Biographies

About Biographies

Book TV regularly covers author talks on biographies of prominent and historical figures. These can be searched by author name or subject and viewed here. IN this category, you will also find autobiographies.

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Coming Up on Book TV

Rehnquist: A Personal Portrait of the Distinguished Chief Justice of the United States Herman Obermayer Next air time: Saturday, November 21st at 8am (ET)	2009 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NONFICTION WINNER - The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt T.J. Stiles Next air time: Saturday, November 21st at 11pm (ET)
Going Rogue: An American Life Sarah Palin Next air time: Sunday, November 22nd at 5:45pm (ET)

Archived Programs

Programs shown in this archive cover the past year. To search for programs in earlier years, please use the search functionality above.

Anne Heller, "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" and Jennifer Burns, "Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right" Jennifer Burns; Anne Heller Last aired: November 14, 2009	Brother West: Living and Loving Outloud, A Memoir Cornel West Last aired: November 8, 2009
Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife Francine Prose Last aired: November 1, 2009	2009 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NONFICTION WINNER - The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt T.J. Stiles Last aired: October 24, 2009
Clara's War: One Girl's Story of Survival Clara Kramer Last aired: October 18, 2009	The Emperor's New Clothes: Exposing the Truth from Watergate to 9/11 Richard Ben-Veniste Last aired: October 5, 2009
The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed Judy Shepard Last aired: October 4, 2009	LIVE Call-in with Judy Shepard, author of "The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed" Judy Shepard Last aired: October 4, 2009
True Compass: A Memoir Edward Kennedy Last aired: September 21, 2009	American Radical: The Life and Times of I.F. Stone D.D. Guttenplan Last aired: September 13, 2009
Kill Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas Paul McGeough Last aired: September 7, 2009	The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire Linda Himelstein Last aired: September 7, 2009
The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Pico Iyer Last aired: September 6, 2009	Peter Canellos and Team at the Boston Globe, "Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy" Team at The Boston Globe Last aired: August 30, 2009
War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier John Ross Last aired: August 29, 2009	Robert Novak author of "The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington" Robert Novak Last aired: August 23, 2009
Illustrator & Political Cartoonist David Levine David Levine Last aired: August 23, 2009	Charles Darwin, Geologist Sandra Herbert Last aired: August 23, 2009
The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and The Age of Revolution Alex Storozynski Last aired: August 23, 2009	American Conversation with E.L. Doctorow and Allen Weinstein E.L. Doctorow Last aired: August 22, 2009
Master of War: The Life of General George H. Thomas Benson Bobrick Last aired: August 15, 2009	A Different Life: Growing Up Learning Disabled and Other Adventures Quinn Bradlee Last aired: August 10, 2009
Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin Norah Vincent Last aired: August 9, 2009	Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life Gerald Martin Last aired: August 8, 2009
This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Last aired: August 1, 2009	Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang Zhao Ziyang Last aired: July 20, 2009
The Nixons: A Family Portrait Ed Nixon Last aired: July 19, 2009	First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong James Hansen Last aired: July 18, 2009
Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari Pat Shipman Last aired: July 4, 2009	Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln John Stauffer Last aired: July 4, 2009
Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918 Jeffrey Perry Last aired: July 4, 2009	Loon: A Marine Story Jack McLean Last aired: July 4, 2009
Right Time, Right Place: Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement Richard Brookhiser Last aired: July 4, 2009	Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America Geoffrey Canada; Paul Tough Last aired: July 3, 2009
The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One David Kilcullen Last aired: June 28, 2009	Eyes on the Horizon: Serving on the Front Lines of National Security Gen. Richard Myers Last aired: June 28, 2009
By His Own Rules: The Ambitions, Successes, and Ultimate Failures of Donald Rumsfeld Bradley Graham Last aired: June 28, 2009	The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience Kirstin Downey Last aired: June 14, 2009
Last Rites John Lukacs Last aired: June 13, 2009	Gringo: A Coming of Age in Latin America Chesa Boudin Last aired: June 1, 2009
Practicing Catholic James Carroll Last aired: May 31, 2009	Donald Worster, "A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir" and Philip Fradkin, "Wallace Stegner and the American West" Philip Fradkin; Donald Worster Last aired: May 24, 2009
Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde Jeff Guinn Last aired: May 24, 2009	A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy Thomas Buergenthal Last aired: May 24, 2009
