The Life of Samuel Johnson

Why it’s on the list: Boswell’s Life — the book that more or less invented modern biography, built out of decades of recorded talk.

Where I saw it: Shown as a nineteenth-century leather-bound spine in the shelf photo @romanhelmetguy posted on X, December 16, 2025, illustrating his rule that “half the books you read must be from before WW2.” https://x.com/romanhelmetguy/status/2000775031949824123

Note on the record: Volumes II and III were the spines visible in the shelf photo; this card covers the work as a whole.

Connections

• Samuel Johnson — the subject.
• Republic of Letters — the world the book documents.