National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography

National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists are listed below. The star rating and number of reviews are from Amazon.com. In parentheses after the star rating and number of reviews are the number of pages in the book and any other awards that the book was a finalist for. Award names in red indicate the the book was the winner of that award. Click the buy from Amazon.com link to be taken to the Amazon.com website where you can purchase the book from the premier online bookseller.

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2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

John Cheever: A Life by Blake Bailey Winner! 30 reviews (2009) (784p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=2 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor by Brad Gooch 33 reviews (2009) (464p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector by Benjamin Moser 5 reviews (2009) (496p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Bitter Spring: A Life of Ignazio Silone by Stanislao G. Pugliese 2 reviews (2009) (448p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line by Martha A. Sandweiss 28 reviews (2009) (384p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2008 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family In An American Century by Steve Coll 41 reviews (2008) (688p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=2 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul by Patrick French 16 reviews (2008) (576p) (NBCCA Bio) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Ida, A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching by Paula J. Giddings 7 reviews (2008) (832p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed 85 reviews (2008) (800p) (PP His) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson & Thomas Wentworth Higginson by Brenda Wineapple 7 reviews (2008) (432p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

Stanley: The Impossible Life Of Africa’s Greatest Explorer by Tim Jeal Winner! 19 reviews (2007) (336p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee 14 reviews (2007) (880p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Ralph Ellison: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad 14 reviews (2007) (672p) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932 by John Richardson 13 reviews (2007) (608p) (NBCCA Bio) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Thomas Hardy by Claire Tomalin 13 reviews (2007) (512p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2006 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips Winner! 24 reviews (2006) (480p) (NBCCA Bio) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Most Famous Man in Amerca: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher by Debby Applegate 44 reviews (2006) (304p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 by Taylor Branch 33 reviews (2006) (1056p) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Flaubert: A Biography by Frederick Brown 8 reviews (2006) (640p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler by Jason Roberts 47 reviews (2006) (400p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2005 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird 93 reviews (2005) (736p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (TIME Non) (Amazon Dec EBio) (Amazon 05 EBio) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Lee Miller by Carolyn Burke 12 reviews (2005) (448p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Like a Fiery Elephant by Jonathan Coe 3 reviews (2005) (486p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin 525 reviews (2005) (944p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Mark Twain by Ron Powers 35 reviews (2005) (736p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2004 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

De Kooning: An American Master by Mark Stevens Winner! 32 reviews (2004) (752p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (NYTimes Non) (Amazon Dec EBio) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow 290 reviews (2004) (832p) (NBCCA Bio) (NYTimes Non) (Amazon Dec EBio) (ALA Non) (Amazon Dec CBio) (Amazon 04 C50) (Amazon 04 E50) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan 295 reviews (2004) (320p) (NBCCA Bio) (NYTimes Non) (Amazon 04 C50) (Amazon 04 E50) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt 38 reviews (2004) (384p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (Amazon Dec EBio) (Amazon 04 E50) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart by John Guy 17 reviews (2004) (608p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2003 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

Khrushchev: The Man and His Era by William Taubman Winner! 50 reviews (2003) (908p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (NYTimes Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates by Blake Bailey 28 reviews (2003) (688p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=2 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage by Paul Elie 27 reviews (2003) (576p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Jonathan Edwards by George Marsden 43 reviews (2003) (640p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake by Carol Loeb Shloss 2 reviews (2003) (576p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2002 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, Vol. II by Janet Browne Winner! 15 reviews (2002) (232p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro 148 reviews (2002) (1200p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) (Amazon Dec CBio) (Amazon 02 C50) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert 112 reviews (2002) (271p) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Benjamin Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan 39 reviews (2002) (368p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?: The Carter Family and Their Legacy in American Music by Mark Zwonitzer 41 reviews (2002) (368p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2001 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

Boswells Presumptuous Task: The Making of the Life of Dr.Johnson by Adam Sisman Winner! 17 reviews (2001) (384p) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2000 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Winners and Finalists

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan by Herbert P. Bix Winner! 71 reviews (2000) (832p) (PP Non) (NBCCA Bio) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page