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The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-40

William Manchester

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More like it

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  • Zelda

    Nancy Milford1970

    A biography of Zelda Fitzgerald that details her creative ambitions and her marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald.

    Same elegiac register, still biography

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Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

    Michel Foucault

    A philosophical history examines the shift from public torture to modern prison surveillance. It analyzes how power controls the body.

    elegiac → clinical, still history

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  • The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

    A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

    elegiac → bleak, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • History of the Peloponnesian War

    Thucydides

    A contemporary account of the 5th-century BC conflict between Athens and Sparta. It focuses on military strategy and political speeches.

    elegiac → clinical, still military history

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To recover

elegiac → playful

3 more ↓

  • Profiles in Courage

    John F. Kennedy1955

    Biographical sketches of eight United States Senators who risked their careers to follow their consciences.

    elegiac → earnest, still biography

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  • Wielding a Red Sword

    Piers Anthony1986

    An Indian prince avoids an arranged marriage by accepting the supernatural office of War. He wields a sword that draws him into a conflict in Hell.

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  • Leadership

    Doris Kearns Goodwin2018

    A study of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, and Lyndon Johnson. It examines how they developed and used their leadership skills.

    elegiac → earnest, still biography

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    elegiac → earnest

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Slower

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  • Confessions

    Augustine of Hippo

    A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

    elegiac → meditative

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  • How to Read a Book

    Mortimer J. Adler1940

    This is a guide to active reading techniques for different genres. It outlines levels of reading from basic literacy to syntopical analysis.

    elegiac → mysterious

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  • The Red Book: Liber Novus

    C.G. Jung2009

    A psychologist records his visions and internal dialogues in an illuminated manuscript created during a period of intense self-exploration.

    elegiac → dreamlike

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Heavier

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  • Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation

    John Ehle

    A historical account of the Cherokee Nation's political struggles and their forced removal from ancestral lands in the 1830s.

    Same elegiac register, still biography

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath

    Michael Norman

    A biography of Ben Steele follows his survival of the Bataan Death March and years as a POW. It documents the atrocities of the march.

    Same elegiac register, still biography

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • Hitler: A Study in Tyranny – A Classic Biography: Authoritative and Readable, Abridged

    Alan Bullock

    A detailed biography of Adolf Hitler that focuses on his rise to power and his psychological control over the German state.

    elegiac → clinical, still biography

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2