Biographies where the subject dies long before the book ends

July 22, 2013 6:46 AM

Can you recommend any well regarded biographies where the subject dies long before the end of the book? (The latter half of the book could be focused on the reaction to their death, an examination of the impact of their ideas or work over the following decades, etc.)
posted by NotMyselfRightNow to Writing & Language (6 answers total)

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
posted by Comrade_robot at 6:58 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
posted by neushoorn at 7:09 AM on July 22, 2013 [3 favorites]

Pretty much the whole of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about the impact of Lacks' life after she died. It's also a fantastic biography, one of the best I've read.
posted by Georgina at 7:09 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

Rin-tin-tin: the life and the legend covers about 100 years after the death of the original dog.
posted by chaiminda at 7:11 AM on July 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

Peter Guralnick wrote a fascinating two volume work on the life of Elvis Presley. The first is called Last Train to Memphis. Poor Elvis endures a series of subtle metaphorical deaths before he physically dies. Guralnick is a music critic, and discusses the impact of Presley's music and his marketing empire after his death, Elvis sightings, and other cultural issues.
posted by effluvia at 7:36 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

This may be completely unsurprising, but the new book about Jesus, Zealot, is like this.
posted by meese at 10:30 AM on July 22, 2013