Books by Amanda Vaill
“To have a biography of this size about women from that time is amazing. That’s hard to get. She disrupts the narrative a little bit—there are some pieces written in different tenses which really focuses the reader in a way they wouldn’t normally be focused. While the sisters’ lives are told in the present tense, the broader historical events are in the past. And the detail! We have what exactly they were wearing, exactly how long it would take to get from Albany to New York in that time… It isn’t just focused on the big star events of their lives, but also the minutiae of their daily lives. She’s an incredible biographer who has been writing this for years, and it really shows her range.” Read more...
The Best Biographies: The 2026 NBCC Shortlist
Iris Jamahl Dunkle, Biographer
Interviews where books by Amanda Vaill were recommended
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1
A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled
by Alex Green -
2
Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood's First South Asian Star
by Mayukh Sen -
3
Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution
by Amanda Vaill -
4
Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the Untold Story of Audley Moore
by Ashley D. Farmer -
5
Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford
by Carla Kaplan
The Best Biographies: The 2026 NBCC Shortlist, recommended by Iris Jamahl Dunkle
The Best Biographies: The 2026 NBCC Shortlist, recommended by Iris Jamahl Dunkle
Every year, we ask the chair of the National Book Critics Circle biography committee to talk us through their shortlist of the best new books in the genre. Here, Iris Jamahl Dunkle—the award-winning biographer, poet and critic—introduces us to the winning title, a deeply-researched profile of a special education pioneer, as well as the four runners-up.
