Images courtesy Farrar, Straus & Giroux
 I love biographies. Authorized or unauthorized, they are secret glimpses into the private lives of the rich and privileged, the politically connected, the notable-quotables. Here are some of my faves from 2012.

Not since Franklin and Eleanor has a power couple in the White House fascinated us as much as the Clintons. What fueled their “co-presidency” was the codependency of their marriage. By the time they reached the White House, they had developed a dynamic of her forgiving his infidelities and him giving her increasing veto power over political decisions. In his book BILL AND HILLARY: POLITICS OF THE PERSONAL, historian William Chafe takes a fresh look at the political rise and fortunes of the Clintons, still a huge force in American politics.

While not, strictly speaking, an autobiography, FRAGMENTS is a publication of the poems, intimate notes and letters of the endlessly fascinating Marilyn Monroe who was the defining actress of her age. Her performances in "The Seven Year Itch" and "Some Like it Hot" are iconic. When Marilyn died in 1962, her personal papers were given to her acting coach. When he died, his widow discovered two boxes of poems (who knew?) and other of Marilyn’s writings—many of them are included in this totally cool book.

Image courtesy Ecco/HarperCollins
 Philip Norman, who wrote the best-selling biography of John Lennon, now takes on the famously enigmatic MICK JAGGER. Through five decades at the Rolling Stones’ front man (he’s nearly 70), Jagger is the ultimate survivor of rock 'n' roll. This sizzling tell-all book (some hot stuff about Sting!) has had Mick’s complete cooperation.

Image courtesy Viking
 The consummate hostess and Washington insider during the golden years of John F. Kennedy’s presidency, Susan Mary Alsop was called "the second lady of Camelot." The Alsops’ marriage ultimately did not work out (perhaps because Joe was "a scrupulously closeted homosexual") but Susan Mary reigned over Georgetown (DC) society for four decades. She summered in Northeast Harbor, Maine, where I met and got to know her when she was in her 80s. A lovely book, AMERICAN LADY, has just been written about her life.

Michelle Obama always seems to poll higher than her husband and yet she spends much of her time in his shadow. AMERICAN TAPESTRY is a sweeping saga that traces the first African-American First Lady’s roots back to the 18th century as they journeyed from slavery to the White House in five generations. The book also reveals for the first time the identity of Mrs. Obama’s white great-great-great-grandfather, a man who remained hidden for more than a century in her family tree.

I’M YOUR MAN: THE LIFE OF LEONARD COHEN chronicles one of the most influential music figures of the 20th century ("Suzanne," "Bird on a Wire," "Hallelujah"). Singer. Songwriter. Poet. Icon. This book by acclaimed music journalist Sylvie Simmons is based on exclusive interviews with Cohen who continues to work even into his late 70s.

Image courtesy Farrar, Straus & Giroux
 So you though you knew something about Thomas Jefferson as an inventor, architect, wine-maker, composer of the Declaration of Independence, President of the United States. But wait…a new book, MASTER OF THE MOUNTAIN by Henry Wiencek, is an unvarnished, deeply unsettling but completely fascinating examination of Thomas Jefferson as a slaveholder. When given the opportunity to free his slaves, he chose not to because he needed slaves to maintain his lavish lifestyle and as collateral for bank loans. This well-researched book is bound to stir debate for years to come. And it is a darned good read as well.

Czarist Russia is a lot like the Antebellum South, no? THE FORMER PEOPLE—THE FINAL DAYS OF THE RUSSIAN ARISTOCRACY talks about last days of the Czar and the beginning of a new order that transformed aristocrats into paupers or drove them into exile. Many were simply executed. But in those final days there were masked balls to which the women wore ropes of pearls and danced the foxtrot, there were garden parties, cruises on private yachts and summer in the country. Douglas Smith bases his book on private letters, diaries and photos as well as newspaper articles and interviews with surviving family members. Speaking of gone with the wind….