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Best Memoir / Biography / Auto-biography
Tags: biography, memoir, and non-fiction

1
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank 69 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
2
Night
Night
by Elie Wiesel 65 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
3
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
by Jeannette Walls 55 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
4
Angela's Ashes
Angela's Ashes
by Frank McCourt 54 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
7
Running with Scissors: A Memoir
Running with Scissors: A Memoir
by Augusten Burroughs 30 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
9
Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood
Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi, Mattias Ripa (Translator) 21 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
10
John Adams
John Adams
by David McCullough 19 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
11
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House in the Big Woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder 18 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
12
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by Ishmael Beah 17 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
14
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
by Jung Chang 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
15
Escape
Escape
by Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
16
Into the Wild
Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
18
Infidel
Infidel
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
19
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to Hi...
by James McBride 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
20
Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog
Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's...
by John Grogan 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
21
A Piece of Cake: A Memoir
A Piece of Cake: A Memoir
by Cupcake Brown 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
22
Black Like Me
Black Like Me
by John Howard Griffin 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
23
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
by Azar Nafisi (Goodreads author) 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
24
Speak, Memory
Speak, Memory
by Vladimir Nabokov 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
25
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming th...
by Barack Obama 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
26
West with the Night
West with the Night
by Beryl Markham 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
27
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
by Dave Eggers 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
28
Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha
by Arthur Golden 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
29
The Pianist
The Pianist
by Władysław Szpilman 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
30
Autobiography of a Face
Autobiography of a Face
by Lucy Grealy 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
31
The Hiding Place
The Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
32
The Bookseller of Kabul
The Bookseller of Kabul
by Åsne Seierstad 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
33
The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers
The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Bar...
by Harry Bernstein 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
34
Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
by Marya Hornbacher 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
35
Princess
Princess
by Jean P. Sasson 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
36
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
by Frederick Douglass 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
37
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship
by Ann Patchett 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
38
Survival in Auschwitz
Survival in Auschwitz
by Primo Levi 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
39
Personal History
Personal History
by Katharine Graham 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
40
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Me Talk Pretty One Day
by David Sedaris 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
41
Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father
by Barack Obama 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
42
Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back
Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Thro...
by Claire Fontaine, Mia Fontaine (Goodreads author) 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
42
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by Alison Bechdel 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
45
My Family and Other Animals
My Family and Other Animals
by Gerald Durrell 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
46
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
by Steve Martin 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
48
The Autobiography of Mark Twain
The Autobiography of Mark Twain
by Mark Twain, Charles Neider 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
48
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Camb...
by Loung Ung 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
50
Dry: A Memoir
Dry: A Memoir
by Augusten Burroughs 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
51
A Million Little Pieces
A Million Little Pieces
by James Frey 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
52
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Pa...
by Tracy Kidder 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
53
What Is the What
What Is the What
by Dave Eggers 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
54
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, ...
by Mitch Albom 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
55
Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America
Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in Ame...
by Nathan McCall 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
56
Cash: The Autobiography
Cash: The Autobiography
by Johnny Cash 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
57
The Tender Bar: A Memoir
The Tender Bar: A Memoir
by J.R. Moehringer 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
58
Jarhead
Jarhead
by Anthony Swofford 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
59
The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo
The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel...
by Irving Stone 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
60
Red Azalea
Red Azalea
by Anchee Min 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
61
I, Asimov: A Memoir
I, Asimov: A Memoir
by Isaac Asimov 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
62
Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy
Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Lo...
by Viktor E. Frankl 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
63
Get a Life!
Get a Life!
by William Shatner 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
64
The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
by Maya Angelou 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
65
Truman
Truman
by David McCullough 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
66
The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy
The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy
by Robert Leleux 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
67
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered...
by Marta Hillers, Philip Boehm (Translator) 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
68
Elegy for Iris
Elegy for Iris
by John Bayley 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
68
If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor
If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie A...
by Bruce Campbell 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
70
Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks
Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks
by Mick Foley 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
72
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
by Jean-Dominique Bauby 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
72
Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's ...
by Joe Simpson 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
74
Looking through the Eyes of an Unseen Child
Looking through the Eyes of an Unseen Child
by Diana Joy (Goodreads author) 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
74
The Complete Persepolis
The Complete Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
76
A Man Without a Country
A Man Without a Country
by Kurt Vonnegut 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
78
I Lived to Tell It All
I Lived to Tell It All
by George Jones 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
79
Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds
Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds
by Joy Adamson 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
80
White Line Fever: The Autobiography: The Autobiography
White Line Fever: The Autobiography: The Autobi...
by Lemmy Kilmister, Janiss Garza (Goodreads author) 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
81
My Lobotomy
My Lobotomy
by Howard Dully, Charles Fleming 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
82
The Path to Power
The Path to Power
by Robert A. Caro 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
The Education of Henry Adams
The Education of Henry Adams
by Henry Adams 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
84
Me : Stories of My Life
Me : Stories of My Life
by Katharine Hepburn 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
85
Magical Thinking: True Stories
Magical Thinking: True Stories
by Augusten Burroughs 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
86
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
87
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
by Antonia Fraser 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
89
Soulshaping: Adventures in Self-Creation
Soulshaping: Adventures in Self-Creation
by Jeff Brown 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
89
Letting Go: An Ordinary Woman's Extraordinary Journey of Healing & Transformation
Letting Go: An Ordinary Woman's Extraordinary J...
by Nancy A. Kaiser (Goodreads author) 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
89
The Patron Saint of Used Cars and Second Chances: A Memoir
The Patron Saint of Used Cars and Second Chance...
by Mark Milhone 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
92
Wait Till Next Year
Wait Till Next Year
by Doris Kearns Goodwin 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
92
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Id...
by Gary Paulsen 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
94
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million
by Daniel Mendelsohn 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
94
Isaiah Berlin: a life
Isaiah Berlin: a life
by Michael Ignatieff 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
96
Life and Death in Shanghai
Life and Death in Shanghai
by Nien Cheng 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
96
One Hundred Demons
One Hundred Demons
by Lynda Barry 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
99
A Year in Provence
A Year in Provence
by Peter Mayle 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
100
The Complete Maus
The Complete Maus
by Art Spiegelman 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
List started by: Heather (votes)
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds



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comments (showing 1-2 of 2) (2 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

message 1: by Raelle (new)

Nophoto-u-25x33 PATRON SAINT OF USED CARS AND SECOND CHANCES
by MARK MILLHONE

Beautiful, honest memoir that appeals to both men and women which is so rare. It is very funny, but have your kleenex near by and the phone numbers of family members handy to tell them you love them and value them


message 2: by Ryann (last edited Oct 02, 2009 01:06PM) (new)

264459 FYI: "What is the What" is not a memoir. Nor is "Sarah's Key." Both are great books, but they're fiction.


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