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  1. Genres
  2. ›Biography

Best Biography Books

Life stories of notable people

451 summaries

Showing 169–192 of 451

  1. Shadow Divers

    Robert Kurson

    ★ 4.3 (25k) average on GoodreadsHistory

    Two rival deep wreck divers risk their lives in the treacherous Atlantic to identify a mysterious, officially nonexistent WWII German U-boat and its lost crew, forming an unlikely brotherhood with each other and the dead.

  2. Small Sacrifices

    Ann Rule

    ★ 4.2 (25k) average on GoodreadsThriller

    Ann Rule's true crime book dissects the darkness that led Diane Downs, a mother, to shoot her three children in an attempt to reclaim her life.

  3. Nicholas and Alexandra

    Robert K. Massie

    ★ 4.2 (25k) average on GoodreadsPolitics

    In the twilight of Imperial Russia, Tsar Nicholas and Empress Alexandra, bound by a love deepened by their hemophiliac son and a devotion to Rasputin, unknowingly brought about the dramatic fall of their ancient dynasty.

  4. The Woman Warrior

    Maxine Hong Kingston

    ★ 3.7 (25k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    A Chinese American daughter finds her own voice among ancestral ghosts, warrior women, and immigrant struggles, echoing her mother's 'talk-stories' and the silent weight of tradition.

  5. Danse Macabre

    Laurell K. Hamilton

    ★ 3.6 (25k) average on GoodreadsReference

    Amidst vampire politics and supernatural execution, Federal Marshal Anita Blake confronts an ancient, ordinary dread: the possibility of an unprecedented pregnancy and the impossible choice of motherhood.

  6. Through Gates of Splendor

    Elisabeth Elliot

    ★ 4.4 (24k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Five missionaries go into the Ecuadorian jungle to tell the isolated Huaorani tribe about God, but the tribe spears them to death. Their sacrifice sparks global attention for faith, forgiveness, and love.

  7. Autobiography of a Face

    Lucy Grealy

    ★ 4.0 (24k) average on GoodreadsPsychology

    A young woman's struggle with a disfiguring cancer becomes a lifelong battle against society's focus on appearance, showing that being deemed 'ugly' can be a greater tragedy than the disease itself.

  8. Lit

    Mary Karr

    ★ 3.9 (24k) average on GoodreadsPsychology

    Mary Karr's memoir follows her journey from heavy drinking to sobriety and motherhood, while confronting her past.

  9. Stitches

    David Small

    ★ 4.0 (24k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    David Small's graphic memoir tells of his silent, Kafkaesque childhood, marked by a botched surgery that left him voiceless and a family full of dark secrets and misguided parental 'care'.

  10. Mortality

    Christopher Hitchens

    ★ 4.1 (23k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Facing esophageal cancer with sharp intellect and defiant wit, Christopher Hitchens gives a raw, brilliant, and unsparing account of confronting his own death without faith.

  11. Wildflower

    Drew Barrymore

    ★ 3.6 (23k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Drew Barrymore's 'Wildflower' takes readers on a journey through her life, from finding stability in doing laundry as a teen to saying goodbye to her father in a unique way, revealing the experiences that shaped her resilient spirit.

  12. The Pursuit of Happyness

    Chris Gardner

    ★ 4.2 (22k) average on GoodreadsBusiness

    From the hard streets of San Francisco, where he and his toddler son were homeless, Chris Gardner's strong spirit made a way to Wall Street, ending a family pattern of abandonment and showing what the American Dream can be.

  13. Fatal Vision

    Joe McGinniss

    ★ 4.1 (22k) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A charismatic doctor's seemingly perfect life unravels into a chilling true crime saga when he is accused of murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters, leaving the nation to wonder if he is a grieving husband or a cold-blooded killer.

  14. My Booky Wook

    Russell Brand

    ★ 3.4 (22k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Russell Brand’s raw memoir describes his journey from addiction and self-destruction to comedy stardom and sobriety.

  15. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

    Annie Dillard

    ★ 4.1 (22k) average on GoodreadsMemoir
  16. Lucky Man

    Michael J. Fox

    ★ 4.1 (22k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Michael J. Fox’s memoir, "Lucky Man," covers his seven-year private struggle with Parkinson's disease before he went public, showing how acceptance helped him turn his fight into a campaign for a cure and a deeper appreciation for life.

  17. Stranger than Fiction

    Chuck Palahniuk

    ★ 3.6 (22k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    From the strange Testicle Festival to hospice volunteering and his father's murder, Chuck Palahniuk explores the unsettling realities that shape his fiction.

  18. Blue Highways

    William Least Heat-Moon

    ★ 4.0 (21k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    William Least Heat-Moon travels America's backroads, finding the nation's unique spirit in its overlooked towns and their residents.

  19. Desert Flower

    Waris Dirie

    ★ 4.2 (21k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Waris Dirie's life story, from a nomadic childhood in the Somali desert to international fashion and a human rights advocate at the UN, showcases remarkable strength and purpose.

  20. I Have Lived a Thousand Years

    Livia Bitton-Jackson

    ★ 4.2 (20k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    In Auschwitz, a thirteen-year-old girl faces questions of life and death, her dreams broken but her spirit strong against the Nazi system.

  21. Zodiac

    Romina Russell

    ★ 3.9 (20k) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A teenage Cancerian astrologer, who reads stars through stories instead of equations, must unite a fractured galaxy against a vengeful 13th house, after a celestial attack thrusts her into leadership.

  22. The Water is Wide

    Pat Conroy

    ★ 4.1 (20k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    Pat Conroy's memoir details his year-long fight against poverty, ignorance, and a biased school system to bring education and hope to the isolated Gullah children of Yamacraw Island, changing their lives and his own.

  23. Cash

    Johnny Cash

    ★ 4.0 (20k) average on GoodreadsMemoir

    From the cotton fields of Arkansas to the Grand Ole Opry, Johnny Cash's autobiography is a raw, unflinching journey through the heart of American music, marked by addiction, redemption, and the unwavering love of June Carter.

  24. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

    Aron Ralston

    ★ 3.8 (20k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle

    Trapped by an 800-pound boulder in a remote Utah canyon, Aron Ralston's memoir recounts his six-day fight for survival, ending in self-amputation to escape death.

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