The 10 best biographies from the past year feature exceptional individuals who profoundly influenced literature, art, music, entertainment, politics, spycraft, and the long fight for civil rights.
—Donna Seaman, Booklist Editor-in-Chief
“Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution.”By Molly Beer. 2025. Norton.
Beer illuminates the fascinating life of Angelica Schuyler Church, who grew up in the heart of the American Revolution, then lived in Paris and London, impressing the likes of Thomas Jefferson and her brother-in-law, Alexander Hamilton.
“Baldwin: A Love Story.” By Nicholas Boggs. 2025. Farrar.
Boggs casts light on the parallel developments in literary giant Baldwin’s writings and relationships, including love affairs and his bond with his mentor, painter Beauford Delaney.
“Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life.” By Dan Nadel. 2025. Scribner.
In the first major biography of iconic cartoonist Crumb, Nadel chronicles Crumb’s life and deeply influential work within social and historical contexts to create a revealing and nuanced portrait of an artist and an art form.
“Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television.” By Todd S. Purdum. 2025. Simon & Schuster.
Purdum tracks how after young, talented, and savvy Desi Arnaz and his family fled Cuba, he turned to music to support himself, bringing Latin music to American audiences, then, with his wife Lucille Ball, revolutionized television.
“The Determined Spy: The Turbulent Life and Times of CIA Pioneer Frank Wisner.” By Douglas Waller. 2025. Dutton.
Waller portrays Frank Wisner, who, as head of the CIA’s Office of Policy Coordination during the 1950s, created many notable covert operations, from the overthrow of Iran’s Mohammad Mosaddegh to efforts to push back Communism around the world.
“John Lewis: A Life.” By David Greenberg. 2024. Simon & Schuster.
This richly detailed biography of iconic civil rights hero John Lewis portrays him as a man of strong principles, chronicling his extraordinary life and achievements as an activist and congressman with resonant precision.
“Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live.” By Susan Morrison. 2025. Random.
Saturday Night Live is a veritable institution and Morrison takes a gimlet-eyed look at the powerful man behind it, Lorne Michaels, in a deft and insightful look at an enigmatic and influential figure.
“Mark Twain.” By Ron Chernow. 2025. Penguin Press.
Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Chernow examines Twain in all his guises—devoted family man, writer, publisher, entrepreneur, and inventor—in a monumental and definitive portrait.
“Surreal: The Extraordinary Life of Gala Dalí.” By Michèle Gerber Klein. 2025. Harper.
As Klein documents in this eye-opening landmark biography, artist Salvador Dalí would not have been an international sensation without Gala, his more sophisticated Russian wife, muse, and manager.
“This Is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music, and the Long Civil Rights Movement.” By Gayle F. Wald. 2025. Univ. of Chicago.
Wald recounts the singular life of Ella Jenkins (1924–2024), beloved “First Lady of Children’s Music” and civil rights activist who revolutionized children’s music and music education.
This article was originally published in Booklist Reader, the magazine for library patrons, from the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book review publication, Booklist.
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Image: Detail from “Mark Twain” by Ron Chernow.
