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  1. Genres
  2. ›Biography

Best Biography Books

Life stories of notable people

451 summaries

Showing 409–432 of 451

  1. On the Rez

    Ian Frazier

    ★ 3.9 (2k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    Ian Frazier explores the realities of the Oglala Sioux on the Pine Ridge Reservation, showing a culture sustained by humor, resilience, and the past in the face of modern challenges.

  2. Lost on a Mountain in Maine

    Donn Fendler

    ★ 3.9 (2k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Twelve-year-old Donn Fendler endures a terrifying two-week ordeal, battling starvation, delusion, and the unforgiving Maine wilderness after a momentary lapse separates him from his Boy Scout troop on Mount Katahdin.

  3. The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs

    Carmine Gallo

    ★ 4.1 (2k) average on GoodreadsBusiness

    Carmine Gallo breaks down Steve Jobs's 'Think Different' philosophy into seven practical principles for sparking creativity and achieving innovation in any field.

  4. The Tracker

    Tom Brown Jr.

    ★ 4.2 (2k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Guided by an ancient Apache, a New Jersey boy becomes a master tracker, learning to read the earth's subtle whispers and confront the wilderness's most harrowing challenges, ultimately saving lives and rediscovering humanity's lost connection to nature.

  5. Elephant Man

    Christine Sparks

    ★ 4.0 (2k) average on GoodreadsHistory

    The true story of John Merrick, the 'Elephant Man,' shows the soul and human needs beneath his deformed body, changing ideas about beauty and humanity.

  6. Lament for a Son

    Nicholas Wolterstorff

    ★ 4.5 (2k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    After his son Eric's sudden death, a philosopher turns his grief into a personal and moving lament, giving voice to the pain of loss and the strength of love.

  7. Portrait of a Turkish Family

    Irfan Orga

    ★ 4.2 (2k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    In fin-de-siècle Istanbul, an Ottoman family, led by an autocratic grandmother and a child-bride mother, copes with the collapse of their empire, fortune, and way of life, from opulent hamam rituals to the reality of a new Turkish republic.

  8. The Year of Yes

    Maria Dahvana Headley

    ★ 3.0 (1k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    A witty memoir about one woman's year-long dating experiment across New York City, embracing every suitor from taxi drivers to writers in a quest to redefine love and fix her bad taste.

  9. Parallel Lives

    Plutarch

    ★ 4.1 (1k) average on GoodreadsHistory

    Plutarch's 'Parallel Lives' pairs the lives of Greek and Roman figures, not to chronicle history, but to show character through anecdote and detail, revealing how virtue and vice shaped their destinies.

  10. Not Without Hope

    Nick Schuyler

    ★ 3.7 (1k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Clinging to a propeller in the vast Atlantic, a former college football star recounts the unimaginable boating tragedy that claimed three friends, including two NFL players, and tested the very limits of his will to survive.

  11. Frida

    Jonah Winter

    ★ 4.2 (1k) average on GoodreadsHistory

    Frida Kahlo turned life's hardest moments and greatest joys into lasting art, from her father's color lessons to the raw depiction of polio and bus crash pain.

  12. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

    Frederick Douglass

    ★ 4.3 (1k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Frederick Douglass's autobiography shows his journey from a Maryland plantation to becoming a key voice in the abolition movement, detailing his escape and fight against slavery and racial injustice.

  13. The Duke of Deception

    Geoffrey Wolff

    ★ 3.9 (1k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    A son grapples with his con-man father, a Gatsby-like figure who created a life of privilege and success while being a devoted, if deceptive, dad.

  14. Men to Match My Mountains

    Irving Stone

    ★ 4.1 (1k) average on GoodreadsHistory

    Irving Stone's "Men to Match My Mountains" tells the story of pioneers, dreamers, and scoundrels who built fortunes, empires, and a nation in the American West.

  15. Dangerous Minds

    LouAnne Johnson

    ★ 3.9 (1k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    An ex-Marine teacher, armed with unconventional tactics and unwavering belief, transforms a classroom of 'dangerous' inner-city sophomores into students who dare to dream and fight for their futures.

  16. Passionate Minds

    David Bodanis

    ★ 4.1 (961) average on GoodreadsHistory

    In an era of intellectual change, "Passionate Minds" tells the story of Voltaire and Émilie du Châtelet's romance and scientific work, showing how her genius helped lead to Einstein's E=mc².

  17. The Alexiad

    Anna Comnena

    ★ 4.0 (888) average on GoodreadsHistory

    From the pen of a Byzantine princess, discover a vivid, partisan history of her emperor father's reign, where Norman invaders are 'nourished by manifold Evil' and Crusader allies earn scathing critiques, offering a unique Eastern counter-narrative to Western accounts of the First Crusade.

  18. Mother at Seven

    Veronika Gasparyan

    ★ 4.1 (865) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    In the shadow of Russia's Black Sea, a seven-year-old girl endures a decade of horrific familial abuse, clinging to an unwavering belief in a brighter future to survive the unimaginable.

  19. Nisei Daughter

    Monica Itoi Sone

    ★ 3.9 (803) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Monica Itoi Sone's memoir shows the life of a Japanese-American girl in 1930s Seattle, contrasting it with her unjust internment during World War II.

  20. Fast Times at Ridgemont High

    Cameron Crowe

    ★ 4.0 (731) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    A 22-year-old journalist goes undercover as a high school student, chronicling the daily lives of horny, wasted, and directionless teens in 1979 Southern California.

  21. Wasted

    Mark Johnson

    ★ 4.1 (709) average on GoodreadsPsychology

    From a childhood of brutal beatings and early addiction, 'Wasted' tells Mark Johnson's journey through heroin and crack dependency to becoming a successful entrepreneur who helps other recovering addicts.

  22. The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk

    Palden Gyatso

    ★ 4.4 (667) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Palden Gyatso's memoir is a harrowing account of a Tibetan monk's 33 years of Chinese imprisonment and torture, showing his steadfast Buddhist faith despite his culture's destruction.

  23. A Giacometti Portrait

    James Lord

    ★ 4.1 (658) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    James Lord's memoir details eighteen days in Alberto Giacometti's studio, chronicling the artist's struggle to paint his portrait and revealing the deep human effort behind a masterpiece.

  24. Castaway

    Lucy Irvine

    ★ 3.7 (657) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    A young woman's dream of an untouched Eden transforms into a stark, unforgiving reality as she braves the brutal beauty and personal antipathy of a remote island with a stranger.

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