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Editors’ Picks: Biographies & History
Our editors’ must-reads in biography and history.
Published on May 13, 2020
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah HarariDr. Harari’s seminal work merges science with history to give a thorough saga of the human species. Beginning with the appearance of modern cognition, Harari traces the evolution of humanity to challenge commonly held beliefs about our biology, our history, and ourselves.
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
Jeannette WallsWith millions of copies sold and a film adaptation starring Brie Larson, reporter Jeannette Walls’ memoir is a triumphant exposé on the one subject she knows best: her dysfunctional family.
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
David McCulloughWith verve & vitality, McCullough tells the amazing story of a modern marvel. From dangerous working conditions to corrupt bargains to heroic feats, this is the story of how a bridge came to symbolize New York.
Steve Jobs
Walter IsaacsonIsaacson’s exclusive biography brings this generation’s leading innovator to life again, illustrating the impact of imagination through interviews and anecdotes.
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
Roxane GayThis is not a typical dieting memoir. Roxane Gay (one of our favorite contemporary writers) was gang raped at age 12, and because of that trauma, she gained weight as a defense mechanism. “I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe,” she writes. “Hunger” is raw, and it’s for anyone who also constantly gnaws over complicated images of beauty and feelings of self-worth.
Just Kids: A National Book Award Winner
Patti SmithPatti Smith’s beautifully rendered memoir — set in the bohemian glamour of the Chelsea Hotel in the late ’60s —
chronicles her loving relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and their early years as struggling artists.
1776
David McCulloughFrom one of America’s most beloved historians, the Pulitzer Prize–winning McCullough, comes the essential walkthrough of the pivotal year when the Declaration of Independence was signed but the Revolutionary War raged on.
The Yellow House: A Memoir (2019 National Book Award Winner)
Sarah M. BroomSarah Broom’s breathtaking memoir made countless best-books-of-the-year lists when it came out in 2019, including Barack Obama’s and The New York Times’ top 10. Broom tells the story of her family through the framework of their beloved yellow house in a New Orleans neighborhood you never see in travel guides. You’ll feel the humidity and hear the Mississippi rising through her evocative writing, as Broom chronicles how her family rides out Hurricane Katrina — and generations of social injustices.
Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
Anthony BourdainAnthony Bourdain’s raunchy, juicy, sweaty, and — yes — delicious follow-up to “Kitchen Confidential” is full of hilarious personal anecdotes, along with a dash of invaluable life lessons, like never touch the hollandaise at a buffet.
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
Doris Kearns GoodwinGoodwin has an almost preternatural ability to make the past feel like the present. Her award-winning story of skyrocketing inequality and gridiron politics in the Progressive Era is richly told and all too familiar.
The Year of Magical Thinking
Joan DidionJoan Didion’s passionate and vulnerable memoir is an honest portrayal of coming to terms losing both a partner and a child. A moving depiction of love and loss from one of America’s most famous writers.
In the Dream House: A Memoir
Carmen Maria MachadoCarmen Maria Machado (“Her Body and Other Parties”) doesn’t just break all the rules with her marvelous memoir — she transcends them. Masterfully weaving together dozens of genres, from gothic and folktales, to lesbian pulp and road trips, Machado tells the frightening story of a past relationship with an abusive girlfriend. “In the Dream House” breaks the destructive silence surrounding abusive queer relationships — and breaks open a new way of nonfiction storytelling.
Men We Reaped: A Memoir
Jesmyn WardNational Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward’s memoir about the black men who died too soon in her life injects some much-needed perspective and humanity into the larger narrative about systemic racism, sexism, and classism.
The Library Book
Susan OrleanThis book from Susan Orlean is all love: Love for libraries and the lionhearted public servants who work doggedly to keep library doors wide open for their communities. “The Library Book” begins with a disastrous fire that consumed the Los Angeles Central Library in 1986 and the subsequent search for the suspected arsonist, igniting readers’ interest in the world of the public library. She digs beneath the library’s quiet hum to unearth the many bustling departments and intriguing personalities at the heart of this institution that symbolizes shared knowledge and inclusive community.
Angela's Ashes: A Memoir
Frank McCourtFrank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir about his childhood split between Brooklyn and Ireland stole its way into readers’ hearts from the moment it came out in 1996. True, McCourt’s touching book doesn’t shy away from the hardships of growing up in poverty with an alcoholic father, but it also basks in the joys of storytelling and the tenderness of his loving mother.
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom
David W. BlightThis definitive biography of Frederick Douglass, one of the most significant figures in American history, is long overdue. A look at both the inner and the outer life of the famed abolitionist and orator, this well-written portrait draws on new information to provide the most well-rounded examination of Douglass yet.
A People's History of the United States
Howard ZinnZinn's iconic alternative history is an enduring look into the people, rather than the politics, that shaped the current American landscape.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Siddhartha MukherjeeAcclaimed science author Mukherjee tells the story of humanity’s most formidable adversary with the passion of a biographer in this Pulitzer Prize-winner.
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
J. D. VanceEven as the Vance family manages to achieve some semblance of ‘The American Dream,’ J.D. Vance shows how deeply the scars of poverty—and the familial and societal ills that it engendered—have compromised the health and happiness of each generation. A must-read for those interested in the ramifications of American social, economic, and political policy.
Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo"
Zora Neale HurstonWritten back in 1927, Zora Neale Hurston tells the true story of Cudjo Lewis, the last living person who’d been brought to America as part of the slave trade. “Barracoon” is an incredibly important source text recalling the horrors of slavery during the era of segregation.
Running with Scissors: A Memoir
Augusten BurroughsThere’s no way your family has even half the dysfunction of Augusten Burrough’s. Seriously, there’s a pedophile who lives in the shed behind his house. Defines “insanely funny.” (If your family IS half as dysfunctional, you should start writing a book about it.)
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil KnightJust as Nike’s swoosh symbol is one of the most recognizable icons of excellence around the world, this memoir from the shoe company’s founder, Phil Knight, has quickly become one of the most-lauded, must-read business books of all time.