Selecting which biography to read
September 22, 2005 11:17 AM Subscribe
Assuming a prominent historical figure has several biographies written about him or her, how do you go about selecting the biography that most closely approaches "canonical"?
I've been on a biography kick lately... looking to fill in gaps in my understanding of historical figures. When I'm in the store or browsing online and get an itch to learn more about, say, Eisenhower (just an example), I'll have 3-4 books to choose from... all handsome and with the appropriate number of glowing dustjacket reviews from major publications. None of this tells me anything about the quality of the book in relation to the other books on the same topic.
Sure I can read the reader reviews on Amazon, and I've tried that... but these are kind of overtly partisan and there's a lot of noise. I don't follow the literary world closely enough to go on the strength of an author's past works... I recognize very few of the names on the shelf. All I can base my desicion on is date of publication, heavily pared down or biased reviews, and how pretty the packaging is. It's distressing.
I'd really like it if you would share some tricks that you use... or perhaps resources that would chart some things like: citations in academic papers, selection as course material at accredited universities, or reviews from experts in the field (not book critics or more casual readers).
Any help would be appreciated. (Feel free to recommend biographies about Eisenhower... but also know that this won't really answer my question at all).
I've been on a biography kick lately... looking to fill in gaps in my understanding of historical figures. When I'm in the store or browsing online and get an itch to learn more about, say, Eisenhower (just an example), I'll have 3-4 books to choose from... all handsome and with the appropriate number of glowing dustjacket reviews from major publications. None of this tells me anything about the quality of the book in relation to the other books on the same topic.
Sure I can read the reader reviews on Amazon, and I've tried that... but these are kind of overtly partisan and there's a lot of noise. I don't follow the literary world closely enough to go on the strength of an author's past works... I recognize very few of the names on the shelf. All I can base my desicion on is date of publication, heavily pared down or biased reviews, and how pretty the packaging is. It's distressing.
I'd really like it if you would share some tricks that you use... or perhaps resources that would chart some things like: citations in academic papers, selection as course material at accredited universities, or reviews from experts in the field (not book critics or more casual readers).
Any help would be appreciated. (Feel free to recommend biographies about Eisenhower... but also know that this won't really answer my question at all).
Best answer: The answer to your question depends somewhat on what you're looking for. If by "definitive" you mean the biography that is considered by academic historians to be the best, then an excellent place to start is by looking in the journal Reviews in American History. This journal publishes reviews of new books, written by academic historians. Often they will review several biographies simultaneously; at the very least, when reviewing new biographies of an historical figure they will generally make reference to older ones. You can search the journal through JSTOR here. (Here are the results for a search on Eisenhower, for example).
Other places to look for less academic but still reliable reviews: The New York Review of Books, The London Review of Books, and the Times Literary Supplement.
For citations in academic journals, look at the Social Science Citation Index. Being frequently cited is a fairly good, but not foolproof method of determining which biographies are "canonical." (For example, older bios will tend to be cited more frequently than newer ones because they've been around longer).
When in a bookstore, a number of clues can help you determine the relative quality of a biography. In no particular order, pay attention to:
- The publisher. Trade presses like Random House publish more "popular" biographies; academic presses like Cambridge or Harvard University Press publish biographic works aimed at a scholarly audience that demands more thorough research.
- Who the author is and where s/he is from. If they are located in a recognizable department in a reputable university, this usually indicates higher quality (but not always! - Robert Caro, one of the best biographers around, is not affiliated with any university)
- Flip through the book and see how well referenced it is. More footnotes generally means more thoroughly researched and thus more likely to be definitive. Check also to see whether they have consulted "primary" sources such as archives, letters, or original interviews. (One exception to this rule of thumb: some older books are skimpier on references, so check the date).
And there's always Google Scholar to find out more about particular books.
posted by googly at 12:59 PM on September 22, 2005
Other places to look for less academic but still reliable reviews: The New York Review of Books, The London Review of Books, and the Times Literary Supplement.
For citations in academic journals, look at the Social Science Citation Index. Being frequently cited is a fairly good, but not foolproof method of determining which biographies are "canonical." (For example, older bios will tend to be cited more frequently than newer ones because they've been around longer).
When in a bookstore, a number of clues can help you determine the relative quality of a biography. In no particular order, pay attention to:
- The publisher. Trade presses like Random House publish more "popular" biographies; academic presses like Cambridge or Harvard University Press publish biographic works aimed at a scholarly audience that demands more thorough research.
- Who the author is and where s/he is from. If they are located in a recognizable department in a reputable university, this usually indicates higher quality (but not always! - Robert Caro, one of the best biographers around, is not affiliated with any university)
- Flip through the book and see how well referenced it is. More footnotes generally means more thoroughly researched and thus more likely to be definitive. Check also to see whether they have consulted "primary" sources such as archives, letters, or original interviews. (One exception to this rule of thumb: some older books are skimpier on references, so check the date).
And there's always Google Scholar to find out more about particular books.
posted by googly at 12:59 PM on September 22, 2005
The Guardian has awesome reviews and literary essays, e.g. Elaine Showalter's summary of her book on novels about academic life. By chance, I was looking for a biography of Bertrand Russell yesterday at the public library and picked Caroline Moorehead's. Although I didn't ask a reference librarian, they're very happy to help with questions like yours.
posted by lukemeister at 6:07 PM on September 22, 2005
posted by lukemeister at 6:07 PM on September 22, 2005
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posted by jmgorman at 12:58 PM on September 22, 2005