Books like Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume III

01

Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume II

Robert A. Caro · Biography

Means of Ascent is the second volume of Robert Caro's multi-decade biography of Lyndon Johnson, covering the years between Johnson's defeat in the 1941 Senate race and his stolen victory in the 1948 Democratic primary.

A kindred biography read.

02

The Path to Power

Robert A. Caro · Biography

The first volume of Robert A.

Both dig into ambition.

03

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Doris Kearns Goodwin · Biography

Doris Kearns Goodwin's account of Abraham Lincoln's formation of his cabinet — which included his three main rivals for the 1860 Republican nomination: William Seward, Salmon Chase, and Edward Bates — is one of the most widely discussed leadership books of the twenty-first century and one of the most readable biographies of the Lincoln era.

Both dig into ambition.

04

The Best and the Brightest

David Halberstam · History

David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest, published in 1972, is both a history of American intervention in Vietnam and a study of institutional failure.

A kindred biography read.

05

Alexander Hamilton

Ron Chernow · Biography

Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton — immigrant, orphan, Revolutionary War aide-de-camp, first Secretary of the Treasury, founder of the American financial system, and victim of Aaron Burr's bullet — is the most comprehensive single-volume account of Hamilton's life and the book that most directly sparked the Hamilton revival in popular culture, including Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical.

Both dig into ambition.

06

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Ashlee Vance · Biography

Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk is the most comprehensive account of Musk's life and companies up to 2015, written with Musk's cooperation after an initial refusal and a long negotiation.

Both dig into ambition.

07

10% Happier

Dan Harris · Memoir

10% Happier is Dan Harris's account of discovering meditation after a panic attack live on Good Morning America in 2004 forced him to confront an anxiety problem he'd been managing with cocaine and a punishing work schedule.

Both dig into ambition.

08

Born Standing Up

Steve Martin · Memoir

Born Standing Up is Steve Martin's account of the decade-long grind that preceded his sudden, seemingly overnight fame as America's biggest stand-up comedian of the late 1970s.

Both dig into ambition.

09

Born to Run

Bruce Springsteen · Memoir

Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run is among the most substantive rock memoirs written, in part because Springsteen is a better prose writer than his public image suggests and in part because he chose to write about the things that actually shaped him rather than the things that made him famous.

Both dig into ambition.

10

Bossypants

Tina Fey · Memoir

Bossypants is Tina Fey's memoir and comic essay collection about her upbringing in suburban Pennsylvania, her years doing improv comedy in Chicago, her time as a writer and head writer at Saturday Night Live, her creation of 30 Rock, and the experience of being a woman in charge in show business.

Both dig into ambition.

11

Contact

Carl Sagan · Science fiction

Contact follows Ellie Arroway, an astronomer and SETI researcher who has spent her career scanning the skies for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Both dig into political power.

12

Ego Is the Enemy

Ryan Holiday · Self-help

Ego Is the Enemy is Ryan Holiday's argument that ego — the inflated sense of our own importance, the need to be seen and validated — is the most consistent obstacle to doing meaningful work and living well.

Both dig into ambition.