# What's the best biography/memoir you've ever read? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2017, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678 "2017-06-23T14:19:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/21 "2017-06-23T17:00:17Z")
Without a doubt for me: Treason in the Blood. It’s the story of both Kim Philby, and his father St. John Philby, who was an Arabophile, and England hater, who became very close to the Saud family. Among other things he made sure that the petroleum concession for SA went to Standard Oil, and not British Petroleum. It was the largest commercial transaction in human history. Try to imagine what the world would have been like without this person in it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/22 "2017-06-23T17:15:47Z")
[My Father’s Gun](https://www.amazon.com/My-Fathers-Gun-Family-Hundred/dp/0452279240), a 100-year history of the NYPD as seen through the eyes of a family of officers. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/23 "2017-06-23T17:19:42Z")
Isaac Asimov’s two-volume autobiography/memoir _In Memory Yet Green_ and _In Joy Still Felt_. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/24 "2017-06-23T17:22:10Z")
The only biography, or autobiography in this case, that I’ve enjoyed enough to read more than once was _Catcher in the Wry_ by former baseball player Bob Uecker. It’s nothing profound or important, but it was funny. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/25 "2017-06-23T17:45:32Z")
Witness by Chambers Angela’s Ashes by McCourt The Glass Castle by Walls Boy and Going Solo by Dahl ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/26 "2017-06-23T17:54:13Z")
_Kitchen Confidential_ by Anthony Bourdain. Everyone has read this, but it’s still great, and a fascinating look into the world behind those restaurant kitchen doors. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/27 "2017-06-23T17:58:37Z")
Don’t underestimate _Angela’s Ashes_. This story will run you through the entire gamut of emotions. It will disgust and sadden you. It will make you angry. At times it will bring you hope. Most of all, it will move you. There aren’t many books I would say have profoundly changed me after reading them, but this is one. My favorite all-time biographical/autobiographical work is Solzhenitsyn’s _Gulag Archipelago_. Many find the three volumes too long, boring, or otherwise inaccessible, but I found the story fascinating. I also suggest Hitler’s _Mein Kampf_. It isn’t well-written, it veers far away from reality, but it is a fascinating glimpse into a megalomanic’s mind. For scholarly, yet accessible, historical biography, I recommend anything by Robert K. Massie. He has written on a wide range of subjects, but I believe his best work is _Nicholas and Alexandra: The Classic Account of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty_. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/28 "2017-06-23T18:05:11Z")
Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman - autobio of Richard Feynman And I Don’t Want to Live This Life - bio of Nancy Spungen Angela’s Ashes was good - definitely keep it on your list. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/29 "2017-06-23T19:56:51Z")
Hitch-22. I watched Christopher Hitchens quite a bit on youtube. Then I watched his battle with cancer. So the read was meaningful to me. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/30 "2017-06-23T19:58:05Z")
Another vote for _Nicholas and Alexandra_. I have yet to find a better book on this topic. It’s a bit of an emotionally wrenching read because his writing is very scholarly and yet engaging, but there’s a dark cloud hovering the entire time because of course you know from the start that it’s all going to come a brutal, bloody end. I was fascinated to learn a few years ago that Robert K. Massie’s son had hemophilia and contracted Hep C and HIV from blood products–however, he eventually got a liver transplant, which cured both the Hep C and the hemophilia (since clotting factors are produced in the liver). And he’s had HIV since 1978 but has some rare genetic resistance to it and has never progressed to AIDS. Crazy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/31 "2017-06-23T20:41:35Z")
For some reason, the first memoir that came to mind was Louis Nizer’s _My Life In Court_, published in 1961. I found the book well-written (though I’m not a big fan of courtroom drama), especially his account of the Quentin Reynolds libel suit against Westbrook Pegler. Nizer is the guy I’d hire to represent me in a civil case. If he was still alive, that is. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/32 "2017-06-23T21:02:23Z")
_My Life in France_ by Julia Child is my pick. I’m not a big fan of the genre, so take this with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/33 "2017-06-23T22:15:20Z")
Anthony Burgess - (2 vol.) _Big God and Little Wilson_ and _You’ve Had Your time_ George McDonald Fraser - _Quartered Safe Out Here_ Robert Graves - _Goodby To All That_ Haven Kimmel - _A Girl Named Zippy_ ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/34 "2017-06-23T22:50:01Z")
[The Tender Bar](https://www.amazon.com/Tender-Bar-J-R-Moehringer/dp/0786888768/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498257745&sr=8-1&keywords=tender+bar) by J. R. Moehringer. Not a celebrity bio, but an engrossing memoir about a young man finding his way in the world, framed by his relationships with the characters populating his neighborhood tavern. ---
**Author:** ![tuesdayweld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@tuesdayweld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tuesdayweld)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/35 "2017-06-23T23:39:37Z")
All Over but the Shoutin’, Rick Bragg Just Kids, Patti Smith (on her relationship with Mapplethorpe) The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion With regard to Angela’s Ashes: Give it a go! It is such a beautifully written book - one I’ll never forget. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/36 "2017-06-24T00:11:44Z")
_Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow. An excellent biography. But I’ll admit that when I read it several years ago, I totally missed its potential as the basis for a musical. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/37 "2017-06-24T00:20:21Z")
[The Actor’s Life: Journals, 1956-1976 - Charlton Heston](https://www.amazon.com/Charlton-Heston-Actors-Journals-1956-1976/dp/0525050302) Fascinating look at the inside of the era of epic film. Along with stage and real life, including marching with Dr. King. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/38 "2017-06-24T00:34:49Z")
While _Palm Sunday_ by Kurt Vonnegut is not strictly an autobiography, but a rather a collection of essays and speeches linked with autobiographical details, is the one book in this genre I find myself picking up over and over. In the realm of more traditional biographies, the first ones which come to mind are _Team of Rivals_ by Doris Kearns Goodwin and _Andrew Carnegie_ by David Nasaw. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/39 "2017-06-24T00:55:46Z")
**Giant of the Senate** , Al Franken **My Life as an Indian** , James Willard Shultz **Lost City of the Incas** , Hiram Bingham **A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca** , Andre Resendez ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678/40 "2017-06-24T01:05:53Z")
_The Moon’s a Balloon_ by David Niven is very good. Niven was a bit of a spinner of tales, but it’s a hugely entertaining read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-biography-memoir-youve-ever-read/789678.md?page=3)