After finishing a 240-biography journey in early 2019 (from Washington to Obama), I began to tackle a “follow-up” list of presidential biographies. But I’ve also been inspired to read the best biographies of other people as well – some of whom I encountered while focusing on the presidents. Possible “related” biographies to read are listed below.
Blue titles are Pulitzer Prize WINNERS. Blue italicized titles are Pulitzer Prize finalists.
George Washington:
| Alexander Hamilton | Co-author of “The Federalist Papers” and first Secretary of the Treasury | Alexander Hamilton (2004) by Ron Chernow |
| Alexander Hamilton: A Life (2003) by Willard Sterne Randall | ||
| Alexander Hamilton: A Biography (1979) by Forrest McDonald | ||
| Alexander Hamilton, American (1999) by Richard Brookhiser | ||
| Ben Franklin | Diplomat, scientist and statesman known as “The First American” | Ben Franklin: An American Life (2003) by Walter Isaacson |
| The Americanization of Ben Franklin (2004) by Gordon Wood | ||
| The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin (2000) by H.W. Brands | ||
| Benjamin Franklin (1938) by Carl Van Doren | ||
| Lafayette | French military officer, fought in the American Revolution | Lafayette (2002) by Harlow Unger |
| Gouverneur Morris | Statesman, Founding Father, co-author of the U.S. Constitution | Gentleman Revolutionary: Gouverneur Morris, the Rake Who Wrote the Constitution (2003) by Richard Brookhiser |
| Pierre L’Enfant | Architect & civil engineer, designed layout of Washington, D.C. | Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L’Enfant (2007) by Scott Berg |
| John Jay | Pres. of Continental Congress, 1st Chief Justice of Supreme Court, negotiated Treaty of Paris | John Jay: Founding Father (2005) by Walter Stahr |
| John Hancock | Statesman, merchant, politician | John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patriot (2000) by Harlow Unger |
| Henry Knox | Military officer, first Secretary of War | Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution (2008) by Mark Puls |
| Robert Morris | Businessman, helped finance American Revolution | Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution (2010) by Charles Rappleye |
| Benedict Arnold | Military officer, traitor during the American Revolution | Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor (1990) by Willard Sterne Randall |
| The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery (2010) by Steve Sheinkin | ||
| Patrick Henry | Politician, Revolutionary leader | Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation (2010) by Harlow Unger |
| Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty (2017) by Jon Kukla | ||
John Adams:
| John Marshall | Chief Justice of Supreme Court | John Marshall: Definer of a Nation (1996) by Jean Edward Smith |
| Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times (2018) by Joel Richard Paul | ||
| Napoleon | French military and political leader | Napoleon: A Life (2014) by Andrew Roberts |
| Napoleon: A Biography (2002) by Frank McLynn | ||
| Napoleon (1971) by Vincent Cronin | ||
| Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny (Vol 1) (2014) by Michael Broers | ||
| Napoleon: The Spirit of the Age (Vol 2 (2018) by Michael Broers | ||
| Samuel Adams | Revolutionary leader, statesman; John Adams’s cousin | Samuel Adams: A Life (2008) by Ira Stoll |
Thomas Jefferson:
| George Wythe | Scholar, judge, first American law professor | tbd |
| Meriwether Lewis | American explorer | Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (1996) by Stephen Ambrose |
| The Character of Meriwether Lewis: Explorer in the Wilderness (2011) by Clay Jenkinson | ||
| William Clark | American explorer | William Clark and the Shaping of the West (2004) by Landon Jones |
| Aaron Burr | Military officer, VP, involved in Burr-Hamilton duel and the “Burr conspiracy“ | Burr: A Novel (1973) by Gore Vidal |
| Albert Gallatin | Secretary of the Treasury, known as America’s “Swiss Founding Father” |
