Fifteen of the best political biographies & diaries

At the Guardian, Steve Richards and Gaby Hinsliff tagged fifteen of the best political biographies and diaries, including:

Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro (1982-2001)

Never has a leader been more extensively chronicled. If Johnson has a cup of coffee while waiting for the outcome of a close vote in the senate, Caro can turn the scene into a nerve-shredding chapter. Caro is both a stylish writer and a master of detail, a fact borne out by his four-volume biography with another in the pipeline. In some respects, the contradictions that define Johnson deepen as Caro sheds unyielding light on the humane progressive, the amoral wheeler-dealer, the indefatigable campaigner who will pull any trick to win. The tireless wilfulness is the constant factor. Each volume is a political epic and there is more to come.

Read about another entry on the list.

Master of the Senate (vol. 3) is among Jonathan Alter's six favorite books. The Passage of Power (vol. 4) is among five top books about the civil rights movement.

--Marshal Zeringue