Gil Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I need a big list of (auto)-biographies for a reading list. A very, very big list. The reading level doesn't matter but I'd prefer middle school to adult level texts. Any respectable (as in factual) biography of an influential person from the last 2 or 3 hundred years will work. I want to include several athletes, artists, civic leaders, educators, explorers, immigrants, lay-people, mathematicians, pioneers, presidents, prodigies, scientists, social reformers and more. I don't mind if the biographies are largely Americans, but if I could get some diversity then that would be nice. Has this list already been compiled on this forum? If so please link me because I can't find it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Hmm, I remember enjoying a biography of J.R.R Tolkien I read in middle school, don't remember the author though. I don't recall reading many biographies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 DS8 is reading his way through the Landmark[1] and Signature[1] series of bios... probably more upper elementary than middle school... but great if you have a good library with ILL access. [1] http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/lm.htm [2] http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/signature.htm 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I also really like Kathleen Krull's Giants of Science series[1], also more upper elementary. DS8 has enjoyed the Einstein, Curie, and Da Vinci books. [1]http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=krull%20giants%20of%20science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 The first two that came to my mind would be a little young for middle grades.... I'll post them anyway... the Who Was.....? Series, and Childhood of Famous Americans series. Another series on the easier side (but nice illustrations) is The Science Stories Books by Beverley Birch (Pasteur's Fight against Microbes, etc.) Picture books, but not easy readers, and interesting at any age are biographies by Diane Stanley. Seconding the Landmark books. I read Winston Churchill's Landmark biography for my own reading a year or so back and loved it. My dd enjoyed the Alexander the Great one. DD also recently enjoyed Tiner's biography of Isaac Newton from the Sower Series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Albert Marrin does some great biographies. Most are upper middle grades/high school level (grades 7 & up), IMO. Thomas Paine Hitler Mao Tse-Tung Stalin - my dd#1 is reading this right now Napoleon Dr Jenner and the Speckled Monster Here are some ideas that have come up in past threads - some of which aren't quite the 'biography' you are looking for, but might be great to include anyway: Up From Slavery by Booker T Washington Crucibles by Jaffe -- not so much a biography as a history of chemstry from the alchemists to modern day, by way of short biographical sketches of major contributors Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes La Capital, The Biography of Mexico City by Kandell - a 700 year history of Mexico City, but contains a lot of historical figures The Warburgs and Titan (Rockefeller), both by Ron Chernow The Last Lion a biography of Winston Churchill (trilogy) Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 These are all from my shelves: Cleopatra - Stacy Schiff A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver - E. L. Koningsburg (about Eleanor of Aquitaine, more historical fiction than biography, but good for middle schoolers) Galileo's Daughter - Dava Sobel A More Perfect Heaven - Dava Sobel (Copernicus) Longitude - Dava Sobel (John Harrison) Men of Mathematics - E. T. Bell Madam Curie - Eve Curie (her daughter) From The Well Educated Mind history & autobiography section: Plutarch's Lives The Confessions - Augustine The Book of Margery Kempe Essays, Michel de Montaigne The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila Meditations - Descartes Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners - John Bunyan The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration - Mary Rowlandson Confessions - Rousseau The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Walden - Thoreau Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - Harriet Jacobs Life and Times of Frederick Douglass Up From Slavery - Booker T Washington Ecce Homo - Nietzsche Mein Kampf - Hitler An Autobiography - Gandhi The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas - Gertrude Stein The Seven Story Mountain - Thomas Merton Surprised by Joy - C S Lewis The Autobiography of Malcolm X Journey of a Solitude - May Sarton The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Born Again - Charles Colson Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodrigues The Road from Coorain - Jill Ker Conway All Rivers Run to the Sea - Elie Wiesel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Argh, the boards ate up my reply. The DK biographies are generally diverse and were well received here. Isaac Asimov's Biography Encyclopedia will give you at a glance entries to take bunny trails from. I know you asked for middle school and up but Mike Venezia writes life stories about artists and musicians and I think inventors too. I've found many quite delightful. Ignore if too young. Arvind Gupta's Books (click on books) offers many free downloads on biographies, science, etc. There is a collection of Asimov science books there too if you are interested. Keep scrolling down to choose. Men of Mathematics by Bell (my DH liked this one, I haven't finished it). The Man Who Knew Infinity (on Ramanujan, loved it!). Gribbin's book on Scientists (also very good). ETA: Fifty Famous People, and I think there are sequels too, by James Baldwin (currently free on Kindle). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 You could try the Lives of the Musicians series (artists, scientists, extraordinary women, presidents) series. Also, Mathematicians are People Too (there are two volumes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 DS8 is reading his way through the Landmark[1] and Signature[1] series of bios... probably more upper elementary than middle school... but great if you have a good library with ILL access. [1] http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/lm.htm [2] http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/signature.htm The Messner biographies are very good as well. http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/messner.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 The Messner biographies are very good as well. http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/messner.htm Wow. I'll have to check those out. They have a few unique additions like Descartes, Cushing, and Agassiz, etc over some other series... Since they have Paul Robeson and Big Bill Haywood, I presume they are liberal enough for us. Thx. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I recently read The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen - it covers Darwin's life post-Voyage, the years where he is developing The Theory. It's quite a good read, Quammen has become one of my favorite science writers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 My ds14 and I really like the Signature Lives series. They have a huge variety from different time periods and countries. I think that ds has read nearly every one that our library has! Here is a link: https://www.google.com/search?q=signature+lives+series&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=HMQ1VdbnF4LisAT-ioCgCg&ved=0CDYQsAQ&biw=1536&bih=791 so that you know what the covers look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Some of the best biographies I know are actually picture books. They're written on a higher reading level, but I know some parents and children think all picture books are just for little kids, so I don't want to suggest them unless you go "Yeah, sure!" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Some of the best biographies I know are actually picture books. They're written on a higher reading level, but I know some parents and children think all picture books are just for little kids, so I don't want to suggest them unless you go "Yeah, sure!" I agree. I assumed anyone looking for middle school resources had already read all of the Dianne Stanley and Demi biographies for a start... What other books would you recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenmsta Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 The sterling point series has a couple dozen total and we've loved the ones we've tried, Amelia Earhart, Geronimo, and Lawrence of Arabia. Middle school level. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenmsta Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 The sterling point series has a couple dozen total and we've loved the ones we've tried, Amelia Earhart, Geronimo, and Lawrence of Arabia. Middle school level. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Since you did ask, even though I'm not such a fan of biographies (dunno why...), I do enjoy the Don Brown (DON, not Dan!) books - Kid Blink Beats the World and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 Bumping for more recommendations and because someone else may benefit from this list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I didn't respond the first time because the question was so vague - I thought the responses you got were also a bit all over the map as a result. I agree with Tanaqui that the best biographies for middle schoolers are usually long form picture books. And there's a growing body of good YA and middle grades nonfiction that includes biographies but the way you phrased it made me think you maybe want adult level reading just that's appropriate for younger readers? I required that my 6th graders choose a longer biography to read this year and gave them a list of recommendations that were the following, all of which are biographies aimed specifically at middle school age readers: Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligaman The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different The Keeper by Tim Howard (young readers edition) I Am Malala (young readers edition) The Boy Who Harnassed the Wind (young readers edition) Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl Those might not all fit your "important figures" rule though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I am going to second the Marrin suggestion. We are reading the Napoleon biography by Marrin right now, and it's excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 Sorry for the confusion. In the OP I said that the reading level doesn't matter but that I prefer books on the middle school - adult reading range but only because they tend to contain a greater density of facts/details than many of the picture book biographies that we've read. However, I will remove the restriction of any reading level. I'm just looking for good-great biographies and too lazy busy to do all the ground work myself. I figured that the WTM Forums would have compiled book lists for nearly every genre/topic/grade or at least be able to compile a respectable list a whole lot faster and better than I ever could working by my lonesome, lol. I didn't respond the first time because the question was so vague - I thought the responses you got were also a bit all over the map as a result. I agree with Tanaqui that the best biographies for middle schoolers are usually long form picture books. And there's a growing body of good YA and middle grades nonfiction that includes biographies but the way you phrased it made me think you maybe want adult level reading just that's appropriate for younger readers? I required that my 6th graders choose a longer biography to read this year and gave them a list of recommendations that were the following, all of which are biographies aimed specifically at middle school age readers: Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligaman The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different The Keeper by Tim Howard (young readers edition) I Am Malala (young readers edition) The Boy Who Harnassed the Wind (young readers edition) Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl Those might not all fit your "important figures" rule though. Thanks, I'll add them to the list. I've gotta run real quick, I think someone may have started a fire in the kitchen.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I guess I'm still not totally sure what the focus is for the books. If it's just to read biographies as a genre, then you're getting lots of varied good ideas. If the focus is on aligning with history, then I'd suggest different things than if the focus is on reading quality, challenging nonfiction. And I'd probably suggest something else if it's just for a kid who loves to read biographies. My goal in my list for my kids was just "read a good longer nonfiction work" - I've been trying to get them to branch out their reading. But your goal may be really different. I hope nothing was actually on fire in the kitchen... though I sure know that feeling... :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Library Momma Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 We loved Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox. Especially since she was such a non-traditional swimmer -- always in the slowest lane, always considered "chubby", yet she was extraordinarily determined and motivated. It was a fast read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Great thread, Gil. It has definitely given me some ideas. I'm going to get younger to read Uncle Tungsten as both a longer book and to relate to our chemistry studies. Once a kid can handle it, I think the Autobiography of Frederick Douglass is amazing. But it definitely has some yucky stuff in it. My older read it at 13. I'm off to the library today with this thread in hand. (-: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 There are two excellent young-adult versions of books out - Unbroken and Boys in the Boat. DS12 has read both and love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc26 Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 There are two excellent young-adult versions of books out - Unbroken and Boys in the Boat. DS12 has read both and love them. I got these for my boys for Christmas. Looking forward to reading them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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