David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican on the Rehnquist Court Tinsley Yarbrough Last aired: May 17, 2009	War By Other Means: An Insider's Account of the War on Terror John Yoo Last aired: May 9, 2009
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University Kevin Roose Last aired: May 9, 2009	Life of William Grimes, The Runaway Slave William Andrews; Regina Mason Last aired: May 2, 2009
Book TV Civics Bus - Michael Largo, Genius and Heroin Michael Largo Last aired: April 26, 2009	Walter Isaacson, "Einstein: His Life and Universe" Walter Isaacson Last aired: April 25, 2009
Stand for the Best: What I Learned After Leaving My Job as CEO of H&R Block to Become a Teacher and Founder of an Inner-City Charter School Thomas Bloch Last aired: April 19, 2009	Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People William Iggiagruk Hensley Last aired: April 5, 2009
2008 Miami Book Fair: Art of Biography Panel Nancy Milford; Stacy Schiff; Les Standiford; Edmund White Last aired: April 4, 2009	Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life Adam Gopnik Last aired: March 29, 2009
2006 National Book Festival: John Hope Franklin "Mirror to America" John Hope Franklin Last aired: March 28, 2009	Jay Allison, "This I Believe" Jay Allison Last aired: March 22, 2009
Nuclear Heuristics: Selected Writings of Albert and Roberta Wohlstetter Albert Wohlstetter; Roberta Wohlstetter Last aired: March 22, 2009	The Life and Times of the Shah Gholam Reza Afkhami Last aired: March 16, 2009
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity Bill O'Reilly Last aired: March 15, 2009	"The Reagan I Knew" William F. Buckley Last aired: March 8, 2009
Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War T.J. Stiles Last aired: March 7, 2009	John Maynard Keynes: 1883-1946: Economist, Philosopher, Statesman Robert Skidelsky Last aired: March 1, 2009
Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk - BOOK PARTY Ben Carson Last aired: March 1, 2009	Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington Robert Norrell Last aired: February 28, 2009
My Private War: Liberated Body, Captive Mind - A World War II POW's Journey Norman Bussel Last aired: February 21, 2009	Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance Barack Obama Last aired: February 17, 2009
Memorial for Studs Terkel Multiple Speakers Last aired: February 15, 2009	The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Discovery That Changed the Course of History Thomas Hager Last aired: February 1, 2009
Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East Edward Djerejian Last aired: February 1, 2009	2006 BookExpo America with John Updike, Barack Obama, Amy Sedaris, and Marie Arana Marie Arana; Barack Obama; Amy Sedaris; John Updike Last aired: February 1, 2009
Dream in Color: How the Sanchez Sisters Are Making History in Congress Linda Sanchez; Loretta Sanchez Last aired: January 26, 2009	Ida: A Sword Among Lions Paula Giddings Last aired: January 25, 2009
Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope Jenna Bush Last aired: January 19, 2009	Michelle Liza Mundy Last aired: January 19, 2009
Willis Carto and the American Far Right George Michael Last aired: January 12, 2009	Renegade for Peace & Justice: Congresswoman Barbara Lee Speaks for Me Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) Last aired: January 11, 2009
Thanks for Listening: High Adventures in Journalism and Diplomacy Patricia Gates Lynch Last aired: January 3, 2009	The Radical Jack London: Writings on War and Revolution Jonah Raskin Last aired: January 3, 2009
2008 Eagle Forum: Benjamin Wiker "10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn't Help" Benjamin Wiker Last aired: January 2, 2009	A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It Stephen Kinzer Last aired: December 28, 2008
Letter To My Daughter Maya Angelou Last aired: December 28, 2008	Harry S. Truman Robert Dallek Last aired: December 28, 2008
The Eccentric Billionaire: John D. MacArthur - Empire Builder, Reluctant Philanthropist, Relentless Adversary Nancy Kriplen Last aired: December 26, 2008	The Agitator's Daughter: A Memoir of Four Generations of One Extraordinary African-American Family Sheryll Cashin Last aired: December 26, 2008
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life Alice Schroeder Last aired: December 26, 2008	Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe Last aired: December 25, 2008
John Jay: Founding Father Walter Stahr Last aired: December 21, 2008	The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion Marcia Mitchell Last aired: December 21, 2008
Samuel Adams: A Life Ira Stoll Last aired: December 8, 2008	The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life - His Own David Carr Last aired: December 7, 2008
Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy William Phelps Last aired: December 7, 2008	The Beautiful Soul of John Woolman, Apostle of Abolition Thomas Slaughter Last aired: December 7, 2008
Step by Step: A Memoir of Hope, Friendship, Perseverance, and Living the American Dream Bertie Bowman Last aired: December 1, 2008	Honor Moore "The Bishop's Daughter" Honor Moore Last aired: November 30, 2008
Enemy of the State: The Trial and Execution of Saddam Hussein Michael Newton Last aired: November 24, 2008	Speaking for Myself: My Life from Liverpool to Downing Street Cherie Blair Last aired: November 24, 2008
2008 Miami Book Fair: Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL), "A Sense of Belonging: From Castro's Cuba to the U.S. Senate, One Man's Pursuit of the American Dream" Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) Last aired: November 24, 2008

