Biography and Memoir

Discover the stories of their lives, in recent biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs.
Updated January 20, 2026
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Source Code: My Beginnings
Bill Gates
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age "A surprisingly candid memoir of the Microsoft mogul's early years...Reading this book feels like watching someone take a...
Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up
Dave Barry
Paper Book
America's most beloved wiseass finally tells his life story with all the humor you'd expect from a man who made a career out of making fun of pretty much everything. How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate...
The Harder I Fight the More I Love You: A Memoir
Neko Case
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AN APPLE BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH Singer-songwriter Neko Case paints a vivid portrait of an extraordinary life--one forged through a poverty-stricken childhood, obsessive desire, bursts of comedy, and...
The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom
Shari Franke
Paper Book
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Heart-wrenchingly personal...dizzying." --Rolling Stone From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog--now the subject of a new Hulu...
Hope: The Autobiography
Pope Francis
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Pope Francis originally intended this exceptional memoir to appear only after his death, but the needs of our times and the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope moved him to make this precious legacy available sooner. Now, the book stands as his testament; the spiritual,...
Crumb: A Cartoonist's Life
Dan Nadel
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post "A definitive and ideal biography--pound for pound, one of the sleekest and most judicious I've ever read." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times A critical darling, Crumb...
Care and Feeding: A Memoir
Laurie Woolever
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! A candid, funny, and occasionally devastating culinary memoir of a woman making her way through the food world, navigating addiction, a cultural reckoning, and an unexpected tragedy In this moving, hilarious, and insightful...
Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put
Annie B. Jones
Paper Book
In her first book, the popular From the Front Porch podcast host and independent bookstore owner challenges the idea that loud lives are the ones that matter most, reminding us that we don't have to leave the lives we have in order to have the lives of which we've always dreamed.<...
Bibliophobia: A Memoir
Sarah Chihaya
Paper Book
"A wise, tremendously moving exploration of what it means to seek companionship and understanding, in books and in life."--Hua Hsu, author of Stay True "Stirring and sparkling."--The Washington Post A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND ELECTRIC...
Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live
Susan Morrison
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The definitive biography of Lorne Michaels, the man behind America's most beloved comedy show "The kind of biographical monument usually consecrated to founding fathers, canonical authors and world-historical scientific geniuses."--The New York...
The Rebel Romanov: Julie of Saxe-Coburg, the Empress Russia Never Had
Helen Rappaport
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes the story of a courageous young Imperial Grand Duchess who scandalized Europe in search of freedom. In 1795, Catherine the Great of Russia was in search of a bride for her grandson...
Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats
Courtney Gustafson
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An intimate memoir about the importance of community and care in a world that can feel impossibly broken--and a story about accidentally going viral while tending to a colony of feral cats. AN NPR AND CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE...
Song So Wild and Blue: A Life with the Music of Joni Mitchell
Paul Lisicky
Paper Book
"An intimate, impressionistic Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man mode, interwoven with Mitchell myths and parallels."-- New York Times Book Review "An astonishing exploration of what it means to lead an artist's life--how to last, dig deep, change, to embrace one's voice while...
I Regret Almost Everything
Keith McNally
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller The entertaining, irreverent, and surprisingly moving memoir by the visionary restaurateur behind such iconic New York institutions as Balthazar and Pastis. A memoir by the legendary proprietor of Balthazar, Pastis, Minetta Tavern,...
Queen of All Mayhem: The Blood-Soaked Life and Mysterious Death of Belle Starr, the Most Dangerous Woman in the West
Dane Huckelbridge
Paper Book
A riveting, deeply researched, blood-on-the-spurs biography of Belle Starr, the most legendary female outlaw of the American West.  On February 3, 1889, just two days shy of her forty-first birthday, Myra Maybelle Shirley--better known at that point by her outlaw sobriquet "Belle...
A Change of Habit: Leaving Behind My Husband, Career, and Everything I Owned to Become a Nun
Sister Monica Clare
Paper Book
The soulful, hilarious memoir of a chronic people pleaser who surprised everyone in her life by abandoning an unfulfilling career and marriage to join a convent-and learned how much we stand to gain when we fully embrace our authentic selves "A Change of Habit follows...
You'll Never Believe Me: A Life of Lies, Second Tries, and Other Stuff I Should Only Tell My Therapist
Kari Ferrell
Paper Book
"A captivating, sharp and very funny memoir." --New York Times Book Review The compelling, edgy, compassionate, laugh-out-loud memoir from Kari Ferrell, formerly known as the "Hipster Grifter" Before Anna Delvey, before the Tinder Swindler,...
Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly
Hannah Selinger
Paper Book
Town & Country's Best Books of Spring 2025 | Kirkus Reviews's Most Anticipated Nonfiction of Spring 2025 | Amazon's Best Books of the Month | American Writers Museum's Staff Picks What happens when a career you love doesn't love you back? ...
