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  1. Genres
  2. ›Biography

Best Biography Books

Life stories of notable people

451 summaries

Showing 241–264 of 451

  1. The Invention of Solitude

    Paul Auster

    ★ 3.8 (12k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    After his emotionally distant father's sudden death uncovers a sixty-year-old murder mystery, Paul Auster confronts inherited silences and the challenge of defining himself as a father and a writer.

  2. The Road from Coorain

    Jill Ker Conway

    ★ 4.0 (12k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle
  3. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness

    Alexandra Fuller

    ★ 3.9 (11k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    Alexandra Fuller expertly blends her mother's idealized colonial African childhood with her father's harsh English youth and her own war-torn upbringing, all while following her mother Nicola's journey through survival, madness, and eventual peace under an African tree.

  4. The Innocents Abroad

    Mark Twain

    ★ 3.9 (11k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    Mark Twain's 1867 grand tour on the Quaker City is a hilarious trip where he uses his sharp wit to mock European airs and American innocence, turning a religious journey into a funny cultural clash.

  5. On Wings of Eagles

    Ken Follett

    ★ 4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsThriller

    In a terrifying hostage crisis, an unconventional billionaire risks everything, defying governments and borders to rescue his stranded countrymen.

  6. Dibs in Search of Self

    Virginia M. Axline

    ★ 4.2 (11k) average on GoodreadsPsychology

    With his therapist's kind and steady help, a young boy named Dibs, who started out quiet and thought to be different, learns about himself and finds his voice.

  7. Death Be Not Proud

    John Gunther

    ★ 3.8 (11k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    A father's memoir tells the story of his brilliant, courageous seventeen-year-old son's fight against a brain tumor.

  8. The Periodic Table

    Primo Levi

    ★ 4.2 (11k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Primo Levi uses chemistry to explore pre-Holocaust life, the realities of war, and the human spirit, turning personal memory into a stand against tyranny.

  9. Prisoner of Tehran

    Marina Nemat

    ★ 4.2 (11k) average on GoodreadsPolitics

    After Iran's 1979 revolution, a sixteen-year-old girl's protest against classroom Koran studies leads to her arrest and a brutal journey through Evin Prison's torture chambers, ending in a death sentence that tests her will to survive and her desire for freedom.

  10. Profiles in Courage

    John F. Kennedy

    ★ 3.9 (11k) average on GoodreadsPolitics

    John F. Kennedy's book examines eight American politicians who risked their careers by acting on their beliefs, showing the importance of courage when facing opposition.

  11. A Walk Across America

    Peter Jenkins

    ★ 4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    Disillusioned with 1970s America, Peter Jenkins walks across the country, meeting hermits, confronting racial tensions, and working in mills, ultimately rediscovering himself and his faith in the nation.

  12. The Man Who Listens to Horses

    Monty Roberts

    ★ 4.1 (11k) average on GoodreadsPsychology

    A real-life horse whisperer, from rodeo corrals to royal stables, defies his violent father and old ways, showing a silent language that transforms wild mustangs in minutes and teaches powerful lessons in nonverbal communication for all relationships.

  13. High Tide in Tucson

    Barbara Kingsolver

    ★ 4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    Barbara Kingsolver, with the sharp eyes of a scientist and the lyrical voice of a poet, navigates family, community, and the natural world, all while relocating a desert tortoise named Buddy from Tucson to the Kentucky mountains.

  14. Life and Death in Shanghai

    Nien Cheng

    ★ 4.3 (11k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Imprisoned for over six years during China's Cultural Revolution, Nien Cheng's memoir recounts her solitary confinement, resistance, and quest for justice amid national chaos and ideological fanaticism.

  15. The Breaks of the Game

    David Halberstam

    ★ 4.2 (11k) average on GoodreadsBusiness

    Halberstam examines the world of professional basketball, showing the connection between talent, travel, and the unseen pressures that shape legends.

  16. Awakenings

    Oliver Sacks

    ★ 4.1 (11k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    In a Bronx hospital, Dr. Sacks uses a new drug to wake catatonic patients from decades of sleep, showing the sad, brief beauty of their reanimated lives.

  17. My Bondage and My Freedom

    Frederick Douglass

    ★ 4.3 (11k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Frederick Douglass escapes slavery, finding his freedom and articulating a complex vision for emancipation that influenced the world.

  18. Burma Chronicles

    Guy Delisle

    ★ 4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    Through the eyes of a cartoonist, 'Burma Chronicles' offers a witty and humanizing look into the everyday absurdities and quiet resilience of life under a military junta.

  19. Every Living Thing

    James Herriot

    ★ 4.5 (10k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    In the Yorkshire Dales, James Herriot's life as a country vet is a heartwarming story of animal antics, human quirks, and a life devoted to every living thing.

  20. The Best and the Brightest

    David Halberstam

    ★ 4.3 (10k) average on GoodreadsPolitics

    Halberstam shows how America's most intelligent leaders, caught by pride and Cold War beliefs, carefully created the disastrous Vietnam War.

  21. Start Something That Matters

    Blake Mycoskie

    ★ 4.0 (10k) average on GoodreadsBusiness

    Blake Mycoskie, TOMS founder, shows how to build a successful business by combining passion, profit, and purpose, proving that giving back is key to entrepreneurial success.

  22. Burned Alive

    Souad

    ★ 4.0 (10k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    A true story of survival, 'Burned Alive' tells of Souad's escape from an honor killing and her quest to expose the practice.

  23. In Other Words

    Jhumpa Lahiri

    ★ 3.7 (10k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    A Pulitzer-winning author's memoir of her intense quest to master Italian, showing the challenges and discoveries of linguistic change and cultural relocation.

  24. Cider With Rosie

    Laurie Lee

    ★ 3.9 (10k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    In a sun-drenched Cotswold valley, a boy's idyllic childhood unfolds amidst the last whispers of a timeless, pre-industrial England, where cider flows and the natural world reigns supreme.

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