Books like Washington: A Life

01

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 legacy.

02

Grant

Ron Chernow · Biography

Ron Chernow's biography of Ulysses S.

A kindred biography read.

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 leadership.

04

Lenin

Victor Sebestyen · Biography

Victor Sebestyen's Lenin is a biography that aims to restore the man behind the mythology — both the Soviet mythology that made him a saint and the anti-communist one that made him a simple monster.

Shares leadership and revolution with Washington: A Life.

05

The Black Jacobins

C.L.R. James · History

The Black Jacobins is C.L.R.

Shares leadership and revolution with Washington: A Life.

06

John Adams

David McCullough · Biography

David McCullough's biography of John Adams, published in 2001, was a commercial phenomenon that spent years on bestseller lists and won the Pulitzer Prize.

Both dig into legacy.

07

Steve Jobs

Walter Isaacson · Biography

Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was authorized by Jobs himself, who gave Isaacson more than forty hours of interviews and opened up his family, friends, and colleagues to the same scrutiny.

Both dig into leadership.

08

A Promised Land

Barack Obama · Memoir

A Promised Land is the first volume of Barack Obama's presidential memoirs, covering his 2008 campaign through the first two and a half years of his presidency, ending with the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

Both dig into leadership.

09

Accelerate

Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim · Business

Accelerate is the research-backed account of what actually makes software delivery teams fast without sacrificing stability.

Both dig into leadership.

10

American Moonshot

Douglas Brinkley · History

Douglas Brinkley's American Moonshot focuses less on the engineering triumph of Apollo 11 than on the political decision that made it possible: John F.

Both dig into leadership.

11

Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity

Frank Slootman · Business

Amp It Up is Frank Slootman's account of how he approaches leading organizations through rapid growth.

Both dig into leadership.

12

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

James M. McPherson · History

James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom, published in 1988, is the standard one-volume history of the Civil War era and won the Pulitzer Prize in the year of its publication.

Both dig into slavery.