A superb story of adversity and triumph. Well worth the read whether you're a cycling fan or not.

Great man. Great book. 'Nuff said.

The lives in this list aren't necessarily great, but the books about them are. This is best exemplified by this juicy morsel which publishes splendidly salacious gossip about the appalling Windsors.

An examination of three talented and flawed characters. Worth the read for the Richard Hillary episode alone.

The words 'everyone should read this book' are often misspoken. Not in this case.

Honest insight into comic genius's formative years.

The man behind the philosophy -- this biography tells us about his frailties and frustrations as well as his towering intellectual feats in the first 50 years of his life.

An interesting life lived (in London, mostly). Francis Wheen has an excellent turn of phrase and this lively book is soon devoured.

The unorthodox life of this American maverick (and martyr?)

Who hasn't watched 'The Sting' or 'The Cincinnati Kid' and thought of mixing it with the big boys?

From the fall of Sparta through the halcyon days of the Greeks in Syracuse to the rise of Alexander and the Macedonians. Full of great turning points in history.

Imagine the life you knew -- suburban house, office job, alcohol problem -- ending with you getting sentenced to a stretch in the Penitentiary and sharing a cell with a skinhead nazi named 'Kansas'.