Explore our collection of biography books. Discover key insights and summaries from the best titles in this genre.
Showing 24 of 451 books
by Ian Frazier
3.9(1,641)
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.
by Donn Fendler
3.9(1,637)
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.
by Carmine Gallo
4.1(1,615)
Carmine Gallo breaks down Steve Jobs's 'Think Different' philosophy into seven practical principles for sparking creativity and achieving innovation in any field.
by Tom Brown Jr.
4.2(1,605)
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.
by Christine Sparks
4.0(1,586)
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.
by Nicholas Wolterstorff
4.5(1,584)
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.
by Irfan Orga
4.2(1,540)
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.
by Maria Dahvana Headley
3.0(1,485)
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.
by Plutarch
4.1(1,455)
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.
by Nick Schuyler
3.7(1,372)
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.
by Jonah Winter
4.2(1,327)
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.
by Frederick Douglass
4.3(1,106)
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.
by Geoffrey Wolff
3.9(1,098)
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.
by Irving Stone
4.1(1,041)
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.
by LouAnne Johnson
3.9(1,016)
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.
by David Bodanis
4.1(961)
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.
by Anna Comnena
4.0(888)
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.
by Veronika Gasparyan
4.1(865)
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.
by Monica Itoi Sone
3.9(803)
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.
by Cameron Crowe
4.0(731)
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.
by Mark Johnson
4.1(709)
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.
by Palden Gyatso
4.4(667)
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.
by James Lord
4.1(658)
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.
by Lucy Irvine
3.7(657)
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.