8 must-read biography memoir books like The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands

Cover of The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

By: H.W. Brands

4.75

Format: 335 pages, Paperback

National Bestseller He was the foremost American of his day, yet today he is little more than a my…

If you liked the biography memoir plot in The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands , here is a list of 8 books like this:

Cover of Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

1. Washington: A Life

By: Ron Chernow

4.16

Format: 904 pages, Hardcover

The celebrated Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of America. With a brea… read more

Similar categories in Ron Chernow's Washington: A Life book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • biography memoir
  • american revolution
  • nonfiction
"Many mickles make a muckle."

-Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life

"Washington grew as a leader because he engaged in searching self- criticism. “I can bear to hear of imputed or real errors,"

-Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life

"I can bear to hear of imputed or real errors. The man who wishes to stand well in the opinion of others must do this, because he is thereby enabled to correct his faults or remove the prejudices whic…"

-Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life

"An essential difference between the American and French revolutions was that the American version allowed a search for many truths, while French zealots tried to impose a single sacred truth that all…"

-Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life

Cover of Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough

2. Mornings on Horseback

By: David McCullough

4.09

Format: 445 pages, Paperback

Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique… read more

Similar categories in David McCullough's Mornings on Horseback book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
"I feel that as much as I enjoy loafing, there is something higher for which to live."

-David McCullough, Mornings on Horseback

"A man who will steal for me will steal from me." Theodore Roosevelt, dismissing on the spot one of his best cowhands who was about to claim for his boss an unmarked animal."

-David McCullough, Mornings on Horseback

"To his own children he was at once the ultimate voice of authority and, when time allowed, their most exuberant companion. He never fired their imaginations or made them laugh as their mother could, …"

-David McCullough, Mornings on Horseback

Cover of 1776 by David McCullough

3. 1776

By: David McCullough

4.09

Format: 386 pages, Paperback

In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with … read more

Similar categories in David McCullough's 1776 book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • history
  • politics
  • american revolution
  • nonfiction
"I lament the want of a liberal education. I feel the mist of ignorance to surround me - Nathanael Greene"

-David McCullough, 1776

"Indeed, bribery, favoritism, and corruption in a great variety of forms were rampant not only in politics, but in all levels of society."

-David McCullough, 1776

"It was a day and age that saw no reason why one could not learn whatever was required - learn vitally anything - by the close study of books."

-David McCullough, 1776

"as the Sword was the last resort for the preservation of our liberties, so it ought to be the first thing laid aside when those liberties are firmly established"

-David McCullough, 1776

Cover of The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands

4. The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

By: H.W. Brands

4.75

Format: 335 pages, Paperback

National Bestseller He was the foremost American of his day, yet today he is little more than a my… read more

Similar categories in H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • biography memoir
  • american revolution
  • nonfiction
Cover of Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America by Garry Wills

5. Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America

By: Garry Wills

3.95

Format: 272 pages, Paperback

In a masterly work, Garry Wills shows how Lincoln reached back to the Declaration of Independence t… read more

Similar categories in Garry Wills's Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • nonfiction
Cover of Truman by David McCullough

6. Truman

By: David McCullough

3.31

Format: 267 pages, Paperback

The Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Harry S. Truman, whose presidency included momentous events… read more

Similar categories in David McCullough's Truman book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
Cover of His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis

7. His Excellency: George Washington

By: Joseph J. Ellis

3.75

Format: 272 pages, Paperback

National Bestseller To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the e… read more

Similar categories in Joseph J. Ellis's His Excellency: George Washington book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • american revolution
  • nonfiction
Cover of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

8. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

By: Jon Meacham

3.44

Format: 336 pages,

Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this r… read more

Similar categories in Jon Meacham's American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • nonfiction

9. The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness

By: Harlow Giles Unger

3.81

Format: 336 pages,

Founding Father James Monroe (1751-1831) long outlived the birth of the country and became so rever… read more

Similar categories in Harlow Giles Unger's The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • nonfiction

10. With Malice Toward None: A Biography of Abraham Lincoln

By: Stephen B. Oates

3.40

Format: 96 pages, Paperback

"Full, fair, and accurate. . . . Certainly the most objective biography of Lincoln ever written." -… read more

Similar categories in Stephen B. Oates's With Malice Toward None: A Biography of Abraham Lincoln book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

Cover of Lincoln by David Herbert Donald

11. Lincoln

By: David Herbert Donald

4.19

Format: 714 pages, Paperback

A masterful work by Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Herbert Donald, Lincoln is a stunning portr… read more

Similar categories in David Herbert Donald's Lincoln book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
Cover of A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White Jr.

