Hi Jon. I can recommend a variety of biographies. It rather depends on the sort of depth and focus you are after.
The classic account is Barrie Martyn's "Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor" which looks at these three aspects of his life. It is in need of some revision now (originally published in 1990, I think), but is nevertheless essential reading for Rach fans:
http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninoff-...mp;s=books&qid=1185592700&sr=1-1 For a very well-written, accessible overview, I would recommend Geoffrey Norris's biography published as part of the Dent Master Musicians series (Norris is a leading Rachmaninoff scholar):
http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninoff-Master-Musicians-Geoffrey-Norris/dp/0198164882 A detailed book that heavily quotes source material and is frequently quoted in other biographies is Bertensson and Leyda's excellent "Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Lifetime in Music":
http://www.amazon.com/Sergei-Rachma...14211/ref=pd_sim_b_1/002-7338076-3473658 A more recent publication is Max Harrison's "Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings". This assumes a general (but not detailed) knowledge of his music and life. It contains a wealth of detail for those interested in analysing his music and recordings in the context of his life. More for buffs, and it helps if you have some of Rachmaninoff's recordings, but it is utterly compelling:
http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninoff-...mp;s=books&qid=1185593201&sr=1-1 Finally, you may be interested to know that a series of Rachmaninoff's "recollections" as told to Oskar von Riesemann were published by Macmillan in 1934. You may be able to pick up a copy from eBay or second-hand from Amazon, though it may not be cheap. However, Rachmaninoff reportedly said that the accounts as published bore little resemblance to his life and so you need to read it with a large pinch of salt!
