Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abraham Lincoln | 1960 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 2 | Mao Zedong: A Life | 1999 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 3 | Mozart: A Life | 1999 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 4 | Marcel Proust | 1999 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 5 | Crazy Horse | 1999 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 6 | Saint Augustine | 1999 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 7 | James Joyce | 1999 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 8 | Rosa Parks | 2000 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 9 | Virginia Woolf | 2000 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 10 | Woodrow Wilson | 2000 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 11 | Herman Melville | 2000 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 12 | Leonardo da Vinci: A Life | 2000 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 13 | Dante | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 14 | Jane Austen | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 15 | Buddha | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 16 | Simone Weil | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 17 | Andy Warhol: A Biography | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 18 | Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life | 2001 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 19 | Joseph Smith | 2002 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 20 | Winston Churchill: A Life | 2002 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 21 | Pope John XXIII | 2002 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 22 | Charles Dickens | 2002 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 23 | Elvis Presley | 2002 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 24 | Saint Therese of Lisieux | 2003 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 25 | Robert E. Lee | 2003 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 26 | Frank Lloyd Wright: A Life | 2004 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 27 | George Herbert Walker Bush | 2004 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 28 | Napoleon | 2006 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 29 | Julia Child | 2007 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 30 | Joan of Arc | 2008 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 31 | Martin Luther | 2008 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
| 32 | Branch Rickey: A Life | 2011 | Karen Armstrong | Buy |
The Penguin Lives series asked writers to choose subjects that mattered to them and write short, personal biographies that would bring historical figures to life for general readers. The result is an eclectic library: Garry Wills on Saint Augustine, Edna O’Brien on James Joyce, and Mary Gordon on Joan of Arc, among many others.
Karen Armstrong’s contribution to the series sits alongside this distinguished company. The series as a whole is notable for the range of its subjects — from revolutionary politicians to composers to religious figures — and for its consistent commitment to readable, intelligent biography.