A Biographical Bucket List —Biographies and Autobiographies I Really, Really Want to Read

Which do you recommend? Do you have any to add?

I love to read.

My biggest problem is I don’t have enough time to read everything I want to read.

So, I compile lists — as in “books to read” lists.

This is one of them. It’s a list of biographies and autobiographies that I really, really want to read — the sooner, the better. Although it will probably take me years to get through this list.

As of the last update, the list stands at 145 books. And most of these books aren’t short. Many of them are outright door-stoppers!

One reason it may get even longer is by incorporating your suggestions — which I welcome.

Here we go…

Biographies and Autobiographies on my “Bucket List”

1. King Solomon’s Empire: The Rise, Fall, and Modern-Day Influence of an Iron-Age Ruler by Archie W.N. Roy and Margaret Roy
2. Ancient World Commanders: From the Trojan War to the Fall of Rome by Angus Konstam
3. Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership by Barry Strauss
4. Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman
5. Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy
6. Augustus: First Emperor of Rome by Adrian Goldsworthy
7. Herod the Great: Statesman, Visionary, Tyrant by Norman Gelb
8. The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ by Gary Habermas
9. Paul The Apostle: Missionary, Martyr, Theologian by Robert E. Picirilli
10. Paul: A Biography by N.T. Wright
11. Marcus Aurelius: A Life by Frank McLynn
12. Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine by Barry Strauss
13. Emperors of Rome: The Monsters: From Tiberius to Theodora, AD 14–548 by Paul Chrystal
14. Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint by Peter Sarris
15. Gregory the Great: Ascetic, Pastor, and First Man of Rome by George E. Demacopoulos
16. Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong
17. The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion by Robert Spencer
18. The Emperor Charlemagne by E.R. Chamberlin
19. The Norman Commanders: Masters of Warfare, 911–1133 by Marc Morris
20. Saint Francis of Assisi: The Life and Times of St. Francis by G.K. Chesterton
21. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
22. Tamerlane: The Earth Shaker by Harold Lamb
23. Joan of Arc: A History by Helen Castor
24. The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior: The Intersecting Lives of Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped by Paul Strathern
25. The Bad Popes by E.R. Chamberlin
26. Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric Metaxas
27. Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden
28. George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father by Thomas S. Kidd
29. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
30. Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner
31. A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier by Joseph Plumb Martin
32. The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution by William Cooper Nell
33. Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
34. George Washington Dealmaker-In-Chief: The Story of How The Father of Our Country Unleashed The Entrepreneurial Spirit in America by Cyrus A. Ansary
35. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
36. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham
37. James Madison by Richard Brookhiser
38. Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts
39. Bolívar: American Liberator by Marie Arana
40. Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas
41. Mr. Adams’s Last Crusade: John Quincy Adams’s Extraordinary Post-Presidential Life in Congress by Joseph Wheelan
42. To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson by Courtney Anderson
43. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman
44. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
45. The Memoirs of Colonel John S. Mosby
46. On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain by Ronald C. White
47. Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant
48. Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South by Elizabeth Varon
49. Grant by Ron Chernow
50. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
51. Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight
52. The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History by Joseph M. Marshall III
53. Killing Crazy Horse: The Merciless Indian Wars in America by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
54. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
55. The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur by Scott S. Greenberger
56. Spurgeon the Pastor: Recovering a Biblical and Theological Vision for Ministry by Geoffrey Chang
57. Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon, wife of Charles H. Spurgeon by Ray Rhodes, Jr.
58. D.L. Moody — A Life: Innovator, Evangelist, World Changer by Kevin Belmonte
59. The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles
60. Ida: A Sword Among Lions by Paula J. Giddings
61. Up From Slavery: The Original 1901 Edition by Booker T. Washington
62. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow
63. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
64. Teddy and Booker T.: How Two American Icons Blazed a Path for Racial Equality by Brian Kilmeade
65. Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
66. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin
67. Carnegie by Peter Krass
68. The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero by William Kalush and Larry Sloman
69. The Last Greatest Magician in the World: Howard Thurston Versus Houdini & the Battles of the American Wizards by Jim Steinmeyer
70. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
71. Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
72. Coolidge by Amity Shlaes
73. George Washington Carver: A Life by Christina Vella
74. Babe: The Legend Comes to Life by Robert W. Creamer
75. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro
76. Walt Disney: The Triumph of The American Imagination by Neal Gabler
77. The Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
78. Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert
79. Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914–1948 by Ramachandra Guha
80. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
81. Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis
82. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
83. FDR by Jean Edward Smith
84. Wounded Tiger: The Transformational True Story of the Japanese Pilot Who Led the Pearl Harbor Attack by T. Martin Bennett
85. The Generals: Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the Winning of World War II by Winston Groom
86. Nimitz by E.B. Potter
87. Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
88. American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964 by William Manchester
89. Truman by David McCullough
90. Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith
91. The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War by Stephen Kinzer
92. I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
93. Hammer by Armond Hammer
94. Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
95. Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954–63 by Taylor Branch
96. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 by Robert Dallek
97. The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
98. Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963–65 by Taylor Branch
99. The Autobiography of Malcolm X
100. At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965–68 by Taylor Branch
101. Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye
102. Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang
103. Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.
104. When Pride Still Mattered: The Life of Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss
105. The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King by Rich Cohen
106. G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage
107. Richard Nixon: The Life by John A. Farrell
108. Kissinger: A Biography by Walter Isaacson
109. Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton
110. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
111. Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary by Juan Williams
112. God’s Salesman: Norman Vincent Peale and the Power of Positive Thinking by Carol V.R. George
113. His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham
114. Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand
115. The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson
116. God’s Smuggler: Expanded Edition by Brother Andrew
117. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life by Jonathan Alter
118. Reagan: An American Journey by Bob Spitz
119. Iacocca: An Autobiography
120. Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump with Tony Schwartz
121. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham
122. First In His Class: A Biography Of Bill Clinton by David Maraniss
123. The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King
124. Born Again by Charles W. Colson
125. Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham
126. Seven Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas
127. Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger
128. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
129. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
130. Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby
131. Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Richard Branson
132. Jack: Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch
133. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
134. The Adventures of Herbie Cohen: World’s Greatest Negotiator by Rich Cohen
135. When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man by Jerry Weintraub
136. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
137. Becoming by Michelle Obama
138. Empire State of Mind: How Jay Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office, Revised Edition by Zack O’Malley Greenburg
139. Never Surrender: A Soldier’s Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom by Jerry Boykin
140. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
141. Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices by Mosab Hassan Yousef
142. Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen
143. TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald by Timothy L. O’Brien
144. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
145. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Yeah, I know. It’ll probably be 2038 before I finish this list.

As you can see, I put the above books in very rough chronological order. The order isn’t perfect because so many of the lives overlap — and because many of the books are structured differently. Nevertheless…

The preceding list will provide a more-or-less biographical overview of history (admittedly with a tilt toward Western and American history).

Let me know in the comments if I have some books on this list that you already read and would NOT recommend.

Also, let me know of must-read biographies or autobiographies I’ve left off.

Of course, I’ve read numerous biographies already. I won’t list them all, but some of my favorites include:

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
• The First American: The Life of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands
• George Washington’s War: The Saga of the American Revolution by Robert Leckie
• Alexander Hamilton: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall
• John Adams by David McCullough
• Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
• Lincoln: The Unknown by Dale Carnegie
• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
• Missionary for Freedom: The Life and Times of Walter Judd by Lee Edwards
• Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas
• Seven More Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas

I welcome any suggestions in the comments.

All the Best!

This list was last updated on 12/16/2023.

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