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1. 

   Shane Landrum

   It stands out to me that all titles suggested so far are biographies of men. If you’re looking for a range of approaches to biography, it’s important to see how a subject’s gender modifies the style and shape of the story; often this has to do with what sources are available for writing women’s lives. Worth considering and mostly focused on the 17th-19th centuries:

   Eve LaPlante, American Jezebel (2004/5)

   Paula Giddings, Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching (2008)

   Linda Colley, The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh

   John Demos, The Unredeemed Captive

   Alfred Young, Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier

   December 31, 2009, 3:53 pm Reply
2. 

   John Matzko

   Here are some other suggestions:

   Roland Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (1950) [You'll find Erickson almost unendurable.]
   George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards (2004)
   David McCullough, Truman (1993)
   K. M. Elisabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary (1977)
   Sam Tanenhaus, Whittaker Chambers (1998)

   I think Sandberg’s treatment of Lincoln takes too many poetic liberties–but of course, that too is “different way to do biography.” Freeman’s Lee is wonderfully complete, but few these days would read four volumes about anyone by such a fervent admirer as Freeman.

   December 21, 2009, 7:00 pm Reply
3. 

   Lincoln Mullen

   Thanks for the suggestions, Jon. I’ll probably look at Young Man Luther for sure. I’m no proponent of psychobiography, but perhaps there is something to learn from the approach.

   December 14, 2009, 2:15 pm Reply
4. 

   Jonathan Newell

   For what it’s worth:

   American Caesar by Manchester
   His Father’s Son: The Life of Randolph Churchill by Churchill
   Lee by Freeman
   Young Man Luther by Erickson (for a rather different approach)

   December 11, 2009, 7:37 am Reply

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