 | Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein by Abraham Pais
Buy new: $22.45 / Used from: $11.35 Rich with formulas that are only for the advanced physicists, this biography is otherwise very readable and it still is probably the best account of his life by his colleage Pais.
|
 | Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton (Cambridge Paperback Library) by Richard S. Westfall
Buy new: $42.75 / Used from: $26.49 Probably the smartest man of all time (when intelligence is measured as being capable of grasping abstract subject matter) this is the ultimate biography.
|
 | The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan by Robert Kanigel
Buy new: $12.48 / Used from: $4.85 One of the most interesting cases of lost genius, this moving account of Ramanujan is also very readable for non-mathematicians.
|
 | A Mathematician's Apology (Canto) by G. H. Hardy
Buy new: $12.91 / Used from: $5.00 Like The Man Who Knew Infinity, Ramanujan cannot be read without Hardy
|
 | The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer (Great Discoveries) by David Leavitt
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $2.97 One of the most curious persons by any measure, it is the tale of genius in War times, of questions about intellingence and machines that are still actual today.
|
 | Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow
Buy new: $12.89 / Used from: $7.95 Such a great read about the Titan of all times, the oil business and just the history of America in the late 19th century.
|
 | Enrico Caruso: My Father and My Family (Abr ed) (Opera Biography Series, No 2) by Andrew Farkas
Buy new: $21.33 / Used from: $2.94 One of the best biographies I have come across. A highly moving, honest and accurate account of his son, who himself kept wondering all his life why on earth he had to be the son of the tenor of the century. One of my favorite books!
|
 | Isadora: A Sensational Life by Peter Kurth
Buy new: $25.64 / Used from: $0.01 If you liked the Caruso book in my list, this is another one of a great artist in the same Edwardian period. Both books should have been famous. Hopefully they will be one day!
|
 | Saint-Exupery: A Biography by Stacy Schiff
Buy new: $12.24 / Used from: $1.95 Not at all famous, like the Isadora and the Caruso book, this also must be the definitive biography of one of those icons of the 19th century. Filled with beautiful anecdotes ('peace without Tony isn't really peace' to name one), this is an unforgettable read for those who like to dream.
|
 | Wilbur and Orville: A Biography of the Wright Brothers by Fred Howard
Buy used from: $24.98 Must be the best one of the Wilbur and Orville story. Again, like all of them in this list, it is all in the details that make those wonderful stories come alive. Read it!
|
 | Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon; Van Rijn, Rembrandt Harmensz Schama
Buy used from: $122.00 The definitive biography (maybe with 'The Great Rembrandt') of the life and times of (allow me to be chauvinistic) the greates painter of all time now and forever. It also has many, many great colour reproductions as well as non-snobistic, and very interesting analyses interpretations of the works.
|
 | Churchill by Roy Jenkins
Buy new: $16.32 / Used from: $0.24 With so much written about Churchill, one must pick 'the' biography. This is it. Roy Jenkins has the classical emotional detachment which make this book a delight to read. For instance his comment on Churchill crying 'a result not too difficult to achieve'. Also a moving passage on his 'we shall fight' speech, on what it meant for those who were young then, and who are old now. GREAT!
|
 | Uncertainty: The Life and Science of Werner Heisenberg by David C. Cassidy
Buy used from: $17.48 Excellent read and again one of those biographies that are not only life stories in themselves, but also put all in historical context. Especially his controversial life puts this on a par with Wernher von Braun, who also concentrated on his science in times of war, where perhaps other efforts would have been more appropriate.
|
 | Wernher Von Braun Crusader for Space: A Biographical Memoir by Ernst Stuhlinger
Buy new: $59.25 / Used from: $20.07 On a par with Uncertainty, life and times of Heisenberg, this is yet another good read about a controversial life.
|
Listmania!