This Weekend's TV Schedule

Beginning Saturdays at 8am (ET)

Highlights

Senate Health Care Debate Coverage
U.S. Senate
Next air time: Saturday, November 21st, at 10am (ET)
Approx. 11 hr.

2009 National Book Awards
Multiple Authors
Next air time: Saturday, November 21st, at 9pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 30 min.

2009 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NONFICTION WINNER - The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
T.J. Stiles
Next air time: Saturday, November 21st, at 11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.

After Words: Nomi Prins, author of "It Takes a Pillage" interviewed by Sen. Bernie Sanders
Next air time: Sunday, November 22nd, at 12am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.

The Kennedy Assassination - 24 Hours After: Lyndon B. Johnson's Pivotal First Day as President
Steven Gillon
Next air time: Sunday, November 22nd, at 9am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.

Not Invited to the Party: How the Demopublicans Have Rigged the System and Left Independents Out in the Cold
Theresa Amato; James Bennett
Next air time: Sunday, November 22nd, at 10pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 35 min.

Going Rogue: An American Life
Sarah Palin
Next air time: Sunday, November 22nd, at 5:45pm (ET)
Approx. 45 min.

The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star
Matthew Continetti
Next air time: Sunday, November 22nd, at 6:30pm (ET)
Approx. 45 min.

Sarah from Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar
Scott Conroy; Shushannah Walshe
Next air time: Sunday, November 22nd, at 7:15pm (ET)
Approx. 45 min.

Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America
Craig Shirley
Next air time: Monday, November 23rd, at 2am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.

Also Airing...

Saturday, November 21st

8am (ET)
Approx. 44 min.
Rehnquist: A Personal Portrait of the Distinguished Chief Justice of the United States
Herman Obermayer

8:45am (ET)
Approx. 47 min.
Carlotta Walls LaNier, "A Mighty Long Way" and Terrence Roberts, "Lessons from Little Rock"
Carlotta Walls LaNier; Terrence Roberts

10am (ET)
Approx. 11 hr.
Senate Health Care Debate Coverage
U.S. Senate

9pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 30 min.
2009 National Book Awards
Multiple Authors

11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.
2009 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NONFICTION WINNER - The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
T.J. Stiles

Sunday, November 22nd

12am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
After Words: Nomi Prins, author of "It Takes a Pillage" interviewed by Sen. Bernie Sanders

