What is a good biography of a famous American that you would recommend?

Question

I need to read a biography of a famous American for a high school History class. The person needs to be an influential and prominent leader, not a pop star. I'd like a book thats a relatively quick and easy read but still acceptable for an AP class. If anyone can recommend one that I could buy at Border's or something that would be great

Also thanks for the feedback but if you could provide a book that I could buy, not just the name of a person, that would be great

Answer 1

The more I think about this question, the more I keep thinking, no that's too much, no that's not enough, no, he may not be interested in that:

Here's the deal. Go to the library. Go to the biography section. Yes, there is a section of biographies. Scan the spines. Scan the database or card catalog.

Get inspired.

Why buy a book when you can borrow it? If you insist on purchasing a book then go to the biography section of the bookstore. Go to a used bookstore.

You'll see about five that you will be torn about. Then eventually you'll narrow it down. Ask your teacher if you are torn between two individuals.

I think you should pick an era that is interesting and fun. The western frontier, industrialization, civil war, civil rights, wwii, wwi, depression, revolution, missouri compromise, texas, indian relations.

There are some really amazing people to choose from, inventors (Bell, Fulton, Edison, Franklin, Jefferson, Deere, Ford), government leaders (pick a president, any president), those who fought the law (harriet tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, martin luther king jr., abbie hoffman, harriet beecher stowe), industrial leaders (jp morgan, crocker), military people (custer, Jackson, grant, sheridan, eisenhower, roosevelt,), explorers (fremont, lewis & clark)

Take your pick, and find the book yourself. You know what will spark your curiousity.

Answer 2

The Diary of Anne Frank The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn The Princess Diaries Blood Memory by Martha Graham Sports biographies by Matt Christopher

Answer 3

I liked two books in particular that are interesting, not too long and easy to read:

1. Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story - Famous black nerurosurgeon by Cecil Murphey
2. His Excellency- Story of George Washington by Joseph Ellis

Answer 4

Here's a variety of them, mostly shorter. (Many of the good one-volume biographies are 500 if not 600+ pages; the ones listed here are, I believe, all 400 pages or less.)


* 'unsung heroes' -important but often forgotten members of the founding generation
John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic - Jeffry Morrison (about 200 pp?)
John Jay: Founding Father - William Stahr

* by Joseph Ellis
His Excellency: George Washington
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

* American Presidents Series -- mostly pretty good (though Remini on JQ Adams is very disappointing... I tend to think that with all his work on Andrew Jackson, he imbibed Jackson's hostility to Adams).
- example: U. S Grant - Josiah Bunting (though, frankly, Grant's own memoirs beat even the best of many fine books about him)

*(Many good Lincoln biographies; here is a good recent one, shorter than most):
Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power by Richard Carwardine

* The Life of Andrew Jackson by Robert V. Remini (a distillation of his classic 3-volume biog)

* want something recent?
- When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan by Peggy Noonan (well-written, not long)


does it have to be a one-person biography? There are, for instance, quite a number of fascinating books from the past 20 years that write about relationships between two or more key people -- e.g., Hamilton & Burr, Jefferson & Burr (at least one on all three); Thomas Fleming's *The Duel* is a fun one.
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Finally, if you decide you want to read through some of the best written biographies and are willing to try something longer (500-750 pp range), here are some of the very best to appear in recent years:

by Ron Chernow
-Alexander Hamilton

by Jean Edward Smith
- John Marshall
- Grant
(again, consider Grant's Memoirs! though they don't cover his Presidency)

by David McCullough
- Truman
- John Adams

by Edmund Morris
- 2 vol biog of TR (The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex)

by H. W. Brands
- The First American: Ben Franklin

Answer 5

Ben Franklin's Autobiography. Excellent book. Don't get the new release that "completes" it with someone else's guess as to what he might have written later. The original autobiography ends in a way that leaves you hanging, but it's a great read.

Answer 6

Martin Luther King Jr.

Answer 7

Thomas Jefferson..

Answer 8

Lincoln,Roosevelt

Answer 9

1776, about George Washington.

Answer 10

Vivien Thomas; he was underrated and under appreciated because of his skin color. He is, however, now receiving the respect of millions (too bad he died some years ago):

His inventions in cardio-pulmonary technology has saved millions of lives.

http://medicalarchives.jhmi.edu/vthomas.htm
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/stlm/vtfund.html
http://www.medicalarchives.jhmi.edu/vthomas.htm
http://www.medicalarchives.jhmi.edu/sgml/thomasvt.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/partners/legacy/l_colleagues_thomas.html