaceted performances in the harry potter films, galaxy quest, robin hood: prince of thieves, and more, alan rickman cemented his legacy as a world-class actor. his air of dignity, his sonorous voice, and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate audiences today. – but rickman’s ability to breathe life into projects wasn't confined to just his performances. as you'll find, rickman's diaries detail the extraordinary and the ordinary, flitting between worldly and witty and gossipy, while remaining utterly candid throughout. he takes us inside his home, on trips with friends across the globe, and on the sets of films and plays ranging from sense and sensibility, to noël coward's private lives, to the final film he directed, a little chaos. – running from 1993 to his death in 2016, the diaries provide singular insight into rickman's public and private life. reading them is like listening to rickman chatting to a close companion. meet rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveler, the fan, the director, the enthusiast; in short, the man beyond the icon. – madly, deeply features a photo insert, a foreword by emma thompson, and an afterword by rima horton.

New york times bestseller – the definitive biography of a vulnerable and talented actress, now with explosive new chapters and insider details of her tragic death, the cover-ups, and the reopened investigation. an id book club selection – “impressive, disturbing, and revelatory.”—variety natalie wood has been hailed alongside marilyn monroe and elizabeth taylor as one of the top three female movie stars in film history. but the story of what she endured, of what her life was like when the doors of the soundstages closed, had long been obscured. based on years of astonishing research, natalie wood (previously published as natasha) raises the curtain on wood’s turbulent life. award-winning author suzanne finstad conducted nearly four hundred interviews with natalie wood’s family, close friends, legendary costars, lovers, film crews, and virtually everyone connected to her death. through these firsthand accounts, finstad reconstructs a life of emotional abuse and exploitation, of unimaginable fame, great loneliness, and loss. she reveals painful truths in wood’s complex relationships with james dean, frank sinatra, warren beatty, and, of course, robert wagner. thirty years after natalie wood’s death, the l.a. sheriff’s department reopened the investigation into her drowning using finstad’s groundbreaking research and chilling, hour-by-hour timeline of that tumultuous weekend as evidence. within a year, the l.a. coroner changed natalie wood’s death certificate from “accidental drowning” to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” in 2018, the los angeles sheriff’s department officially named wagner a “person of interest” in wood’s death. in this updated edition, finstad will share her explosive findings from the last two decades. with her unprecedented access to the lasd’s “murder book,” ignored by the original investigators, and new witnesses who have never spoken publicly, finstad uncovers what really happened to natalie wood on that fateful boating trip in 1981 with wagner and christopher walken. she expands on intimate details from wood’s unpublished memoir, which affirms her fear of drowning and the betrayal by wagner that shattered their first marriage. finstad tells this heartbreaking story with sensitivity and grace, revealing a complex and conflicting mix of fragility and strength in a woman who was swept along by forces few could have resisted.

The long-awaited autobiography of legendary singer tom jones, following six decades of unparalleled experiences in the spotlight to coincide with his 75th birthday. – across six decades, sir tom jones has maintained a vital career in a risky, unstable business notorious for the short lives of its artists. with a drive that comes from nothing but the love for what he does, he breaks through and then wrestles with the vagaries of the music industry, the nature of success and its inevitable consequences. having recorded an expansive body of work and performed with fellow artists from across the spectrum and across every popular music genre, from rock, pop and dance to country, blues and soul, the one constant throughout has been his unique musical gifts and unmistakable voice. – but how did a boy from a welsh coal-mining family attain success across the globe? and how has he survived the twists and turns of fame and fortune to not only stay exciting, but actually become more credible and interesting with age? in this, his first ever autobiography, tom revisits his past and tells the tale of his journey from wartime pontypridd to la and beyond. he reveals the stories behind the ups and downs of his fascinating and remarkable life, from the early heydays to the subsequent fallow years to his later period of artistic renaissance. – it's the story nobody else knows or understands, told by the man who lived it, and written the only way he knows how: simply and from the heart. raw, honest, funny and powerful, this is a memoir like no other from one of the world's greatest ever singing talents. – this is tom jones and over the top and back is his story.

"he is one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court- but from early childhood, andre agassi hated the game. coaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day while still in grade school, agassi resented the constant pressure even as he drove himself to become a prodigy, an inner conflict that would define him. now, in his beautiful, haunting autobiography, agassi tells the story of a life framed by such conflicts, a life balanced precariously between self-destruction and perfectionism."–jacket.

