Learn About People Who Changed The World With These Group Biographies 

While human influence can give birth to inspiration, it can masterfully create conflicts too. Group biographies are incredible depictions of such people and relationships that leave the readers wondering about the nature of humans as social beings.  

People often find biographies somewhat dry. However, group biographies, a subset of collective biographies, can be a great way to learn how humans have inspired and influenced one another.  

Group biographies are a great way to understand how humans inspire each other and how groups have the power to revolutionize entire nations and generations. To get you started, we have brought you nine recommendations of group biographies so that you can equip yourself with more knowledge regarding the ideologies that often form via inspiration and can often result in global or national movements.  

Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Survived Slavery and Became Millionaires by Shomari Wills  

Are you a black history fan? Then let Wills take you on this trip down the roads of the slavery era when blacks were severely facing persecution and prejudice. But that’s not what the book’s about.  

Wills has tremendously chased down the story behind Leidesdorff, who died in 1848 with a net worth equivalent to today’s $38 million. Leiserdorff was a Black man who managed to acquire wealth along with his peers during such challenging times. Interesting? Give it a try!  

The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs  

While the heroes of Black history are distinctively recognized, the ultimate credit for their bravery goes to their mothers. Read as Tubbs takes you into the intricate details of the lives of Alberta King, Louise Little, and Berdis Baldwin, as the women fought their own battles, which gave their sons a sense of fierceness towards injustice.  

The Shores of Bohemia: A Cape Cod Story, 1910–1960 by John Taylor Williams  

Art, politics, and philosophy intertwined beautifully, leading to a quiet revolution nationwide. Read this incredible work of Williams to understand how Cape Cod stood tall and proud as the center of this revolution. The changing trends came in waves from this place, a well-known tourist area for today’s vacationers.  

The Immortal Evening: A Legendary Dinner With Keats, Wordsworth, and Lamb by Stanley Plumly  

Plumly’s depiction of the Romantics and their lives will blow your mind. Read as the movement of romanticism not only took over literature but also taught people a new way of living lives. The intertwining stories that started from a dinner in London will keep you going.  

Sisters of Mokama: The Pioneering Women Who Brought Hope and Healing to India by Jyoti Thottam 

Nazareth, a famous hospital in India, had six nuns from Kentucky serve as nurses in 1946. The nurses went on to save the newborns, fight the widespread diseases, survive the Partition’s violence, and train generations of nurses, including the author’s mother.   

The Saigon Sisters: Privileged Women in the Resistance by Patricia D. Norland  

Norland masterfully narrates the story of nine Vietnamese girls who had the option to flee their country during the revolution but chose to stay behind and start a revolutionary campaign of their own for the freedom of their country from the French and the Americans. The girls had grown up privileged, studying with the daughters of the elite. However, instead of this privilege driving them away from their nation for a life of peace, it drove them in the face of adversity and patriotism.  

Mutinous Women: How French Convicts Became Founding Mothers of the Gulf Coast by Joan DeJean 

Read along as the author gives you a broader perspective of the lives of 62 women who were exiled to the American Gulf Coast from France for petty crimes. These women, instead of giving into the extreme living conditions, thrived and succeeded in living their very own American dream. They married, raised families, and indulged in crimes, but they survived against all odds.   

Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village by Ronald Blythe  

If you want a sense of travelog and anthropology combined into one, this biography is perfect for you. The depiction of scenes from an English Anglian village, the interaction of the commoners of the place and time, and the characters’ interwoven lives guide you back in time with the author’s novelistic narrative. One thing you should know before searching the place mentioned in the book: Akenfield is a pseudonym Blythe has masterfully employed in the book to portray the English village.  

Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther and the Fight for the Western Mind by Michael Massing  

The story of inspiration doesn’t always end up in unity for a cause. It gives birth to a crisis or conflict for a better world. Read Massing’s work of art as he depicts the tale of inspiration and conflict between Martin Luther, the young revolutionary, and Erasmus, a renowned statesman.  

Final Thoughts

Group biographies are a great way to learn how human influence has the power to revolutionize generations and entire nations. We have given you nine recommendations for a wide range of topics to choose from. Start with the one you can relate to, and we guarantee you’ll be hooked for more.