There are several stories of notably quirky Princetonians, such as scientist Hubert Alyea, the inspiration for The Absent-Minded Professor, or Ralph Nader, who is claimed to have had his own key to the library as an undergraduate. Or the "Phantom of Fine Hall", a person several students had spotted strolling through the math and physics building's halls wearing purple shoes and writing numerology treatises on the blackboards. The Phantom was John Nash, a great mathematician of his day who had developed schizophrenia in the 1950s.

His most important contribution had been in game theory, which by the 1980s had become the foundation of most economics. When the Nobel Award committee began debating a medal for game theory, Nash's name unavoidably came up—only to be disregarded because the prize could not possibly belong to a lunatic. However, Nash, who was in remission from schizophrenia at the time, shared the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994 for work done 45 years before.

Sylvia Nasar, an economist, and writer have published a biography of Nash that examines all aspects of his life. She provides a clever, clear explication of his mathematical theories, as well as an expressive but very unromantic depiction of schizophrenia. Her description of the politics around Nash's Nobel Prize is intriguing, and it is one of the few such narratives available in print (the CIA could learn a thing or two from the Nobel committees).

Detailed information:
Author: Sylvia Nasar
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/13912.A_Beautiful_Mind

Many see Alexander Hamilton as the greatest Founding Father who inspired and formed the new nation. He established the nation's financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, and the newspaper The New York Post. Alexander Hamilton was born on January 17, 1757, and died on July 4, 1804. As a kid, he was orphaned due to his mother's death and his father's abandonment. Despite having a difficult history and a compelling narrative, he was eventually recognized for his brilliance and talent, which led to him being sponsored by a group of affluent local men to fly to New York City to further his studies.

Many people believe that the founding of America represents the triumph of Jefferson's democratic principles over Hamilton's aristocratic objectives. This book will depict Hamilton in a completely new light. A man who is motivated from inside and whose legendary objectives are not the result of a selfish man's actions. This book will help you better comprehend Alexander Hamilton. This book will reveal all of Hamilton's private relationships to his enormous feuds with Jefferson as the novel progresses. Chernow's description of Hamilton's infamous and perplexing death in a duel with Aaron Burr will never be surpassed.

Detailed information:
Author: Ron Chernow
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/34306942-summary

Though several biographies have been written, Gilbert is the definitive authority on Winston Churchill, who is widely regarded as Britain's greatest prime minister of all time. This book is the appropriate homage to the mercurial man who led Britain through World War II, with a deft combination of in-depth research and personally rendered details.

It is hard to comprehend World War II without first comprehending Winston Churchill, the daring British Prime Minister who established himself as one of the finest politicians any nation has ever known. This extensive biography is a one-volume abridgment of an eight-volume book that took a quarter-century to complete.

It covers Churchill's whole life, focusing not just on his accomplishments during WWII, but also on his early conviction in technology and how it will alter combat in the twentieth century. Before the First World War, Churchill learned to fly a plane and was engaged in the creation of both the tank and anti-aircraft defense, but he truly showed his unrivaled mettle during his country's darkest hours.

Detailed information:
Author: Martin Gilbert
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/824938.Churchill

Sonia Nazario, an award-winning journalist, tells the actual story of a Honduran youngster who braves hardship and hazard to join his mother in the United States. Sonia Nazario, an award-winning journalist, chronicles the memorable voyage of a Honduran youngster who braves unthinkable hardship and hazard to join his mother in the United States in this astounding real story. Enrique's mother, Lourdes, leaves Honduras to work in the United States when he is five years old because she is too impoverished to feed her children.

The relocation allows her to send money back home to Enrique, allowing him to eat better and continue his education through third grade. Lourdes assures Enrique that she will return soon. However, she is having difficulty in America. Years go by. He asks his mum to return. He grows lonely and agitated when he is separated from her. Lourdes instructs him to be patient when she calls. Enrique had given up hope of ever seeing her again. He chooses to go find her after eleven years apart.

Enrique goes out on his own from Tegucigalpa, armed only with a scrap of paper containing his mother's phone number in North Carolina. Without money, he will attempt the perilous and illegal journey along the length of Mexico by hanging to the sides and roofs of freight trains.

Detailed information:
Author: Martin Gilbert
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/824938.Churchill

Herrera's 1983 biography of acclaimed painter Frida Kahlo, one of contemporary art's most known names, has since become the authoritative narrative of her life. And, while Kahlo undoubtedly underwent a great deal of grief (a tragic accident when she was eighteen, a husband who had frequent affairs), the book's focus is not on her anguish. Instead, it is her creative talent and enormous determination that will leave her stamp on the world - a legacy that will not be forgotten, owing in part to Herrera's committed labor.

This engrossing biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her own experiences: her childhood near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at the age of eighteen that left her crippled and unable to bear children; her turbulent marriage to muralist Diego Rivera and intermittent love affairs with men.