A sparkling life of the monumental fashion designer cristóbal balenciagaone of the most innovative and admired figures in the history of haute couture, cristóbal balenciaga was, said christian dior, "the master of us all." despite his extraordinary impact, balenciaga was a man hidden from view. he saw to it that little was known about him, to the point that some french journalists wondered if he existed at all. even his most devoted clients—marlene dietrich, barbara hutton, a clutch of rothschilds—never met him.but one woman knew balenciaga very well indeed. the first person he hired when he opened his paris house was florette chelot, who became his top vendeuse. she witnessed the spectacular success of his first collection, and they worked closely for more than thirty years, until 1968, when balenciaga abruptly closed his house without telling any of his staff. youth-oriented fashion was taking over, paris was in upheaval, and the elder statesman wanted no part of it.in the master of us all, mary blume tells the remarkable story of the man and his world. intimate and revealing, this is an unprecedented portrait of a designer whose vision transformed an industry but whose story has never been told until now.

From his first role as a cherubic five-year old through iron man 2 and the films yet to come, a look at the life and career one of hollywood's most surprising leading men robert downey jr. has become one of hollywood's most shining, distinctive stars thanks to scene-stealing roles in films like iron man, zodiac, and sherlock holmes. this book takes an in-depth, insightful look at his work in front of the camera as well as his life behind the spotlight. it reveals details of his film debut at age five playing a puppy in his father's underground cult film, his attempt at becoming a comedian during an ill-fated stint as a saturday night live cast member, how he burst onto the scene with his moving performance in less than zero, and how he charmed hollywood with his oscar-nominated turn as troubled funny man charlie chaplin. with a life that has had more twist and turns than the plots of some of his acclaimed movies, robert downey jr.'s journey from hellraiser to hollywood royalty is shocking, moving, funny, and inspirational.

#1 new york times, wall street journal, and boston globe bestseller – named one of the ten best books of the year by the new york times book review – one of president barack obama's favorite books of the year – bill gates's holiday reading list – finalist for the national book critics circle's award in autobiography – finalist for the national book critics circle's john leonard prize for best first book – finalist for the pen/jean stein book award – finalist for the los angeles book prize named one of paste's best memoirs of the decade – named one of the best books of the year by the washington post – o: the oprah magazine – time – npr – good morning america – san francisco chronicle – the guardian – the economist – financial times – newsday – new york post – the – skimm – refinery29 – bloomberg – self – real simple – town & country – bustle – paste – publishers weekly – library journal – library – reads – book – riot – pamela paul, kqed – new york public library an unforgettable memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a ph – d from cambridge university – born to survivalists in the mountains of idaho, tara westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of tara's older brothers became violent. when another brother got himself into college, tara decided to try a new kind of life. her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to harvard and to cambridge university. only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home." beautiful and propulsive . . .

The #1 new york times bestselling memoir of u.s. navy seal chris kyle, and the source for clint eastwood’s blockbuster movie which was nominated for six academy awards, including best picture.from 1999 to 2009, u.s. navy seal chris kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in united states military history. his fellow american warriors, whom he protected with deadly precision from rooftops and stealth positions during the iraq war, called him “the legend”; meanwhile, the enemy feared him so much they named him al-shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. kyle, who was tragically killed in 2013, writes honestly about the pain of war—including the deaths of two close seal teammates—and in moving first-person passages throughout, his wife, taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their family, as well as on chris. gripping and unforgettable, kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.

#1 new york times bestseller – discover the life-changing memoir that has inspired millions of readers through the academy award–winning actor’s unflinching honesty, unconventional wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.“ the no. 1 celebrity memoir of the past 10 years.”—usa today“mcconaughey’s book invites us to grapple with the lessons of his life as he did—and to see that the point was never to win, but to understand.”—mark manson, author of the subtle art of not giving a f*cki’ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. how to be fair. how to have less stress. how to have fun. how to hurt people less. how to get hurt less. how to be a good man. how to have meaning in life. how to be more me. recently, i worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. i found stories i experienced, lessons i learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. i found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: if you know how, and when, to deal with life’s challenges—how to get relative with the inevitable—you can enjoy a state of success i call “catching greenlights.” so i took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. this is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops. hopefully, it’s medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to mars without needing your pilot’s license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears. it’s a love letter. to life. it’s also a guide to catching more greenlights—and to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too. good luck.the short dust jacket included with this hardcover edition is an intentional design choice.

