BTW, please DO NOT read The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman for this. I mention this because I’ve actually known college students who reported on it as a non-fiction account of the black experience 1860s-1960s and in most of the bookstores where I’ve seen it it has actually been filed in biography/autobiography. It’s a great book and is based on some actual women but it is a work of fiction by Ernest Gaines; why some people don’t even bother to check the cover where it clearly says “Fiction” is beyond me.
Wow, thanks for all the ideas so far! Sampiro’s and Treviathan’s suggestions are certainly appealing. I hope the good old public library has them!
bobkitty - oddly enough, just last night I found I still had a copy of Night but I don’t think I’d use it. I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings almost 10 years ago, and I liked it then, so that might be worth the re-read.
Please keep the ideas coming!
Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx.
Funny, & tells a lot about the fabulously stylish literati of New York in the 20’s.
I opened this thread specifically to recommend this book. It’s a wonderful read. The most common comment by people who have read it is “I envy someone who gets to read this for the first time.”
And you don’t have to be a Marx fan to appreciate Harpo!
Check out Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King - it’s a hoot and a half, about her growing up in this crazy matriarchal family and discovering her lesbianism. It’s especially funny if you had a roughly similar social-pretender Southern family growing up. The parts about “watery moles” and the Ovariad are absolutely hilarious - she grew up knowing everything about how babies came out, whole or in pieces, but nothing about how they got there in the first place.
The Real Frank Zappa Book. It’s not exactly a autobiography per se, but about half the book is autobiographical. The rest is politics, music, rock-n-roll stories, and miscellaneous hodgepodge. It’s a great read.
Also: Mick Foley’s autobiography. I can’t remember the title, but Mick Foley was Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love in the WWF. I don’t even particularly like professional wrestling, but it was damn entertaining. Especially the parts about his experiences wrestling in Japan and the Exploding Ring matches therein.
Personal History by Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post.
Growing Up by Russell Baker.
The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles Lindbergh.
The Autobiography of William Allen White by Kansas newspaper editor William Allen White.
A Son of the Middle Border and its sequel, A Daughter of the Middle Border, by Hamlin Garland.
An Open Book by Michael Dirda. It’s about growing up in a working-class family with parents who don’t read very much and yet eventually getting a Ph.D. in comparative literature and winning a Pulitzer Prize for criticism.
I’d recommend Brother Ray by Ray Charles and David Ritz.
As well as Ray Charles own fascinating story, it gives an idea of the segregation and racism when he was child.
(even the blind children were seperated by colour!)
**
Donbas : A True Story of an Escape Across Russia ** by Jacques Sandelescu.
True story of a teenager captured by the Russians and sent to work in a Siberian coal mine during WW2. Not so much an autobiography, but a life changing event. It is gripping and a testimony of what a person can endure and survive with their spirit intact. How he escapes and the people he encounters make you realize that just because a country or world is at world and bent at slaughtering each other does not mean that the individual has lost their sense of humanity.
I think this book should be a companion book for reading WW2 survival stories like Anne Franke. ( ok, she didn’t survive, but you know what I mean.)
One of the most moving books I’ve ever read and cannot recommend it more. It should be a required read for any high schooler, IMHO. If my house were on fire, this would be one of the books I would grab ( It’s in print again after a hiatus.)
Two books that are almost companion pieces with Timothy Leary’s FLASHBACKS- his earlier autobiography HIGH PRIEST and the autobio of his nemesis and later touring buddy- WILL: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF G. GORDON LIDDY.
Apparently both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee wrote autobiogs. Lee’s is TALL DARK AND GRUESOME. It’s in print, Cushing’s may not be. Alas, I have not read either.
As it turns out, I can use biographies as well. If anyone has good suggestions for that I appreciate the help. Hopefully the public library actually has any of these!
For a good sports biography I second Al Stump’s Cobb.
Just popping in to third Personal History by Katherine Graham. Don’t be intimidated by the size of the book; she writes like she’s talking to you and it’s a very quick read.
Michael Crichton’s Travels is a terrific read even for people like me who don’t particularly like his fiction. It is very eposodic and skips large chunks of his life to recount stories with “meaning”.
Dave Egger’s A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius is simply one of the most individual books you will ever read. It includes istructions on how to read the book. Every little bit has to be read, even the publishing information. Full of surprises.
Yep, so did I.
There! Is THAT enough freaking characters for you, vBulletin?
bobkitty, I think you are thinking of a different book. I think the one you described is Memoirs of a Geisha, which is a work of fiction and is not the book that was recommended.
If you have a strong stomach, I second Running with Scissors.
You have to read *A Girl Named Zippy * by Haven Kimmel. About her life in a small town in Indiana, it is full of small town remembrances. Also, it is a HOOT! Kimmel has a wry sense of humor.
Couple of Ideas:
It’s not about the bike - Lance Armstrong (5 time Tour de France Winner)
American Ceasar - General MacArthur
No Name on the Bullet - Audie Murphy (most decorated soldier in ww2)
Underboss - Sammy Gravano (hit man for John Gotti that killed 15 people)
Christopher Lee’s autobiography is a fascinating book about one of cinema’s finest actors. If you go for it, make sure you get the new version (Lord of Misrule) rather than the old one (Tall, Dark and Gruesome).