Tag: biography
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Carson McCullers: A Life by Mary Dearborn
Carson McCullers wrote what she knew. That’s one of the saddest things I can imagine
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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Essential reading. Even if you have no interest in American history or the Civil War.
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Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon by William D. Cohan
The most readable corporate profile I have read in years, maybe ever, but Cohan has really written detailed biographies of Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. It succeeds at that level. Cohan sums up the first eight decades of GE’s existence in about 150 pages, which felt way too rushed. But when Welch shows up, Cohan’s…
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G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverley Gage
I took my time with this — it’s 730+ pages of dense, small type, narrow margins. It’s a beast. It cost $60 Canadian (at Ben McNally books – one of my absolute faves). But it was worth it. I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, and it’s only been the last decade or so…
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Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Isaacson is such a good writer. This book is even better alongside newer books like The Innovators and Creativity Inc which cover some of the same ground from different perspectives. I found it dragged a bit during Jobs’ victory lap at Apple, mostly because underdogs are easier to root for than victors, but regardless, this is a great book…
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The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson
The first third or so felt like a bit of a slog – the author is dealing with really complicated science, and it’s not easy to simplify. He also gets bogged down in details that time will erase – deep in the weeds on disagreements and lawsuits, that could have been 25 pages shorter. However…