saleen998 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 What are the best biographies you would recommend? I've read quite a few which are really great. My top five are 1. Walt Disney by Neil Gabler 2. Adolf Hitler by John Toland 3. Einstein by Ronald Clark 4. The Virgin Way by Richard Branson 5. Call me Ted by Ted Turner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfp Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Shoe Dog was pretty fun and a very quick read. (Phil Knight of Nike) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowAppreciation Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Robert Caro's LBJ series is phenomenal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boilermaker75 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 The Chernow books I have read have been great, Alexander Hamilton and the House of Morgan. In both books Chernow discovered, or obtained access, to material no one perviously had. I have all of Chernow's other books and will be reading them soon. Also Feynman's books, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman and What do You Care What Other People Think are somewhat autobiographical and superb reads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielGMask Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Call me Ted by Ted Turner Einstein by Walter Isaacson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voodooking Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance All three of them have made a difference to my outlook on life and investing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wondering Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 1. Titan (about J.D. Rockefeller) by Chernow 2. The First Tycoon (about Cornelius Vanderbilt) by Stiles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buylowersellhigh Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Katherine Graham's autobiography is pretty good. Just finished it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tede02 Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Chernow's Washington: A Life. It is so good I don't want to finish it. I keep re-reading chapters. Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin. Snowball was good. Janet Lowe's short bio on Munger was good. Ed Thorp's autobiography was excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowAppreciation Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Katherine Graham's autobiography is pretty good. Just finished it. Same here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Too many... But if you haven't, you should probably read 'With the Old Breed' by E.B. Sledge. It's a memoirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cigarbutt Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Just finished: Gorbachev: His Life and Times by William Taubman https://www.amazon.com/Gorbachev-Life-Times-William-Taubman/dp/0393647013/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527084124&sr=8-1&keywords=gorbachev+taubman Detailed, well researched and fairly balanced (IMO). Fascinating account of the last Soviet period. Useful for those interested in capitalism versus other potential systems, international politics or the man himself who remains an enigma. Some highlights: -The Soviet regime contained the seeds of its own destruction and despite its inclination for authority and self-preservation nominated Gorbachev, a man who accelerated the chain reaction. Fascinating. -Interestingly, the introduction of glasnost increased the popularity of Gorbachev for a while but created a context that strenghtened oppositions (on both sides of the spectrum) and eventually undermined the potential perestroika reforms. Reforms threatened the central state that held the system together. -The Chernobyl disaster revealed how the system was rotten from the inside. -The rivalry between Gorbachev and Yelstin, the unusual populist champion of change, is very well covered. -Transition to a democratic system requires a solid institutional foundation. -Ethnic discontent can destabilize a cautious and calculated approach. -The way Putin ("black box") eventually consolidates his power with oligarchs is alluded to. State strengthened at the expense of individual freedoms. This happens to be the norm, rather than the exception, in regime "changes". -Gorbachev's goal was to play the game in order to change it using a "dual consciousness". In the end, he was overwhelmed by the task. -The author concludes by qualifying Gorbachev as a "tragic hero". -After 693 pages, you can come up with your own conclusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCG Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Shoe Dog was pretty fun and a very quick read. (Phil Knight of Nike) I gave up about half way through this book.I found the book being in chronological order, as well including so many minute details and stories, super boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorontoRaptorsFan Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Washington - A Life - Ron Chernow Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller - Ron Chernow Poor Charlie's Almanack - Charlie Munger Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist - Roger Lowenstein Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doughishere Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Anything on US. Grant. The new one by Ron Chernow is a good one to start with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
writser Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 Too many... But if you haven't, you should probably read 'With the Old Breed' by E.B. Sledge. It's a memoirs. Thanks for the tip. Impressive read. 'Defying Hitler' was another good WWII memoir, written by a 'nobody' in Germany who describes the rise of Hitler during the interbellum. 'Night' by Eli Wiesel was also a crazy read. FWIW like many others I really enjoyed 'Titan' and 'Snowball'. I found the Isaacson books to be a bit boring, I didn't even finish 'Einstein' and I'm in doubt as to whether I should buy the da Vinci book. 'Faraday, Maxwell and the electromagnetic field' was great. 'The Wright Brothers' was enjoyable. The Shannon book and Thorp book were also ok. At some point I'll probably try a few other Chernow books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doughishere Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Too many... But if you haven't, you should probably read 'With the Old Breed' by E.B. Sledge. It's a memoirs. Storm of Steel is a good one if your a war enthusiast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Too many... But if you haven't, you should probably read 'With the Old Breed' by E.B. Sledge. It's a memoirs. Storm of Steel is a good one if your a war enthusiast. 'American Caesar' (about Douglas MacArthur) and 'Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War' and by William Manchester are also recommended. 'Strong Men Armed' and 'Helmet for my Pillow' by Robert Leckie, about the U.S. Marines in the Pacific during WWII were also very good, as was 'Ghost Soldiers' by Hampton Sides. I also quite liked the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird ("American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doughishere Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 I've read the Leckie book 100% due to BOB. The thing that I found compelling about Steel is that it more or less just copies and pastes from the notes that junger took during the war. Much different style than the others that i feel are edited. The feel of Steel in my view is much more like reading the raw un-polished thoughts where as the others explains things to the readers and is just a different style. But Im a sucker for letters and diaries vs a polished book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 That sounds great. I ordered Storm of Steel. I already had it on a list somewhere, but there's a better chance I'll get to it within the next decade if I own it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boilermaker75 Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 Too many... But if you haven't, you should probably read 'With the Old Breed' by E.B. Sledge. It's a memoirs. Thanks for the tip. Impressive read. 'Defying Hitler' was another good WWII memoir, written by a 'nobody' in Germany who describes the rise of Hitler during the interbellum. 'Night' by Eli Wiesel was also a crazy read. FWIW like many others I really enjoyed 'Titan' and 'Snowball'. I found the Isaacson books to be a bit boring, I didn't even finish 'Einstein' and I'm in doubt as to whether I should buy the da Vinci book. 'Faraday, Maxwell and the electromagnetic field' was great. 'The Wright Brothers' was enjoyable. The Shannon book and Thorp book were also ok. At some point I'll probably try a few other Chernow books. I also loved "Faraday, Maxwell....'" but I am an EE professor, so I like anything on Faraday, Maxwell, Hertz, and Heaviside! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saluki Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 The Snowball: Warren Buffett by Alice Schroeder A Curious Discovery by John Hendricks The Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green by Janet Wallach The Match King: Ivar Kreuger by Frank Partnoy (author of FIASCO, a Munger recommendation) Ponzi by Donald Dunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 'The Billionaire Who Wasn't' was a good bio of Chuck Feeney. Inspiring guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saleen998 Posted June 10, 2018 Author Share Posted June 10, 2018 'The Billionaire Who Wasn't' was a good bio of Chuck Feeney. Inspiring guy. I agree; it's a good book. I had never even heard of Feeney (or Duty Free Shoppers for that matter) before I came across this book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doughishere Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 That sounds great. I ordered Storm of Steel. I already had it on a list somewhere, but there's a better chance I'll get to it within the next decade if I own it.. Another worthy read i found is Poilu. This one actually is about a French barrel maker who actually kept 19 notebooks throughout the war. By Louis Barahas. As I read these stories its hard to imagine we live on the same planet. He lives through Verdun. Hard to imagine some of this stuff is less than 100 years ago. Here's a The Great War video on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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