Gallatin: America’s Swiss Founding Father (2010) by Nicholas Dungan |
| Sally Hemmings | Slave, Jefferson alleged to have been the father of one or more children with Hemmings | Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings: An American Controversy (1997) by Annette Gordon-Reed |
James Madison:
| Henry Clay | Speaker of the House, Senator, Secretary of State, presidential hopeful | Henry Clay: A Statesman for the Union (1991) by Robert Remini |
| Henry Clay: The Essential American (2010) by David and Jeanne Heidler | ||
| Dolley Madison | First Lady | Strength and Honor: The Life of Dolley Madison (2004) by Richard Cote |
James Monroe:
| John Calhoun | Secretary of State, Secretary of War, US Senator, Vice President | John C. Calhoun: A Biography (1994) by Irving Bartlett |
| John C. Calhoun: American Portrait (1950) by Margaret Coit | ||
| Thomas Paine | Political philosopher and activist, pamphleteer, wrote “Common Sense” |
Tom Paine: A Political Life (1995) by John Keane |
| Thomas Paine and the Clarion Call for American Independence (2019) by Harlow Unger | ||
John Quincy Adams:
| James Smithson | British scientist, founding donor of Smithsonian Institution | The Lost World of James Smithson (2007) by Heather Ewing |
Andrew Jackson:
| Alexis de Tocqueville | French diplomat and historian, author of “Democracy in America“ | Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life (2006) by Hugh Brogan |
| Sam Houston | American politician and soldier, secured Texan independence from Mexico |
Sam Houston (2002) by James Haley |
| David Crockett | Frontiersman, politician and soldier | David Crockett: The Lion of the West (2011) by Michael Wallis |
Martin Van Buren:
| Thurlow Weed | New York Whig “Party Boss” and newspaper publisher | Thurlow Weed: Wizard of the Lobby (2012) by Glyndon Van Deusen |
William Henry Harrison:
| Daniel Webster | Secretary of State, politician, lawyer | Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time (1997) by Robert Remini |
| Tecumseh | Shawnee tribe leader |
Tecumseh: A Life (1998) by John Sugden |
James Polk:
| Thomas Hart Benton | Politician, advocate of westward expansion | Old Bullion Benton: Senator from the New West (1956) by William N. Chambers |
Zachary Taylor:
| Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna | Mexican politician & general, defeated by Taylor at Battle of Buena Vista | Santa Anna of Mexico (2007) by Will Fowler |
Millard Fillmore:
| John Frémont | Military officer, explorer, politician | Pathfinder: John Charles Fremont and the Course of American Empire (2002) by Tom Chaffin |
Franklin Pierce:
| Jefferson Davis | Politician, Secretary of War, President of the Confederate States of America | Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief (2014) by James McPherson |
| Jefferson Davis, American (2000) by William Cooper | ||
| Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour (1991) by William Davis | ||
| Jefferson Davis: American Patriot 1808-1861 (Vol 1) (1955) by Hudson Strode | ||
| Jefferson Davis: Confederate President (Vol 2) (1959) by Hudson Strode | ||
| Jefferson Davis: Tragic Hero 1864-1889 (Vol 3) (1964) by Hudson Strode | ||
| Stephen Douglas | Politician, chief sponsor of Kansas-Nebraska Act, Lincoln-Douglas debates |
Stephen A. Douglas (1973) by Robert Johannsen |
James Buchanan:
| Simon Cameron | U.S. Senator, Secretary of War | Amiable Scoundrel: Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s Scandalous Secretary of War (2016) by Paul Kahan |
| Edwin Stanton | Lawyer, Attorney General, Secretary of War |
Stanton: Lincoln’s War Secretary (2017) by Walter Stahr |
| Lincoln’s Autocrat: The Life of Edwin Stanton (2015) by William Marvel | ||
Abraham Lincoln:
| William Sherman | Union Army General | William Tecumseh Sherman: In the Service of My Country: A Life (2016) by James McDonough |
| Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman (2014) by Robert O’Connell | ||
| Sherman: A Soldier’s Passion for Order (1992) by John Marszalek | ||
| Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American (1929) by B. H. Liddell Hart | ||
| Robert E. Lee | Confederate Army General |
Lee (1961) (abridgement of 4-vol series) by Douglas Southall Freeman |
| The Man Who Would Not Be Washington: Robert E. Lee’s Civil War and His Decision that Changed American History (2015) by Jonathan Horn | ||
| Clouds of Glory: The Life and Legend of Robert E. Lee (2014) by Michael Korda | ||
| Robert E. Lee: A Biography (1995) by Emory Thomas | ||
| William Seward | Secretary of State, politician |
Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man (2012) by Walter Stahr |
| Salmon Chase | Chief Justice, Secretary of the Treasury, politician |
Salmon P. Chase: A Biography (1995) by John Niven |
| George McClellan | Politician, Union Army General |
George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon (1988) by Stephen Sears |
| Frederick Douglass | Abolitionist, statesman, former slave |
Frederick Douglass (1991) by William McFeely |
| Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (2018) by David Blight | ||
| Horace Greely | Newspaper editor, politician, presidential aspirant |
Horace Greely: Champion of American Freedom (2006) by Robert Williams |
| John Hay | Private secretary to Lincoln, Secretary of State |
All the Great Prizes: The Life of John Hay (2013) by John Taliaferro |
| John Nicolay | Private secretary to Lincoln, biographer |
Lincoln’s Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln’s Image (2014) by Joshua Zeitz |
| John Wilkes Booth | Stage actor, Lincoln’s assassin |
Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth (2015) by Terry Alford |
Ulysses Grant:
| George Custer | U.S. Army officer, cavalry commander | Custer’s Trials: Life on the Frontier of a New America (2015) by T.J. Stiles |
| Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors (1975) by Stephen Ambrose | ||
| Cornelius Vanderbilt | Railroad magnate | The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt (2009) by T.J. Stiles |
| Jay Gould | Railroad magnate | The Life and Legend of Jay Gould (1986) by Maury Klein |
Rutherford B. Hayes:
| Thomas Edison | “America’s Greatest Inventor” | The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World (2007) by Randall Stross |
| Edison: A Life of Invention (1998) by Paul Israel | ||
| Edison: A Biography (1986) by Matthew Josephson | ||
James Garfield:
| James Blaine | Politician; Secretary of States, presidential aspirant | Continental Liar From the State of Maine: James G. Blaine (2007) by Neil Rolde |
| Alexander Graham Bell | Scientist, inventor | Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention (2006) by Charlotte Gray |
| Robert Todd Lincoln | Diplomat, Secretary of War, son of Abraham Lincoln | Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln (2012) by Jason Emerson |
Chester Arthur:
| Roscoe Conkling | Politician, “Stalwart” faction boss | Roscoe Conkling of New York: Voice in the Senate (1971) by David Jordan |
Grover Cleveland:
| Eugene Debs | Union leader, presidential aspirant | The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene Victor Debs (1949) by Ray Ginger |
| Henry Ward Beecher | Clergyman, abolitionist | The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher (2006) by Debby Applegate |
Benjamin Harrison:
| Andrew Carnegie | Steel magnate | Andrew Carnegie (2006) by David Nasaw |
| Carnegie (2001) by Peter Krass | ||
| Andrew Carnegie (1970) by Joseph Frazier Wall | ||
William McKinley:
| William Jennings Bryan | Politician, Secretary of State, presidential aspirant | A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan (2006) by Michael Kazin |
| William Randolph Hearst | Newspaper publisher | The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst (2001) by David Nasaw |
Theodore Roosevelt:
William Taft:
| Henry Stimson | Secretary of War, Secretary of State, lawyer | The Colonel: The Life and Wars of Henry Stimson (1990) by Godfrey Hodgson |
| Booker T. Washington | Educator, advisor, former slave | Up From History: The Life of Booker T. Washington (2009) by Robert Norrell |
