I was pondering—as one does—what makes history come alive, and I noticed listeners often say, “This is the biography X deserves!” when they love a title. Sometimes biographies are about multiple people or a famous event, but a great biography manages through deep research and narrative arc to provide a fresh take on a familiar subject. Here, I’ve curated my favorite biographies that reveal a “household name” in a whole new way in audio; all of them feature rich historic detail and unpausable, stellar narration. Enjoy!
Jesus Christ
To look at the historical Jesus within the context of Roman-occupied Palestine seems to fascinate everyone: Christians, atheists, and adherents to other religions. The author’s narration adds to the experience of Zealot.
Genghis Khan
It took an anthropologist—who spent years learning Mongolian, living on the steppes for a part of each year, and listening for the truth of Genghis Khan’s life—to flesh out a biography of a man whose life may actually have been bigger than his myth.
George Washington
The father of our country, up close and personal. Alexis Coe delves into primary sources to assemble a picture of Washington that includes but is not limited to the truth about those wooden teeth, his complex and loving relationship with family members, the enslaved people he owned, and of course his political and military wisdom.
Ulysses S. Grant
The Civil War didn’t win itself, people. Grant was a brilliant military supply problem-solver who inspired the loyalty of those he commanded, and he was an underrated president too. Ron Chernow’s prose and Mark Bramhall’s narration are both sublime!
Juneteenth
Almost everyone has heard of Juneteenth, but it took Annette Gordon-Reed’s essays to drive home the deep and multifaceted meaning of the holiday. Growing up in Texas, she shares how Juneteenth history is a part of her state’s, and our nation’s, history.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I love the Little House books, although they aren’t perfect. Prairie Fires explores how the real Ingalls family was playing a pioneer game they couldn’t win, and how Laura Ingalls Wilder overcame and transmuted her personal grief into beloved, and flawed, works of fiction.
Winston Churchill
I tried not to be a fan of this book (I was Churchill-ed out, I guess), but Editor Kat’s interview with Erik Larson, and John Lee’s narration, brought out the greatness of the story. I got chills when I listened to Churchill’s 1941 Christmas Eve speech (included in the audiobook), and to know what was behind it.