12. A. Lincoln

By: Ronald C. White Jr.

4.30

Format: 816 pages, Hardcover

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYThe Washington Post • The Philadelphia Inquirer • The Chr… read more

Similar categories in Ronald C. White Jr.'s A. Lincoln book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
Cover of Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris

13. Theodore Rex

By: Edmund Morris

4.18

Format: 772 pages, Paperback

Theodore Roosevelt and his two-term presidency (1901-9) deserve a king-size, seize-the-man biograph… read more

Similar categories in Edmund Morris's Theodore Rex book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
"Implicit in the stare of those eyes, the power of those knobbly hands, was labor's historic threat of violence against capital."

-Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex

"Yet there was no doubt that Theodore Roosevelt was peculiarly qualified to be President of all the people. Few, if any Americans could match the breadth of his intellect and the strength of his chara…"

-Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex

14. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

By: Joseph J. Ellis

5.00

Format: 299 pages, Paperback

Following his subject from the drafting of the Declaration of Independence to his retirement in Mon… read more

Similar categories in Joseph J. Ellis's American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

15. John Adams

By: David McCullough

3.71

Format: 435 pages,

The enthralling, often surprising story of John Adams, one of the most important and fascinating Am… read more

Similar categories in David McCullough's John Adams book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

16. Einstein: The Life and Times

By: Ronald William Clark

3.89

Format: None pages,

THE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY Albert Einstein was far more than the physicist who confidently claimed th… read more

Similar categories in Ronald William Clark's Einstein: The Life and Times book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

17. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

By: Walter Isaacson

4.33

Format: 201 pages, Paperback

Benjamin Franklin is the Founding Father who winks at us. An ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose … read more

Similar categories in Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin: An American Life book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

18. John Adams: A Life

By: John Ferling

4.09

Format: None pages, Paperback

John Ferling's masterful John Adams: A Lifeis the most comprehensive single-volume biography of the… read more

Similar categories in John Ferling's John Adams: A Life book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

19. The Story of My Experiments With Truth

By: Mahatma Gandhi

4.29

Format: 426 pages, Paperback

Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. In his classic autobiography h… read more

Similar categories in Mahatma Gandhi's The Story of My Experiments With Truth book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

Cover of Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel by Claudia   Clark

20. Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel

By: Claudia Clark

4.28

Format: 350 pages, Paperback

One of the great political friendships of the modern world, as told through key moments that shaped… read more

Similar categories in Claudia Clark's Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • politics
  • history
  • biography
  • nonfiction
"As she had done when she introduced the US president in Berlin, she addressed him publicly with the informal du for the first time since the NSA controversy in 2013."

-Claudia Clark, Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel

"Let me make two remarks. First I concentrate on the task ahead for 2016. I’m quite busy with that—thank you very much. And I’m looking with great interest in the American election campaign.’ For the …"

-Claudia Clark, Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel

"Obama’s next words captured the attention of the world and the amusement of those present. As he wagged his finger at the crowd, he scolded, ‘So stop it, all of you. I know you have to find something…"

-Claudia Clark, Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel

"In her usual manner, Merkel spoke in German. It is worth pointing out, however, that before the translator had an opportunity to convert her statements to English, Obama gave the chancellor and the p…"

-Claudia Clark, Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel

Cover of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

21. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

By: Jon Meacham

4.04

Format: 802 pages, Kindle Edition

In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and … read more

Similar categories in Jon Meacham's Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power book and H.W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • politics
  • biography memoir
  • american revolution
  • nonfiction
"No government can be maintained without the principle of fear as well as duty."

-Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

"Jefferson was the rare leader who stood out from the crowd without intimidating it."

-Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

"Jefferson was ambivalent about executive power – until he bore executive responsibility."

-Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

"Sometimes paranoids have enemies, and conspiracies are only laughable when they fail to materialize."

-Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

14 Top history books like The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands

Transform Your Habits

Washington: A Life

Ron Chernow

4.16

Transform Your Habits

Mornings on Horseback

David McCullough

4.09

Transform Your Habits

1776

David McCullough

4.09

Transform Your Habits

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

H.W. Brands

4.75

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7 best-selling audiobook books like Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Transform Your Habits

Washington: A Life

Ron Chernow

4.16

Transform Your Habits

James Madison

Richard Brookhiser

3.75

Transform Your Habits

John Quincy Adams

Harlow Giles Unger

4.02

Transform Your Habits

Alexander Hamilton

Ron Chernow

3.77

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