Composer biographies?

When a friend asked me for a riveting read about a composer's life, I was stumped. What can you recommend to someone who has been reading Bill Clinton's autobiography? The finest composer vignettes I've read in a long time came under separate chapter headings in Alex Ross's latest book: Mozart, Verdi, Brahms... they all came to life. I steer students to Grove of course but encyclopedia entries don't really serve my friend's needs. Anyone got recommendations?