mvd
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Fri Mar-26-04 02:08 PM
Original message |
Most well done/least well done biographies |
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Edited on Fri Mar-26-04 02:08 PM by mvd
I'm not including autobiographies here. I'm talking about books and movies, too.
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terrya
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Fri Mar-26-04 02:10 PM
Response to Original message |
1. "Truman" and "John Adams" by David McCullough |
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Both excellent biographies. Well researched and very readable.
Terry
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mvd
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Fri Mar-26-04 02:46 PM
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6. My grandfather owns that Adams biography |
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He also recommends it. I'll get around to a biography after I finish Grisham's "The Last Juror."
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felonious thunk
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Fri Mar-26-04 04:03 PM
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9. I loved the Truman biography |
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It's quite a time investment to read it though!
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LisaM
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Fri Mar-26-04 02:12 PM
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2. "Zelda" by Nancy Milford |
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Absolutely excellent, as is biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay ("Savage Beauty.") I think that "Zelda" is also the best biography I've ever read of F. Scott Fitzgerald, too, though it's not technically about him.
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bif
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Fri Mar-26-04 02:20 PM
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3. Power Broker by Robert Caro |
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About Robert Moses. Excellent bio. I hated the Churchill bios by William Manchester.
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mvd
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Fri Mar-26-04 03:52 PM
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7. What didn't you like about the Churchill bios? |
bif
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Fri Mar-26-04 03:59 PM
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8. I didn't care for his writing style |
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You couldn't pick a more interesting person to write about. And I really like the information about him, except almost ever parqagraph had a quote in the middle of a sentence. Yhe choppyness got to me after a while.
While Churchlill like to get naked every once in a while, "The English climate was not condusive" to streaking across Picidally Circus in the buff.
Okay, I made that up, but that style drives me crazy.
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mvd
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Fri Mar-26-04 02:24 PM
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4. I have picked my favorite |
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Last Train to Memphis, by Peter Guralnick. Biography of Elvis. Many call it Elvis's definitive biography, and I agree. It really shows how the world was changed post-Elvis.
Funny, I searched way back and did not find a topic on this.
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m-jean03
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Fri Mar-26-04 02:27 PM
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5. There was one about James Dean |
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that seemed to only be graphic descriptions of sex he'd allegedly had with other men. Depending on your POV, I guess, this could be good or bad. It was entertaining, I guess, in a trashy sort of way, but not very good as far as biographies go.
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DU
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Tue May 07th 2024, 04:02 AM
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