Why am I passionate about this?

The first biographer, Plutarch, wrote that “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." Biographies help kindle this flame by presenting a person who displayed such character and attempted such noble deeds that the reader should follow their example. The biographer narrates the events of a life well-lived and draws out examples for the reader of the virtues and vices, strengths and foibles, of the person whose life is on display. In this way, biographies help us to be better people by showing us either a model to follow or an example to avoid. 


I wrote

The Inferno

By Winston Brady,

Book cover of The Inferno

What is my book about?

The Inferno begins with Dante’s classic poem but is updated for the American experience, examining the ideals of the United…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Path to Power

Winston Brady Why did I love this book?

Robert Caro’s book is nothing less than a masterpiece.

I love it for the unique perspective Caro has for his subject, Johnson, which is rare among biographers. Most biographers love their subjects and want their readers to admire their subjects as well. They gloss over their faults or explain them away so the reader is left with the positive impression the biographer has. Not so with Caro. 

Caro admires Lyndon Johnson as a politician but also loathes him; he respects Lyndon’s radical ability to read and manipulate other individuals and Lyndon’s pure, unadulterated pursuit of power and higher office, but he despised Lyndon for his ability to use people, a “morality often bordering on amorality.” In this way, Caro’s biography helps the reader “be as wise as serpents, yet as innocent of doves,” to quote Matthew 10:16. He explains how Johnson committed deeds that were unjust and unethical and condemns them as such. 

I loved his biography for its uniquely and masterly portrayal of Johnson. Caro’s minute descriptions of Johnson’s mannerisms, pull quotes (“Do you want to be part of the ‘can’t get it club’ your whole life?” “The bottom of the heap”), and the way in which he described the motivations of Lyndon Johnson set in the context of the tumultuous 1960s. 

By Robert A. Caro,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Path to Power as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The greatest biography of our era ... Essential reading for those who want to comprehend power and politics' The Times

Robert A. Caro's legendary, multi-award-winning biography of US President Lyndon Johnson is a uniquely riveting and revelatory account of power, political genius and the shaping of twentieth-century America.

This first instalment tells of the rise to national power of a desperately poor young man from the Texas Hill Country, revealing in extraordinary detail the genesis of the almost superhuman drive, energy and ambition that set LBJ apart. It charts his boyhood through the years of the Depression to his debut…


Book cover of The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness

Winston Brady Why did I love this book?

James Monroe is my favorite Founding Father. He may not be the “indispensable man” like Washington or have penned the most influential words in American history, ”We hold these truths to be self–evident,” but Monroe’s contributions to the United States and American history rank among the most important of the Founding Fathers. 

Per the title, Monroe was the “last” of such influential leaders and the last president in the Virginia dynasty of presidents. Unger provides an excellent, thorough walk-through of Monroe’s life and the influences that shaped his character, as well as the sacrifices Monroe made on behalf of the United States.

Per Unger, Monroe could have used his position and his influence for personal enrichment but regularly turned down such opportunities because he felt these were not worthy of an American leader. In the end, Monroe died with significant debts coupled with a legacy as the last Founding Father. 

By Harlow Giles Unger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Last Founding Father as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this compelling biography, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals the epic story of James Monroe (1758-1831),the last of America's Founding Fathers,who transformed a small, fragile nation beset by enemies into a powerful empire stretching from sea to shining sea." Like David McCullough's John Adams and Jon Meacham's American Lion , The Last Founding Father is both a superb read and stellar scholarship,action-filled history in the grand tradition.


Book cover of American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

Winston Brady Why did I love this book?

Growing up in Virginia, I was forced to admire Thomas Jefferson. By “force,” I mean that we took frequent field trips to Monticello, Jefferson’s home, and Williamsburg, where Jefferson attended the College of William & Mary. I was brought to Jefferson’s homes across Virginia and have seen numerous statues of this great and valuable thinker, writer, and political leader.

But naturally, given Jefferson’s role in writing the Declaration of Independence and yet his ownership of slaves up until the day of his death raises important contradictions for any serious student of American history. In grappling with Jefferson, we grapple with the meaning of America and of America’s ideals for younger students today.  

Thomas Jefferson is, indeed, the most enigmatic of the Founding Fathers. He lived in such a way that he fell deeper and deeper into debt over the course of his lifetime; why?

Thomas Jefferson was a man of profound genius and sophistication, penning some of the most sublime words ever uttered. It is a privilege that the United States is grounded on the proposition “All men are created equal,” but what really drove Jefferson? 

