Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Far too frequently, memoirs are nakedly self-justifying. Often so much so that even a casual reader can pick up on the author’s agenda without difficulty. This is especially true of memoirs by politicians and entertainers. In fact, a large proportion of those books about politics and entertainment are written by ghostwriters. (To the best of my knowledge, that is not true of any of the memoirs I’ve reviewed.) In selecting autobiographical books to read and review, I’ve attempted to find books that offer insight and historical perspective, not just a personal story. The two dozen and more excellent memoirs listed here all do that. A few are truly outstanding examples of the genre.
These books are listed in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names. Each is followed by a link to my review.
This post was updated on February 14, 2024.
Two dozen excellent memoirs
All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks—Mel Brooks writes a very funny book
Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder – A true story of high finance and murder in Putin’s Russia
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates – A brilliant analysis of racism today
The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Daniel Ellsberg – Daniel Ellsberg’s dramatic second act
Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox—Life undercover in the CIA chasing suitcase nukes
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken – Al Franken’s memoir is revealing, insightful—and funny
Yippie Girl: Exploits in Protest and Defeating the FBI by Judy Gumbo—An eye-opening account of the counterculture revolution
The Secrets of the Notebook: A Woman’s Quest to Uncover Her Royal Family Secret by Eve Haas—One woman’s obsessive quest to learn how her grandmother died in the Holocaust
Six Car Lengths Behind an Elephant: Undercover & Overwhelmed as a CIA Wife and Mother by Lillian McCloy—Under deep cover in the CIA during the Cold War
Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris—A peek inside the editorial process at The New Yorker
Becoming by Michelle Obama—The Michelle Obama memoir is an extraordinary story
A Promised Land by Barack Obama—Barack Obama’s memoir is a literary tour de force
The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins – Updating colonialism
My Journey at the Nuclear Brink by William J. Perry – A cold, hard look at the enduring nuclear threat
Indonesia Etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation by Elizabeth Pisani – A brilliant, muIti-dimensional picture of Indonesia today
Combat and Other Shenanigans: Tales of the Absurd from a Deployment to Iraq by Piers Platt – One soldier’s front-row seat on the war in Iraq
From Kraków to Berkeley: Coming Out of Hiding by Anna Rabkin – “Survival is sweet revenge”: The odyssey of a Holocaust survivor
The World as It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House by Ben Rhodes – The Ben Rhodes White House memoir
Survivor Café: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory by Elizabeth Rosner – The Holocaust, mass trauma, inherited PTSD, and genetics
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson – A searing look at America’s broken criminal justice system
Little Failure: A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart – From the gifted novelist Gary Shteyngart, a hilarious memoir
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance – Hillbilly? Redneck? White trash?
A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren – Speaking truth to power
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover – A remarkably candid memoir about growing up survivalist
For related reading
In addition to these excellent memoirs, you might also check out 10 great biographies and 20 top nonfiction books about history.
And for a memoir that casts some light on today’s partisan politics but is less successful as a memoir, see The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right-Wing (and How I Got Out)by Tina Nguyen (Living inside the MAGA movement).
And you can always find my most popular reviews, and the most recent ones, on the Home Page.
