Best Biographies of 2018

by Gary Scharnhorst

A lively, richly detailed, and sharply perceptive biography. Full review >

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by Lauren Hilgers

This excellent book makes a powerful argument for why the U.S. should always remain a place of sanctuary, benefiting... Full review >

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by Clemantine Wamariya & Elizabeth Weil

Not quite as attention-getting as memoirs by Ismail Beah or Scholastique Mukasonga, but a powerful record of the refugee... Full review >

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by Sven-Eric Liedman

Outstanding. Not the book for a budding Marxist to start with, but certainly one to turn to for reference and deeper insight. Full review >

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by Jenny Uglow

A well-wrought life of an eminent Victorian who merits our broader acquaintance. Full review >

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by Julian Jackson

A long but excellent, highly useful addition to the library of modern European history as well as the political history of... Full review >

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by David W. Blight

A masterful, comprehensive biography, particularly of Douglass’ Civil War, Reconstruction, and Gilded Age years and... Full review >

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by Jane Sherron De Hart

A monumental biography of one of the most influential and revered Supreme Court justices of the last century. Full review >

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by Zachary Leader

Though sometimes overly detailed, this is a top-notch exploration of one of the most important midcentury writers. Full review >

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by Doris Kearns Goodwin

In intimate, knowing ways, Goodwin crafts history as aspiration—or at least inspiration—for readers; let’s hope a hefty... Full review >

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by Miranda Seymour

A top-notch biography. Full review >

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by Anna Beer

A penetrating, spirited recounting of a courtier’s roiling life and times. Full review >

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by Ramachandra Guha

Superb. On nearly every page, Guha offers evidence why Gandhi remains relevant in the world 70 years after his death. Full review >

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by Gunnar Decker ; translated by Peter Lewis

A richly detailed and supremely sensitive portrayal of an artist obsessed with the “terrible and magnificent” act of... Full review >

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by Andrew Roberts

The most comprehensive single-volume biography of Churchill that we have in print and a boon for any student of the... Full review >

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