The Woman Who Knew Everyone: The Power of Perle Mesta, Washington’s Most Famous Hostess
Meryl Gordon
Paper Book
A TOWN & COUNTRY MUST READ BOOK OF 2025 AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH - BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIR A deeply researched biography of the socialite, political hostess, activist and United States envoy to Luxembourg, Perle Mesta, from New York Times...
Clodia of Rome: Champion of the Republic
Douglas Boin
Paper Book
One of Rome's most powerful women, Clodia has been maligned over two thousand years as a promiscuous, husband-murdering harlot--thanks to her starring role in one of Cicero's most famous speeches in the Forum. But Cicero was lying, in defense of his own property and interests. Like so many women...
Making the Best of What's Left: When We're Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered
Judith Viorst
Paper Book
From the bestselling author Judith Viorst comes a witty and poignant exploration of the joys and sorrows of life's twilight years--one that leaves us laughing, pondering, and grateful for the moments we have left. In a career that has spanned more than fifty years, Judith Viorst...
This Dog Will Change Your Life
Elias Weiss Friedman
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . A uniquely insightful, uplifting, emotional, and informative book that shows us how dogs make our lives better by making us better people, from the Dogist The stunning hardcover of This Dog Will Change Your Life features a custom...
How to Share an Egg: A True Story of Hunger, Love, and Plenty
Bonny Reichert
Paper Book
An "absolutely transformative" (People) culinary memoir about the relationship between food and family-sustenance and survival-from a chef, award-winning journalist, and daughter of a Holocaust survivor. "Beautifully written, heartbreaking and hopeful."-Ruth Reichl, New...
Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson
Claire Hoffman
Paper Book
A Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year A Must-Read: The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Millions, Alta Long-listed for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography "Magnificent."<...
I'll Have What She's Having
Chelsea Handler
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . In hilarious and tender essays, Chelsea Handler shares her unforgettable story of becoming the woman she always wanted to be. "A raw and raucous exploration of Handler's ongoing search for self . . . She's disarming us with humor to get at our...
Dirtbag Queen
Andy Corren
Paper Book
In this "utterly unhinged, hilarious" memoir, a son pays tribute to his larger than life 'zaftig good time gal' mother and his unusual childhood (Jenny Lawson, New York Times bestselling author). "Because she was my mother, the death of zaftig good-time...
Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age
Amanda Hess
Paper Book
"Second Life is not only a book for parents; it's for anyone intrigued (and concerned) by the ways in which our digital footprints impact the circle of life itself." --Elle "Engrossing....With a reporter's gimlet eye, Hess lenses out from her personal experience.....
The Inherited Mind: A Story of Family, Hope, and the Genetics of Mental Illness
James Longman
Paper Book
James Longman was a preteen in boarding school when his dad, who was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, died by suicide. As he got older, James's own bouts of depression spurred him to examine how his father's mental health might have affected his own. He engaged with experts to uncover...
Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson, Hollywood’s First Stuntwoman
Mallory O'Meara
Paper Book
From LA Times bestselling author Mallory O'Meara, the story of America's first professional stuntwoman, Helen Gibson, who rose to fame during a time when women ruled Hollywood. Helen Gibson was a woman willing to do anything to give audiences a thrill. Advertised as "The...
Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary
Victoria Amelina
Paper Book
WINNER, THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING SHORT LIST, THE 2025 MOORE PRIZE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING WITH A FOREWORD BY MARGARET ATWOOD A NATIONAL BESTSELLERNPR BOOKS WE LOVE, 2025 "Remarkable...powerful, eloquently testifying to the...
Slayers, Every One of Us: How One Girl in All the World Showed Us How to Hold On
Kristin Russo
Paper Book
"[A] joyful ode to the awesome ability of pop-culture arcana to create a solid community." --The New York Times A memoir reflecting on heartbreak, perseverance, and life lessons learned from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, from the hosts of the hit podcast...
Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood's First South Asian Star
Mayukh Sen
Paper Book
Merle Oberon made history when she was announced as a nominee for the Best Actress Oscar in 1936. Hers was a face that "launched a thousand ships," a so-called exotic beauty who the camera loved and fans adored. Her nomination for The Dark Angel marked the first time the Academy recognized a...
Do Not Cry When I Die: A Holocaust Memoir of a Mother and Daughter's Survival in Jewish Ghettos, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen
Renee Salt
One of the oldest living Holocaust survivors recounts her family's imprisonment at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen in this moving memoir of love, loss, courage, and hope. "A deeply moving memoir, beautifully written and researched." --Lucy Adlington, New York Times bestselling...
Where Madness Lies: The Double Life of Vivien Leigh
Lyndsy Spence
Paper Book
Beginning in 1953, when Leigh suffers a nervous breakdown, Where Madness Lies tells the moving story of the actress as she attempts to rebuild her life, salvage her career, and save her marriage. Vivien Leigh was one of the greatest film and theatrical stars of the 1930s,...

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