This a selection of standard works about the life and work of Alfred Nobel.

Alfred Nobel. Networks of Innovation
by U. Larsson
Nobel Museum Archives; 10, published by the Nobel Museum, Stockholm, 2008, distributed in the USA and Canada by Science History Publications, USA

ISSN 1404-7586
ISBN N-0-88135-399-X
In English

Alfred Nobel
by T. Frängsmyr
Published by the Swedish Institute, 2004
Translation by Judith Black

Alfred Nobel
by Thomas Hellberg and Lars Magnus Jansson
Publisher: Alno Production, KB, Stockholm, 1984
1986 updated edition; Publisher: Lagerblads Förlag, AB, Karlshamn, English version.

The authors have researched Alfred Nobel’s life for more than ten years, primarily for material for a drama-documentary TV film. This richly illustrated book about Alfred Nobel’s inventions, career and personal life was published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s birth.

ISBN 91-7260-977-X
141 pages

The Legacy of Alfred Nobel
by Ragnar Sohlman
Authorized by the Nobel Foundation
Publisher: The Bodley Head, London, 1983
Translation by E. Schubert

First published in Swedish (Ett Testamente) in 1950 and tells the full, dramatic story of the establishment of the Nobel Foundation. Written by Ragnar Sohlman, Alfred Nobel’s secretary and assistant whom Alfred Nobel appointed as one of the executors of his will. The English translation was published in 1983, in association with the Nobel Foundation, to mark the 150th anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s birth.

ISBN 0-370-30990-I
144 pages

Ett Testamente. Hur Alfred Nobels dröm blev verklighet
by R. Sohlman, published by Bokförlaget Atlantis AB, Stockholm, 2001, in Swedish, ISBN 917486-529-3 (originally published as Ett Testamente. Nobelstiftelsens tillkomsthistoria och dess grundare by R. Sohlman, published by P.A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag, Stockholm, 1950. Out of print).

Translations:

Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes
Published by the Nobel Foundation

Brochure containing information about Alfred Nobel – his life and work; Nobel’s will and estate; the Nobel institutions; nomination and selection of the Nobel Laureates and the presentation of the Nobel Prizes. 12 pages

Nobel. The Man and His Prizes
by Schück, H. et al.
Edited by the Nobel Foundation
Publishers: Solhmans Förlag, Stockholm, 1950
University of Oklahoma Press, 1951
Third revised, updated and enlarged edition published by American Elsevier Company, Inc., New York, N.Y. 1972

First published in 1950 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Foundation. Contains a summary of Alfred Nobel’s life and work; an account of the establishment of the Nobel Foundation; and surveys of outstanding achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.

The third revised edition brings the history of the awards up to 1970. It contains a sketch of Alfred Nobel’s life, an account of the initial difficulties and later development of the Nobel Foundation, and an extensively revised description of seventy years’ progress in the five Prize categories, viewing in historical perspective the work of the Nobel Laureates.

ISBN 0-444-00117-4
659 pages

Translations:

– Los Premios Nobel y su Fundador, authorized by the Nobel Foundation, published by Aguilar S.A. de Ediciones, Madrid, 1959, in Spanish.

– Nobel, l’uomo e i suoi Premi (abbreviated), authorized by the Nobel Foundation, published by Fratelli Fabbri Editori, Milano, 1963, in Italian.

– Nobel, o homen e seus Prèmios (abbreviated), authorized by the Nobel Foundation, published by Editóra Delta, Rio de Janeiro, 1964, in Portuguese.

– Nobel, l’homme et ses Prix (abbreviated), authorized by the Nobel Foundation, published by Presses du Compagnonnage, Paris, 1965, in French. Abbreviated Japanese version published by Shufunutomo Co., Tokyo, 1972.

– Alfred Nobel, der Mann und seine Preise (abbreviated) authorized by the Nobel Foundation, published by Coron Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart/Zürich, 1972, in German.

Alfred Nobel. Mannen, Verket, Samtiden
by Sigvard Strandh
Publisher: Natur och Kultur, 1983

The author expounds on how Alfred Nobel built up his industrial empire as well as his enormous wealth, and views his inventions in the light of industrial, historical and political perspectives. The book is peopled with strong personalities – from Alfred Nobel’s brothers to his co-workers, competitors, friends and relatives.

ISBN 91-27-01283-2
340 pages
In Swedish

The Russian Rockefellers. The Saga of the Nobel Family and the Russian Oil Industry
by R. W. Tolf
Publisher: Hoover Institution Press, Stanford CA, 1976

Contains the first fully documented history of the Nobel family and the first comprehensive survey of the oil industry in pre-Bolshevik Russia.

ISBN 0-8179-6581-5
269 pages

Alfred Nobel och hans släkt
by H. Schück and R. Sohlman, published by Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri AB, Uppsala, 1926, in Swedish. Out of print.

Alfred Nobel
by E. Bergengren, published by Gebers Förlag, Stockholm, 1960, in Swedish.

Translations:

– Alfred Nobel. The Man and his Work, authorized by the Nobel Foundation and published by Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd., Edinburgh, 1962, in English.

– Alfred Nobel, authorized by the Nobel Foundation, published by Bechtle Verlag, Munich, 1963, in German.

– Alfred Nobel, authorized by the Nobel Foundation, published by Hakusuisha Publ. Co., Tokyo, 1968, in Japanese.

– Alfred Nobel. L’homme et son oeuvre, authorized by the Nobel Foundation, published by Sequoia-Elsevier, Paris- Brussels, 1970, in French.

Nobel
by S. Tjerneld, published by Albert Bonniers boktryckeri, Stockholm, 1972, in Swedish, ISBN 91-0-037341-1.

Alfred Nobel som internationell företagare
by R. Lundström, thesis at Uppsala University 1974, printed by Tofters Tryckeri AB, Östervåla 1974, in Swedish, ISBN 91-554-0197-X.

Nobel a Sanremo
by G. Lotti, published by Officina Grafica della Sagep S.p.A., Genoa, 1980, in Italian.

Nobel och hans tid. Fem essayer
by G. Brandell, T. Browaldh, G. Eriksson, S. Strandh and S.Tägil, edited by P. Sörbom, published by Bokförlaget Atlantis AB, Stockholm, 1983, in Swedish, ISBN 91-7486-315-0.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel
by K. Fant, published by Norstedts Förlag AB, Stockholm, 1991, in Swedish, ISBN 91-1-919072-7.

Translations:

– Alfred Nobel, published by Arcade Publishing Inc., New York, 1993, in English, ISBN 1-55970-222-2.

– Alfred Nobel, published by Birkhäuser Verlag AG, Basel, 1995, in German, ISBN 3-7643-5059-8.

– Also translations by Estonian (Vilnius), Latvian (Tallin), Bulgarian (Sofia), Japanese and Swiss publishers.

Chère Baronne et Amie. Cher monsieur et ami. Der Briefwechsel zwischen Alfred Nobel und Bertha von Suttner
by Edelgard Biedermann, published by Georg Olms
Verlag, Hildesheim (Germany), 2001, in German, ISBN 3-487-11492-5.