The Best Bios & Memoirs of November 2017

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose, by Joe Biden
The former vice president’s new memoir, his first since before entering the White House, covers an extraordinary and difficult year in the life of Biden’s family: the twelve months surrounding the decline and death of his son, Beau, from a malignant brain tumor in 2015. The book promises a portrait of life in and out of the White House during a year of political challenges and world travel, all while facing the loss of a son and navigating family responsibilities.

Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit, by Chris Matthews
Following up his JFK biography, MSNBC anchor Matthews turns his eye on Bobby, whose impact on the 1960s was almost as great as his brother’s. In Matthews’ extensively researched book, it becomes clear that Bobby had the potential to go even further than Jack, having eschewed becoming a naval officer in favor of a joining on as a common sailor. Through that experience, he developed the skills that Matthews suggests lead him to connect with voters from all walks of life.

Bannon: Always the Rebel, by Keith Koffler
In 2017, there’s probably no more impactful political operative than former White House Chief Strategist Bannon. Not only did he help engineer Donald Trump’s upset victory, he was one of the key voices guiding the administration over much of its first year. Whether you feel that’s very good or very bad thing, there’s no question the man has had a stunning impact on American life. Bannon gave pundit Keith Koffler hours of exclusive insider access with which he’s crafted a portrait of the controversial and consequential figure’s life and ideas.

Avedon: Something Personal, by Norma Stevens and Steven M. L. Aronson
Over the course of a 60-year career, Richard Avedon became the worlds most famous fashion and portrait photographer. In all that time, he cultivated a carefully controlled image and an impenetrable mystique. This new biography, co-written by his longtime business partner and friend, provides an intimate portrait of the man and his studio. The book also includes interviews and reminiscences from many of the famous faces who Avedon photographed.

Growing Up Fisher: Musings, Memories, and Misadventures, by Joely Fisher
The multi-talented actor/singer/director Joely Fisher has an incredible Hollywood pedigree: daughter of Eddie Fisher and Connie Stevens,  next-door neighbor to Debbie Reynolds and her half-siblings, Carrie and Todd, she’s also managed an impressive career and a 20-plus-year marriage in a town where such things just don’t happen. In her new memoir, she reflects on her unconventional upbringing, her wide-ranging career, and the loss of her friend, sister, and mentor Carrie.

President McKinley: Architect of the American Century, by Robert W. Merry
Often overshadowed by the president who succeeded him, Theodore Roosevelt, there’s very little that’s conventionally sexy about the career of the 25th U.S. president. Robert W. Merry makes the strong case that there’s much more to the life story of this two-term executive than debates over the gold standard and a dramatic and prolonged assassination. The last president to have served in the Civil War, McKinley’s reconfiguration of American’s global relationships lead us away from colonialism into a more modern form of power, setting the stage for the entire 20th century.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life, by Robert Dallek
Dallek’s career bona fides, dating back over 50 years, make him one of our indispensable presidential historians. Here he turns his eye on the second President Roosevelt, a figure whose legacy remains as relevant as ever. Dallek focuses on the things that make him so consequential: his ability to build consensus, and his willingness to put the presidency at the center of America’s political life. As an incredibly wealthy man who became a champion of the poor, Roosevelt was a study in contrasts with lessons that Dallek explores in this biography.

Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror, by Victor Sebestyen
The history of the early 20th century feels very present a century on, and it’s impossible to understand modern Russia with a grasp of the people and events surrounding the fall of the Empire and the rise of the Soviet Union. Central to that story is Lenin, whose life story is told here in the first major English-language biography in decades, drawing on new documents and papers only recently made available.

A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures, by Ben Bradlee
During Bradlee’s tenure as executive editor at The Washington Post, the newspaper won eighteen Pulitzer prizes, evolving under his leadership into an essential source of news and investigative journalism. His classic memoir, reissued with a new foreword by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, covers the scope of his career, including the Watergate stories and the battles over the Pentagon Papers.

Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs, by Douglas Smith
The life and death of Russian mystic, healer, and political consigliere Grigori Rasputin is shrouded in mystery and legend, and the true story has been incredibly hard to suss out. Douglas Smith gives it a go in this new biography, combining thorough new scholarship with documents that have long been forgotten or ignored. It’s not only the fascinating story of a pivotal and unique figure, but of the final days of imperial Russia.
Whose story most intrigues you?