2am (ET)
Approx. 48 min.
Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary
Bertrand Patenaude

3am (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

4am (ET)
Approx. 44 min.
Rehnquist: A Personal Portrait of the Distinguished Chief Justice of the United States
Herman Obermayer

4:45am (ET)
Approx. 47 min.
Carlotta Walls LaNier, "A Mighty Long Way" and Terrence Roberts, "Lessons from Little Rock"
Carlotta Walls LaNier; Terrence Roberts

5:30am (ET)
Approx. 33 min.
Google Book Search Settlement: Interview with Cecilia Kang, Technology Reporter, Washington Post
Cecilia Kang

6am (ET)
Approx. 50 min.
The Future of Faith
Harvey Cox

7am (ET)
Approx. 43 min.
2009 Southern Festival of Books: Shaun Casey, "The Making of a Catholic President: Kennedy vs. Nixon 1960"
Shaun Casey

7:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 7 min.
Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a Perfect Union
David Swanson

9am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
The Kennedy Assassination - 24 Hours After: Lyndon B. Johnson's Pivotal First Day as President
Steven Gillon

10am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 30 min.
2009 National Book Awards
Multiple Authors

12pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Peter Schweizer, author of "Architects of Ruin" interviewed by Rep. Michele Bachmann

1pm (ET)
Approx. 50 min.
Barack Obama's America: How New Conceptions of Race, Family and Religion Ended the Reagan Era
John Kenneth White

2pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 5 min.
A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
Lawrence McDonald; Patrick Robinson

3pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 6 min.
Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What it Means for America
Patrick J. Carr

4pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

5pm (ET)
Approx. 33 min.
Google Book Search Settlement: Interview with Cecilia Kang, Technology Reporter, Washington Post
Cecilia Kang

5:45pm (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
Going Rogue: An American Life
Sarah Palin

6:30pm (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star
Matthew Continetti

7:15pm (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
Sarah from Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar
Scott Conroy; Shushannah Walshe

8pm (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
The Kennedy Assassination - 24 Hours After: Lyndon B. Johnson's Pivotal First Day as President
Steven Gillon

9pm (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
After Words: Nomi Prins, author of "It Takes a Pillage" interviewed by Sen. Bernie Sanders

10pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 35 min.
Not Invited to the Party: How the Demopublicans Have Rigged the System and Left Independents Out in the Cold
Theresa Amato; James Bennett

Monday, November 23rd

12am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
After Words: Nomi Prins, author of "It Takes a Pillage" interviewed by Sen. Bernie Sanders

1am (ET)
Approx. 50 min.
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness
Harlow Unger

2am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America
Craig Shirley

3am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
After Words: Nomi Prins, author of "It Takes a Pillage" interviewed by Sen. Bernie Sanders

4am (ET)
Approx. 54 min.
The Kennedy Assassination - 24 Hours After: Lyndon B. Johnson's Pivotal First Day as President
Steven Gillon

5am (ET)
Approx. 33 min.
Google Book Search Settlement: Interview with Cecilia Kang, Technology Reporter, Washington Post
Cecilia Kang

5:30am (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star
Matthew Continetti

6:15am (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
Sarah from Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar
Scott Conroy; Shushannah Walshe

7:30am (ET)
Approx. 45 min.
Going Rogue: An American Life
Sarah Palin

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Upcoming Programs

IN DEPTH

In Depth is Book TV's long form LIVE interview call-in program with one author discussing his or her body of work. It airs on the first Sunday of every month, beginning at Noon ET. Here's a look at some upcoming guests...

December--Joy Hakim
Joy Hakim, former teacher and former editor and editorial writer at the Virginian-Pilot newspaper (Norfolk, Virginia), is the author of several books including the "A History of US" series (10 volumes). The series received the James A. Michener Prize awarded by the National Council for the Social Studies. Her book, “Freedom: A History of US” was the inspiration for the PBS series which premiered in 2003. For more on Ms. Hakim and her work, visit joyhakim.com.