Tagged

biography

A collection of 15 posts

4-stars

Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution

"Valiant Ambition" shows how dicey the revolution was and how frequently both the British and American sides screwed things up. Philbrick guides us through Revolutionary War debacles and Arnold's steps towards treason.

5-stars

Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror

Lenin's philosophy can be summed up as "the ends justify the means" and Sebestyen's excellent biography forces us to confront the terrible consequences of this idea.

4-stars

The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

Partnoy helps us untangle Kreuger's intricate international web of hidden bank accounts, secret deals, bond issues, and government monopolies to understand how Kreuger pulled off one of the greatest swindles in history.

3-stars

Jane Lathrop Stanford, Mother of a University

The founder of Stanford University was murdered?? And the case was never solved?! And the first president of Stanford may have been part of the murder conspiracy... how had I never heard about this before?

4-stars

I, Claudius

Graves transports us back to an Ancient Rome whirling with intrigue, grandeur, and violence. As we delve into the depraved lifestyles of the Roman elite, Claudius narrates the book in a delightful tone, full of witty observations, backhanded compliments, and snide quips throughout.

3-stars

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens

True to form, Eddie's memoir "Believe Me" is rambling and hilarious. Several sections of the book are surprisingly touching - Eddie's artistic perseverance hit me right in the feels. As he says, the most important part of his success was "stamina, perseverance, and determination."

4-stars

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther

Halloween 2017 is the 500th anniversary of a turning point in Western history. Although few actions have changed the world as much as Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg, it was barely mentioned in my formal education. Bainton's "Here I Stand: A Life

5-stars

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Shackleton's stoic struggle against the ravages of the Antarctic is one of the greatest stories I've ever heard. In "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage", Lansing reconstructs the perilous existence of Shackleton and his crew of 27 scrappy shipwrecked adventurers as they scraped out an existence on desolate icy seas

3-stars

The Very, Very Rich and How They Got That Way

"The Very, Very Rich and How They Got That Way" feels like reading a late night self-help informercial but redeems itself with a few gems. Great literature, this is not. Occasionally entertaining and mostly tedious, this is. Profiling 15 men who made over $100 million (before the 1970's!

5-stars

How To Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer

A good friend from college recommended that I give Montaigne a shot. Bakewell's delightful "How to Live" opened up a portal into Montaigne's world and that enigmatic gentleman reached across the centuries to intellectually seduce me. How? I'm not quite sure. The beauty of this book is how

3-stars

The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin

The New York Times' Moscow Bureau Chief gives us an interesting but incomplete look at Putin's acquisition and maintenance of power. In fairness, any biography of Putin is going to be far from complete - he lives an intensely stage-managed life and much of his life is shrouded in privacy

5-stars

Hamilton

Chernow's "Hamilton" does justice to the oft-maligned and overlooked legacy of one of the greatest American geniuses of all time. Hamilton is finally - and rightfully - back in the spotlight now thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda's wildly popular hip-hop Broadway musical. This is the book that inspired the

politics

The Power Broker

"The Power Broker" pulls back the curtain on how things get done in America. This is the greatest book I have ever read. Robert Moses’ ascent from a marginalized Yale undergraduate to the supreme power broker in New York is a nearly unbelievable story, but Robert Caro does

engineering

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

"Isambard Kingdom Brunel" is a fascinating biography of one of the main engineers that brought the Industrial Revolution to fruition in England. Although I had never heard of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in any of my formal American education, apparently he's a big deal still in the UK. From

5-stars

Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero

In "Dying Every Day", one of history's greatest philosophers plays the tutor to one of history's most notorious dictators. Alexander had his Aristotle. Nero had his Seneca. Romm animates the famed Stoic and makes us see his world - an imperial Rome full of conniving courtiers, shifting alliances,