Ask HN: What are some good biographies to read? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What are some good biographies to read?

I enjoy reading biographies. I'm reading "Classic Feynman" right now and it's great! Which ones would you recommend? Thanks!

Update: Thanks for the recommendations, thus far!

View on HN

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.

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.

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...".

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..

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.biographicon.com/view/hhnvz/Johnny_Ramone

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Tycoon-Henry-American-Century/... 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.

James Dyson - Against the odds (http://www.amazon.com/Against-Odds-Autobiography-James-Dyson...)

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.

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.

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.

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/)

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.

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

"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.

George Washington Carver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

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

"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

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).

"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.

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

>"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...) which made me curious enough to buy it. It is a great read and a fascinating study in leadership.

ah, yes - great book!

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

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

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

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

The Last Lion - Churchill

J Paul Getty - As I See It.

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

Shantaram - amazing.

Too amazing to be biographical; so classified as fiction http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=loc...

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

theodore Roosevelt, Lincoln. Great leaders

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

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

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

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

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?

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/

Again, with a guy like Gandhi you're going to understand better from a frank biography than his autobiography. He was a deeply flawed man in many respects.

The great thing about Gandhi is that he openly recorded his flaws - not many autobiographical writings do that.

Does he talk about he effectively killed his wife by denying her medical treatment? Or his racism?

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.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com