Ask HN: What are some good biographies to read?

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

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.

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.

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 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

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 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.

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

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.

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

Shantaram - amazing.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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..

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.

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

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

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.