Detailed information:
Author: Hayden Herrera
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/91767.Frida

Though many people have heard of Mao Zedong, this magnificent biography provides new insight into the power-hungry "Red Emperor". Chang and Halliday begin with the startling fact that Mao was responsible for 70 million fatalities during peacetime – more than any other international leader of the twentieth century. They then untangle Mao's complicated philosophies, motivations, and objectives, shattering his long-promoted "hero" character and presenting a new, grislier portrayal of one of China's most important revolutionaries.

Mao: The Unknown Story, the most definitive biography of the Chinese leader ever produced, is based on a decade of study and interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who had never spoken before – as well as almost everyone outside China who had major interactions with him. It is full of shocking revelations, shattering the myth of the Long March and revealing a previously unknown Mao: he was not driven by idealism or ideology; his intimate and intricate relationship with Stalin dated back to the 1920s, eventually bringing him to power; he welcomed Japanese occupation of much of China; and he schemed, poisoned, and blackmailed to get his way. Mao's hidden ambition after conquering China in 1949 was to rule the globe.

Detailed information:
Author: Jung Chang
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/9746.Mao

Billy Milligan was a man out of control of his actions, tortured by twenty-four unique personas struggling for dominance over his body—a war that culminated when he awakened in jail, arrested for the kidnapping and rape of three women. Billy was acquitted of his crimes in a landmark trial due to insanity caused by multiple personalities—the first such court ruling in history—bringing to light the most amazing and terrible instance of multiple personalities ever recorded.

Billy Milligan is home to twenty-four individuals. Philip, a petty criminal; Kevin, a drug dealer who masterminded a drugstore robbery; April, whose only ambition was to kill Billy's stepfather; Adalana, the shy, lonely, affection-starved lesbian who "used" Billy's body in the rapes that led to his arrest; David, the eight-year-old "keeper of pain"; and all of the others, including men, women, several children, both boys and girls, and In this often frightening true narrative, you will meet each of them. And you will be taken profoundly into this wounded young man's head and his shattered, terrible universe.

Detailed information:
Author: Daniel Keyes
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/1391817.The_Minds_of_Billy_Milligan

His battles at Austerlitz, Borodino, and Waterloo are among the greatest in history, but Napoleon Bonaparte was much more than a military genius and clever commander of troops. He was one of the greatest soldier-statesmen of all time, alongside George Washington and his hero Julius Caesar. Andrew Roberts' Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to make use of the recently published thirty-three thousand letters of Napoleon, which drastically alter the understanding of his character and drive.

Finally, he was a versatile multitasker, a forceful leader who was unexpectedly prepared to forgive his adversaries, and his unfaithful wife Josephine. He, like Churchill, saw the strategic necessity of chronicling his own tale, and his memoirs, transcribed from exile on St. Helena, became the nineteenth century's best-selling book.

Roberts, an award-winning historian, visited fifty-three of Napoleon's sixty combat locations, unearthed important new papers in archives, and even journeyed by boat to St. Helena. He is as knowledgeable about politics as he is about military history. Finally, a biography worthy of its subject: authoritative, intelligent, and elegantly written by one of the most distinguished historians.

Detailed information:
Author: Andrew Roberts
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/20821092-napoleon

Millions of Little House on the Prairie readers feel they know Laura Ingalls—the pioneer girl who suffered blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains, and the author of the renowned autobiographical novels. However, the complete story of her life has never been recounted. Caroline Fraser, the editor of the Library of America version of the Little House series, now brilliantly fills in the blanks in Wilder's history, drawing on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and property and financial documents.

She not only tells the grown-up narrative behind the most important childhood epic of pioneer life, but she also examines Wilder's troubled relationship with her journalist daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, and sets the record straight about ghostwriting allegations that have circulated around the novels. Despite their struggles, the Little House novels are odes to the pioneer spirit, showing it as triumphant despite all circumstances. But Wilder's true life was more difficult and grittier, a narrative of unrelenting struggle, rootlessness, and poverty.

Only in her sixties, after losing nearly everything in the Great Depression, did she turn to children's books, recasting her hardscrabble childhood as a celebratory vision of homesteading—and achieving fame and fortune in the process, in one of the most remarkable rags-to-riches stories in American literature.

Detailed information:
Author: Caroline Fraser
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/33911349-prairie-fires

This intimate portrait of Prince's life, compiled soon after the superstar's unexpected death in 2016, is mostly a visual piece - Shahidi functioned as his private photographer from the early 2000s until his death. And, despite what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words, Shahidi's are worth much more: Prince's remarkable vibrance, infectious energy, and entirely unique personality shine through in every photo.

Afshin Shahidi first met Prince in 1993 and quickly became his cinematographer, as well as one of the few persons permitted to shoot him. He worked with Prince for the longest period of time of any photographer. Afshin was the only photographer permitted to capture the renowned 3121 private parties in Los Angeles, which quickly became the most sought-after invites in Hollywood; some of those photographs are featured in this book.

A Private View of Prince Photographer Afshin Shahidi's work is compiled into a trip through Prince's amazing life. It's the definitive collection of Prince pictures, with never-before-seen images. The anecdotes regarding Shahidi and Prince's partnership and time together are insightful, intimate, and even hilarious at times.

Detailed information:
Author: Afshin Shahidi
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/33574194-prince