Ask HN: Recommend a biography?

So it is a biography of sorts, if it is possible to biographize a fictional(or possibly real) dog and focusing more on your request for important moments or changes in history... the Klondike gold rush was one of those.

Jack London's [0] book, Call of the Wild [1] is a great read and one that should be part of everyone's library.

I would imagine there are also biographies on Jack himself but if you are looking for a book that will transport you to another time filled with historical accuracy and adventure, you can't go wrong reading this one.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London#Gold_rush_and_firs...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Call_of_the_Wild

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8664353-unbroken

Roald Amundsen, and Chris Austin Hadfield have beautiful autobiographys I am reading just now. Torvald's "Just for fun" and Hardy's "Apology of a mathematition" and "A litte book about a big memory" and Feynman's two books are the biographies I can remember without thinking.

This is not related to history, but a recent book(within the last decade). It is an Autobiography. Particularly of interest to women and young girls. It is by Jayne-Anne Gadhia. The book is titled "The Virgin Banker"[0]

[0] https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1114504/the-virgin-banker/97...

The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro. 4 books with a fifth one on the way. Pretty big time investment but the books are mostly standalone.

Beware, Caro's biographies will spoil most other biographies for you. His attention to detail is just mind boggling and he has been working on these books since the early 1970s. He does not just cover events and actions but goes deep into the "why".

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

The most interesting biography I've read is "Lords of Finance" by Liaquat Ahamed, a biography of the four men who headed the New York Fed and the English, French and German central banks in the period between WWI and WWII. While you could argue it is a little light on biographical content, it gives a really excellent insight into the economic history of Europe between the wars, and how the economic fallout of WWI and the adherence to the gold standard ultimately contributed to the Great Depression.

In a similar vein, "The Man Who Knew" is a biography of Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. This book goes a bit more into the private life of the central banker but also examines how his monetary policies contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. It's a good read, though perhaps a little less critical of Greenspan than it could be.

Based on quality of writing and on the density of notes I took, two immediately come to mind:

- B.F. Skinner: A Life, by Daniel W. Bjork

- Winston Churchill, by Sebastian Haffner

Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.

The fist hand account of the most important figures of the 20th century, rich with details from his incredible memory.

Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War by Michael J. Neufeld (2007)

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (co-authored with Alex Haley, 1965)

One that is biography-ish but covers many people is The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

It's a very engaging read although a little science heavy.

Faraday: The Life by James Hamilton - HarperCollins Publishers (paperback) 2002. Considering that he received the equivalent of primary school education his brilliant mind was responsible for the first electric generator, which lead to the first electric motor. The biography provides many other examples why we should all appreciate his genius.

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For an interesting cross section of technology and important moment(s) in history, I'd recommend A Mind at Play about Claude Shannon and his work: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32919530-a-mind-at-play

My absolute favorite is the one on Wright Brothers, but that one is already mentioned by another member, so I will give the second best which is Walter Isaacson's biography of Leonardo Da Vinci. I have set myself the goal to regularly read the last chapter over again. He is so fascinating!

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

One of my fav books is an autobiography:

Michael Crichton - Travels

It's a lighthearted journey through his career, physical and mental/spiritual experiences. I've read it a few times now.