Following his blockbuster biography of steve jobs, walter isaacson’s new york times bestselling and critically acclaimed the innovators is a “riveting, propulsive, and at times deeply moving” (the atlantic) story of the people who created the computer and the internet.what were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? what led to their creative leaps? why did some succeed and others fail? the innovators is a masterly saga of collaborative genius destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution—and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. isaacson begins the adventure with ada lovelace, lord byron’s daughter, who pioneered computer programming in the 1840s. he explores the fascinating personalities that created our current digital revolution, such as vannevar bush, alan turing, john von neumann, j.c.r. licklider, doug engelbart, robert noyce, bill gates, steve wozniak, steve jobs, tim berners-lee, and larry page. this is the story of how their minds worked and what made them so inventive. it’s also a narrative of how their ability to collaborate and master the art of teamwork made them even more creative. for an era that seeks to foster innovation, creativity, and teamwork, the innovators is “a sweeping and surprisingly tenderhearted history of the digital age” (the new york times).

From the #1 new york times bestselling author of the residence and first women, the first ever authorized biography of the most famous movie star of the twentieth century, elizabeth taylor. – no celebrity rivals elizabeth taylor's glamour and guts or her level of fame. she was the last major star to come out of the old hollywood studio system and she is a legend known for her beauty and her magnetic screen presence in a career that spanned most of the twentieth century and nearly sixty films. but her private life was even more compelling than her oscar-winning on-screen performances. during her seventy-nine years of rapid-fire love and loss she was married eight times to seven different men. above all, she was a survivor–by the time she was twenty-six she was twice divorced and once widowed. her life was a soap opera that ended in a deeply meaningful way when she became the first major celebrity activist to lead the fight against hiv/aids. a co-founder of amf – ar, she raised more than $100 million for research and patient care. she was also a shrewd businesswoman who made a fortune as the first celebrity perfumer who always demanded to be paid what she was worth. – in the first ever authorized biography of the hollywood icon, kate andersen brower reveals the world through elizabeth's eyes. brower uses elizabeth's unpublished letters, diary entries, and off-the-record interview transcripts as well as interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family to tell the full, unvarnished story of her remarkable career and her explosive private life that made headlines worldwide. elizabeth taylor captures this intelligent, empathetic, tenacious, volatile, and complex woman as never before, from her rise to massive fame at age twelve in national velvet, to becoming the first person to negotiate a million-dollar salary for a film, to her eight marriages and enduring love affair with richard burton, her groundbreaking multi-million-dollar perfume empire, her dazzling jewelry, her lifelong battle with addiction, and her courageous efforts as an aids activist. – here is a fascinating and complete portrait worthy of the legendary star and her legacy. – elizabeth taylor features a photo insert.

#1 new york times bestseller – the critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and six-time grammy winner opens up about faith, sexuality, parenthood, and a life shaped by music in “one of the great memoirs of our time” (glennon doyle, author of untamed). named one of the best books of the year by npr and autostraddle – “the best-written, most engaging rock autobiography since her childhood hero, elton john, published me.”—varietybrandi carlile was born into a musically gifted, impoverished family on the outskirts of seattle and grew up in a constant state of change, moving from house to house, trailer to trailer, fourteen times in as many years. though imperfect in every way, her dysfunctional childhood was as beautiful as it was strange, and as nurturing as it was difficult. at the age of five, brandi contracted bacterial meningitis, which almost took her life, leaving an indelible mark on her formative years and altering her journey into young adulthood.as an openly gay teenager, brandi grappled with the tension between her sexuality and her faith when her pastor publicly refused to baptize her on the day of the ceremony. shockingly, her small town rallied around brandi in support and set her on a path to salvation where the rest of the misfits and rejects find it: through twisted, joyful, weird, and wonderful music. in broken horses, brandi carlile takes readers through the events of her life that shaped her very raw art—from her start at a local singing competition where she performed elton john’s “honky cat” in a bedazzled white polyester suit, to her first break opening for dave matthews band, to many sleepless tours over fifteen years and six studio albums, all while raising two children with her wife, catherine shepherd. this hard-won success led her to collaborations with personal heroes like elton john, dolly parton, mavis staples, pearl jam, tanya tucker, and joni mitchell, as well as her peers in the supergroup the highwomen, and ultimately to the grammy stage, where she converted millions of viewers into instant fans.evocative and piercingly honest, broken horses is at once an examination of faith through the eyes of a person rejected by the church’s basic tenets and a meditation on the moments and lyrics that have shaped the life of a creative mind, a brilliant artist, and a genuine empath on a mission to give back.