Woodrow Wilson:
| Colonel House | Adviser to Wilson | Colonel House: A Biography of Woodrow Wilson’s Silent Partner (2014) by Charles Neu |
| John J. Pershing | General, U.S. Army | Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing (1977) (2 vols) by Frank Vandiver |
| Guerilla Warrior: The Early Life of John J. Pershing (Vol 1) (1973) by Donald Smythe | ||
| Pershing: General of the Armies (Vol 2) (1986) by Donald Smythe | ||
| Louis Brandeis | Associate Justice, adviser to Wilson | Louis D. Brandeis: A Life (2009) by Melvin Urofsky |
| Edith Wilson | First Lady, 2nd wife of Woodrow Wilson | Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson (2016) by William Hazelgrove |
| Henry Ford | Industrialist; founder of Ford Motor Co. | The People’s Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century (2005) by Steven Watts |
| Walter Lippmann | Journalist, political commentator, adviser to Wilson | Walter Lippmann and the American Century (1980) by Ronald Steel |
Warren Harding:
| Andrew Mellon | Banker, industrialist, Secretary of the Treasury | Mellon: An American Life (2006) by David Cannadine |
| John Lewis | President of United Mine Workers | John L. Lewis: A Biography (1986) by Melvyn Dubofsky |
Calvin Coolidge:
| Samuel Gompers | Labor union leader, Founder of AFL | Samuel Gompers: A Biography (1963) by Bernard Mandel |
Herbert Hoover:
| Alfred Smith | Politician, presidential aspirant | Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith (2001) by Robert Slayton |
| Alfred E. Smith: Happy Warrior (2002) by Christopher Finan | ||
Franklin Roosevelt:
Harry Truman:
| George Marshall | U.S. Army General, Sec of State, Sec of Defense, Marshall Plan | General of the Army: George C. Marshall, Soldier and Statesman (1990) by Ed Cray |
| George C. Marshall (4-volume series) (1963-1987) by Forrest C. Pogue | ||
| Thomas Dewey | Presidential aspirant, Governor of New York | Thomas E. Dewey and His Times (1982) by Richard Norton Smith |
| Dean Acheson | Secretary of State, architect of NATO | Dean Acheson: A Life in the Cold War (2006) by Robert Beisner |
| Joseph McCarthy | Senator, anti-Communist zealot | Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America’s Most Hated Senator (1999) by Arthur Herman |
| A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (1983) by David Oshinsky | ||
| Lucius Clay | Senior U.S. Army officer, orchestrated Berlin Airlift | Lucius D. Clay: An American Life (1990) by Jean Edward Smith |
Dwight Eisenhower:
| Fox Conner | Major General, U.S. Army | General Fox Conner: Pershing’s Chief of Operations and Eisenhower’s Mentor (2016) by Steven Rabalais |
| George Patton | General, U.S. Army | Patton: A Genius for War (1995) by Carlo D’Este |
| Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945 (1985) by Martin Blumenson | ||
| Bernard Montgomery | Senior British Army officer | Monty: The Battles of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (Vol 1) (1994) by Nigel Hamilton |
| Master of the Battlefield: Monty’s War Years 1942-1944 (Vol 2) (1984) by Nigel Hamilton | ||
| Monty: The Field-Marshal 1944-1976 (Vol 3) (1986) by Nigel Hamilton | ||
| Martin Luther King, Jr. | Civil rights leader, minister | America in the King Years (3 volume series) (1988-2006) by Taylor Branch |
| Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1982) by Stephen Oates | ||
| Earl Warren | Chief Justice, politician | Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren (1997) by Ed Cray |
| Justice For All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made (2006) by Jim Newton | ||
| Rosa Parks | Civil rights activist | The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (2013) by Jeanne Theoharis |
| Albert Einstein | Physicist | Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007) by Walter Isaacson |
| Adlai Stevenson | Politician, diplomat, presidential aspirant | Adlai Stevenson: His Life and Legacy (1989) by Porter McKeever |