Ellis’ book is fantastic on this front because he hits upon these contradictions—a sphinx, after all, poses a riddle that must be answered correctly, or else the monster eats you. Of the other biographies of Jefferson on the market, Ellis’ does a masterful job of walking the reader through the major events of Jefferson’s life, along with an explanation of why Jefferson made the choices he did.  

By Joseph J. Ellis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked American Sphinx as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For a man who insisted that life on the public stage was not what he had in mind, Thomas Jefferson certainly spent a great deal of time in the spotlight--and not only during his active political career. After 1809, his longed-for retirement was compromised by a steady stream of guests and tourists who made of his estate at Monticello a virtual hotel, as well as by more than one thousand letters per year, most from strangers, which he insisted on answering personally. In his twilight years Jefferson was already taking on the luster of a national icon, which was polished…


Book cover of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Winston Brady Why did I love this book?

Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin ranks among the top of Isaacson’s excellent biographies.

He provides thorough detail and background of Franklin’s life, examining him through the eyes of the quintessential American: an entrepreneur, a writer, a small businessman, a cosmopolitan, and a statesman (albeit lacking the higher offices). 

Isaacson briefly treats Franklin’s religious views and the reasons why Franklin moved away from the Puritan faith of his forebearers and embraced a creed more akin to deism. 

By Walter Isaacson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Benjamin Franklin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

During his 84-year life Benjamin Franklin was America's best scientist, inventor, publisher, business strategist, diplomat, and writer. He was also one of its most practical political thinkers. America's first great publicist, he carefully crafted his own persona, portrayed it in public and polished it for posterity. In this riveting new biography Walter Isaacson provides readers with a full portrait of Franklin's public and private life - his loyal but neglected wife, his bastard son with whom he broke over going to war with England, his endless replacement families and his many amorous, but probably unconsummated, liaisons. But this is not…


Book cover of His Excellency: George Washington

Winston Brady Why did I love this book?

Consider Joseph Ellis’ Founding Brothers more of a series of biographies–portraits of great individuals shaping history for the better–of such individuals during the most important period of their lives and in the history of our country.

Ellis’ masterful work focuses on the relationship between the Founding Fathers in the latter half of the eighteenth century, which, as the title suggests, was fraught with all the difficulties and rivalries one might expect as brothers. Figures like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington were men not unlike the rest of us, driven by passion, ambition, and the vision to see the American republic become a beacon of hope and freedom for the entire world. 

Yet, these passions and contrary views of the American experiment in self-government, at times, spilled out into the open, and Ellis does a masterful job elucidating the rivalries between these great men and what was at stake in various political decisions and cabinet debates.

Readers cannot help but see themselves in the members of the founding generation and will benefit from the uniquely human portrait Ellis provides of our nation’s most influential leaders. 

By Joseph J. Ellis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked His Excellency as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

National Bestseller

To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the Revolutionary era. Training his lens on a figure who sometimes seems as remote as his effigy on Mount Rushmore, Ellis assesses George Washington as a military and political leader and a man whose “statue-like solidity” concealed volcanic energies and emotions.

 

Here is the impetuous young officer whose miraculous survival in combat half-convinced him that he could not be killed. Here is the free-spending landowner whose debts to…


Explore my book 😀

The Inferno

By Winston Brady,

Book cover of The Inferno

What is my book about?

The Inferno begins with Dante’s classic poem but is updated for the American experience, examining the ideals of the United States and how America became embroiled in the political and cultural morass we find ourselves in today.

The reason? Men have forgotten God, and to alleviate the hopelessness that inevitably comes from living in a world without God, they turned to the state to care for them–and the state, filled with politicians greedy for power, was more than happy to oblige. This tragic scenario led college sophomore Evan to take his own life, only to find himself at the edge of a dark wood. Likewise, for the reader, the first page of The Inferno will take them on a very unexpected but fiery journey.

Book cover of The Path to Power
Book cover of The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness
Book cover of American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

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Book cover of Edge of the Known World

Sheri T. Joseph Author Of Edge of the Known World

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Why am I passionate about this?

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What is my book about?

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Why should I read it?

1 author picked Edge of the Known World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fans of Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake will be swept away by this riveting speculative fiction adventure and love story about family, genetic privacy, and the onrushing future of surveillance technology.

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Interested in Thomas Jefferson, Texas, and George Washington?

Thomas Jefferson 57 books
Texas 224 books