Biography

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand set during WWII in the South Pacific and Japanese prison camps follows Louie’s struggles through the POW camps. This book is one of the best non-fiction books about WWII ever written because it puts you in the POW camps with Louie and his comrades.

Becoming by Michelle Obama is one of the most powerful memoirs ever written. It is not an inspirational one nor a controversial one not even a political book of secrets - the book's strength lies in it's simple candid ring side view of a stellar life of a woman of great importance.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a non-fiction account of the life of Christopher McCandless, a young man who, upon graduating from college in 1990, gave away all his money and took up a life of wandering the country, mostly in the western and southwestern states.

Einstein- His Life and Universe is fantastic. Isaacson presents a brilliant, captivating and detailed assessment of Einstein's life. We are presented with the picture of an intellectual who isn't without error, a man haunted by antisemitism and past alliances to radicals and subversives.

In The Professor and the Madman, the author Simon Winchester introduces us to two very different men whose lives converge in an unlikely way, which involved the monumental task of creating The Oxford English Dictionary, The history of the work that came before the OED was very interesting, and may have been my favorite part of the book.

Attitude is Everything by Jawed Habib is both unique and well written. Jawed Habib is masterful at squeezing an immense amount of helpful, practical advice into this short, easy-to-read, anecdote-filled book.

Becoming Steve Jobs is based not only on a quarter-century of reporting on the company but on interviews with huge numbers of the people who knew the man. It’s a monumental achievement.

While Papa CJ is widely known for being a Comedian, this book, Naked by Papa CJ,  isn’t all fun and games. I would have adored this book from composed of nothing but only his side-splitting humor, I can understand why he took the opportunity to voice his opinions...

The best biography books give us a satisfying glimpse into a great person’s life, while also teaching us about the context in which that person lived. Nothing tells us more about how to be alive now than learning from those who have gone before.