The all-access biography and unprecedented look at the life, career, and legacy of a pint-sized kid from long island who became a music legend. – exhibiting unparalleled intimate knowledge, schruers chronicles joel’s rise to the top of the charts, from his working-class origins in levittown and early days spent in boxing rings and sweaty clubs to his monumental success in the seventies and eighties. he also explores joel’s creative transformation in the nineties, his dream performance with paul mc – cartney at shea stadium in 2008, and beyond. – along the way, schruers reveals the stories behind all the key events and relationships—including joel’s high-profile marriages and legal battles—that defined his path to stardom and inspired his signature songs, such as “piano man,” “scenes from an italian restaurant,” “new york state of mind,” and “she’s always a woman.” throughout, he captures the spirit of a restless artist determined to break through by sharing, in his deeply personal lyrics, the dreams and heartbreaks of suburban american life. – comprehensive, vibrantly written, and filled with joel’s memories and reflections—as well as those of the family, friends, and band members who have formed his inner circle, including christie brinkley, alexa ray joel, jon small, and steve cohen—this is the definitive account of a beloved rock star’s epic american journey.

Comedian, teatime talk show host and all-round entertainer, multi-award winning paul o'grady is one of the most popular figures on british television. – but his real-life journey has been more dramatic than any of his on-stage stories. – born into a noisy irish catholic household in birkenhead, paul was always determined to live a colourful life. he was a boxing champion as a boy. he became a dad as a teenager. he has been a barman in a brothel and spent his first years in london working as a carer to some of the capital's most at-risk kids. – in this, the first major biography of the star, neil simpson reveals the extraordinary highs and the terrible lows of paul's life. he explains: how lily savage was born as a way to make more money – and help paul take his mind off the horrors he saw every day as a social worker; how tough it was for the 'blonde bombsite from birkenhead' to break into the entertainment mainstream; and, why paul decided to risk everything by throwing off lily's wig and carving out a new career as himself. – the depression, the private grief and the near fatal heart attacks that struck as paul re-invented himself as the funniest and most successful chat show host in the country. frequently hilarious and sometimes heart-wrenchingly sad, paul o'grady has always lived his life on a rollercoaster of emotions. today he is a proud grandfather, a multimillionaire and a man loved by millions of devoted fans. this is his incredible story.

When edward temple was about eight or nine years old he was afflicted with a disorder of the eyes. it was so severe, and his sight was naturally so delicate, that the surgeon felt some apprehensions lest the boy should become totally blind. he therefore gave strict directions to keep him in a darkened chamber, with a bandage over his eyes. not a ray of the blessed light of heaven could be suffered to visit the poor lad. this was a sad thing for edward. it was just the same as if there were to be no more sunshine, nor moonlight, nor glow of the cheerful fire, nor light of lamps. his dear father and mother, his brother george, and the sweet face of little emily robinson must all vanish and leave him in utter darkness and solitude. their voices and footsteps, it is true, would be heard around him; he would feel his mother's embrace and the kind pressure of all their hands; but still it would seem as if they were a thousand miles away.

Black crowes drummer and cofounder steve gorman shares the band's inside story in this behind-the-scenes biography, from their supernova stardom in the '90s to exhilarating encounters with industry legends. "this book is literally the angela's ashes of rock memoirs. .. i absolutely loved this book." -bill burr, comedian "i couldn't put the book down-absolutely unbelievable read!" -john mcenroe, new york times bestselling author of but seriously and you cannot be serious "i honestly couldn't put [this book] down. made me nostalgic, sad, and happy too." -chris shiflett, lead guitarist of foo fighters "essential reading for rock fans everywhere." -brian koppelman, co-creator and showrunner of billions for more than two decades, the black crowes topped the charts, graced the cover of rolling stone, and reigned supreme over mtv and radio waves alike with hits like "hard to handle," "she talks to angels," and "remedy." but as the old cliché goes, stardom can be fleeting, and the group's success slowly dwindled as the band members got caught up in the rock star world and lost sight of their musical ambition. on any given night, they could be the best band you ever saw-or the most combative. then, one last rift in 2013 proved insurmountable for the band to survive. after that, the black crowes would fly no more. founding member steve gorman was there for all of it-the coke- and weed-fueled tours; the tumultuous recording sessions; the incessant fighting between brothers chris and rich robinson; the backstage hangs with legends like robert plant, jimmy page, and the rolling stones. as the band's drummer and voice of reason, he tried to keep the black crowes together musically and emotionally. in hard tohandle-the first account of this great american rock band's beginning, middle, and end-gorman explains just how impossible that job was with great insight, candor, and humor. they don't make bands like the black crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. but, man, what a ride it was while it lasted.

British economist and ethical theorist, john stuart mill (1806–73), recounts his rigorous tutelage under a domineering father, his mental health crisis at age twenty, and his struggle to regain joy amid self-reflection.

Davies throws a new and surprising light on a previously shadowy and misunderstood person. this biography, written with full access to his private letters, reveals a far more complex and passionate character than anyone could imagine.