| The Life of Adlai E. Stevenson (2-volume series) (1976-1977) by John Barlow Martin | ||
| Khrushchev | Leader of the Soviet Union | Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (2003) by William Taubman |
| Charles de Gaulle | Leader of Free France, French General and statesman | The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved (2012) by Jonathan Fenby |
| Wernher von Braun | Aerospace engineer / rocket scientist | Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War (2007) by Michael Neufield |
John F. Kennedy:
| Joseph P. Kennedy | JFK’s father, businessman, politician | The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy (2012) by David Nasaw |
| Robert Kennedy | JFK’s Attorney General and brother, politician | Robert Kennedy and His Times (1978) by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. |
| Robert Kennedy: His Life (2000) by Evan Thomas | ||
| Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon (2016) by Larry Tye | ||
| Edward Kennedy | JFK’s brother, U.S. Senator | Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography (1999) by Adam Clymer |
| Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy (2009) by Peter Canellos | ||
| Jacqueline Kennedy | First Lady | America’s Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (2000) by Sarah Bradford |
| Sam Rayburn | Politician; longest serving Speaker of the House | Rayburn: A Biography (1987) by D. B. Hardeman |
Lyndon B. Johnson:
| Hubert Humphrey | Politician; Vice President; presidential aspirant | Hubert Humphrey: A Biography (1984) by Carl Solberg |
| Thurgood Marshall | First African-American Supreme Court justice | [tbd] |
| Richard Russell | Senator; Governor of Georgia; presidential aspirant | Richard B. Russell, Jr., Senator From Georgia (1991) by Gilbert Fite |
Richard Nixon:
| Henry Kissinger | Secretary of State, diplomat, counselor | Kissinger: A Biography (1992) by Walter Isaacson |
| Kissinger: 1923-1968: The Idealist (Vol 1) (2015) by Niall Ferguson | ||
| George Wallace | Governor of Alabama, presidential aspirant | George Wallace: An American Populist (1994) by Stephan Leshar |
| Daniel Patrick Moynihan | Politician, diplomat, counselor | The Gentleman From New York: Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Biography (2000) by Godfrey Hodgson |
| Mao Zedong | Founder of modern China, Chairman of Chinese Communist Party | The Private Life of Chairman Mao (1994) by Zhi-Sui Li |
| Mao: The Real Story (2012) by Alexander Pantsov | ||
| Mao: The Unknown Story (2005) by Jung Chang | ||
| John Connally | Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of Texas | The Lone Star: The Life of John Connally (1989) by James Reston |
Gerald Ford:
| Nelson Rockefeller | Vice President, Governor of NY | On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller (2014) by Richard Norton Smith |
| The Life of Nelson A. Rockefeller (1996) by Cary Reich | ||
| Alexander Haig | Secretary of State, White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Army General | [tbd] |
Jimmy Carter:
| Adm. Hyman Rickover | U.S. Navy Admiral, “Father of the Nuclear Navy” | Rickover: Controversy and Genius: A Biography (1982) by Normal Polmar |
| Tip O’Neill | Politician, Speaker of the House | Tip O’Neill and the Democratic Century (2001) by John Farrell |
| Paul Volcker | Chairman of the Federal Reserve | Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence (2012) by William Silber |
Ronald Reagan:
| Margaret Thatcher | UK Prime Minister; Leader of the British Conservative Party | Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality (2013) by Jonathan Aitken |
| Margaret Thatcher: The Grocer’s Daughter (Vol 1) (2000) and Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady (Vol 2) (2003) by John Campbell | ||
| Mikhail Gorbachev | Leader of the Soviet Union, | [tbd] |
| Walter Cronkite | Broadcast journalist | Cronkite (2012) by Douglas Brinkley |
Every book I review has been purchased by me. Bestpresidentialbios.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies 