The most inspiring biographies

For years I resisted reading Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro’s four-volume (soon-to-be-five) series on Lyndon Baines Johnson. 

Growing up in the 1960s, I disliked Johnson’s disastrously tragic approach to the Vietnam War, and I couldn’t imagine reading a four-volume series on someone “I didn’t like.” But after fifty pages I was hooked. Caro taught me that the role of a biographer is to seek to understand their subject, not excessively praise or condemn them. 

The series also showed me how to incorporate just the right amount of context in the narrative (not too much, not too little). The book is also a study of Ambition and its consequences. After reading this series you’ll understand how Congress operates, and how even deeply- flawed people can still do good things, like LBJ’s commitment to pass civil rights legislation after JFK’s tragic assassination.

There are many books on Martin Luther King but this is the definitive one, certainly the place to start. 

Eig is a master of narrative pacing and the use of anecdotes to bring his subject to life. The book totally engaged me, even thrilled me, especially his treatment of King’s 1963 “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” the largest gathering for civil rights of its time. 

His masterful pacing and incorporation of life-giving details are truly brilliant. Eig provides a balanced portrayal of King, his talents and flaws, the motivating role of his calling as a pastor, and reveals just how hard the civil rights struggle was on King and his family. Even King’s many enemies are portrayed in an understanding way (although they were largely driven by evil and hate). 

This book will thoroughly absorb you and deepen your appreciation for one of America’s greatest citizens.

This is a World War II memoir by United States Marine Eugene Sledge, first published in 1981. 

It is a powerful depiction of war, honest and authentic, describing what it was like to fight in some of the fiercest battles of World War II. The writing is vivid and gripping, sometimes humorous, but mostly reflective of the horrors of war. There is a very refreshing “non-commercial” tone to the narrative.

Sledge originally wrote this as a private memoir for his immediate family, a way to finally tell them what he could never verbalize in person. Sledge’s passion comes through on every page, a reminder that the best books come from the heart.  

Billy Graham preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to some 215 million people in more than 185 countries. He once preached to a crowd estimated at 1.1 million people in Seoul, South Korea. What set him apart and contributed to his incredible gifts? 

In this engaging and comprehensive book, William Martin gives readers a better understanding of Graham’s strengths and weaknesses and the all-consuming nature of leading a powerful ministry for over fifty years.

From President Truman to President Trump, the evangelist offered spiritual counsel to these and other world notables. Martin describes the differing relationships Graham had with these leaders, sometimes tinged with regret, especially Graham’s fraught relationship with Richard Nixon. 

This captivating autobiography explains why there is no such thing as an overnight success.

Nike founder Phil Knight provides a startingly honest portrait of what the path to business success really looks like. Knight and his scrappy colleagues faced a relentless series of challenges, setbacks that inevitably accompany an entrepreneur’s journey. 

For decades Knight and his oddball crew confronted obstacles and failures that required persistence, creativity, and a deep dedication to a dream. This book showed me that adversity is an inevitable part of life, and it can take many forms.

Shoe Dog taught me that the most captivating stories are filled with adversity, conflict, and obstacles; readers are brought into the journey, gaining inspiration for their own lives.