Explore our curated collection of biography & memoir book reviews and recommendations.
Susanna Janssen's memoir recounts her 1979 solo leap into South America — trading her Sacramento apartment and part-time jobs for an unscripted continental adventure with a fellow young woman traveler, long before GPS, smartphones, or the internet could cushion the fall. Blending near-disaster, cultural immersion, and humor, the book has drawn praise from Midwest Book Review and a chorus of fellow authors for going well beyond travelogue territory.
Jul 14, 2026
Birkenstocks in the Cordillera: A Journey Home Through the Philippines' Northern Highlands is a self-published travel memoir by LJ Baqutoy, released in April 2026 as the opening entry in the Travel Memoir of Shared Discoveries series. The book chronicles Baqutoy's personal journey through the Cordillera region of the northern Philippines, framing travel as a form of homecoming and cultural discovery. This review is based on the book's content as described by the publisher and its published record; it does not reflect hands-on use or a firsthand read.
Jul 8, 2026
The 50th Anniversary Edition of One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey marks half a century since Dick Proenneke first broke ground at Twin Lakes, Alaska in 1968, reissuing Sam Keith's enduring memoir — drawn from Proenneke's journals and photography — with a new foreword by Nick Offerman and color photographs not seen in print for over 20 years. This review is based on the book's documented contents and published reception; it does not reflect hands-on use or firsthand inspection of the physical edition.
Jul 24, 2026
Cancel Me If You Can is Dave Portnoy's account of building Barstool Sports from a four-page Boston broadsheet into a multi-million-dollar media empire — an instant #1 New York Times bestseller and #1 Publishers Weekly bestseller that covers the hard work, luck, toxic relationships, and political firestorms behind his rise. This review is based on publisher materials and published commentary from named sources, not hands-on reading.
Jul 23, 2026
K. Lang-Slattery's Wherever the Road Leads chronicles the two-year, 39,000-mile journey she and her then-husband Tom undertook in a Volkswagen microbus across four continents between 1971 and 1973 — a genuine adventure in marriage, endurance, and discovery, brought to life with personal photographs, maps, and the author's own illustrative drawings.
Jul 15, 2026
Matthew Perry's Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an instant #1 New York Times bestseller and #1 international bestseller in which the beloved star of Friends chronicles his decades-long struggle with alcoholism and addiction, his journey from childhood ambition to fame, and his recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Published by Flatiron Books (an imprint of Macmillan Publishers) on November 1, 2022 — a year before Perry's death on October 28, 2023 — the memoir earned praise from outlets including People and critical coverage, while drawing more measured responses from critics who noted its limitations as a work of literary storytelling. This review is based on the book's contents and published critical reception, not hands-on use.
Jul 15, 2026
A Stolen Life is Jaycee Dugard's firsthand memoir of being kidnapped at age eleven in 1991 and held captive by Phillip and Nancy Garrido for more than eighteen years — published by Simon & Schuster on July 12, 2011, and an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Written entirely in Dugard's own words, the book is a documented account of survival, psychological endurance, and the slow reclaiming of self, drawing critical praise from major outlets including The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. This review covers the book's content, structure, and reception as documented by published sources, not hands-on use or reading.
Jul 15, 2026
Sophie Matterson's The Crossing is a memoir about a thirteen-month solo journey undertaken in 2020, during which the Brisbane-based adventurer walked 4,750 kilometres across Australia with five wild camels — Jude, Delilah, Charlie, Clayton, and Mac — from Shark Bay in Western Australia to Byron Bay in New South Wales. Published by Allen & Unwin, it is a candid account of endurance, self-discovery, and unexpected love, and it earned Matterson the 2022 Australian Geographic Spirit of Adventure Award.
Jul 14, 2026
Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story is the New York Times bestselling memoir in which multi-platinum singer-songwriter Jewel — born Jewel Kilcher in Alaska — traces her life from an unconventional and often harsh childhood through homelessness, the meteoric rise of her debut album Pieces of You, marriage, divorce, and motherhood, weaving in her own lyrics and poetry throughout.
Jul 9, 2026
Eric Bischoff's autobiography Controversy Creates Ca$h, written with Jeremy Roberts and published by WWE Books on October 17, 2006, delivers a business-focused account of one of professional wrestling's most polarising executives — from his roots in the American Wrestling Association through his tenure as WCW president and his role in the Monday Night War. This review covers the book's content and published reception; how well its assertions hold up as history is a matter readers will weigh for themselves.
Jul 13, 2026
Steven Tyler's memoir is a brash, fast-moving account of one of rock's most chaotic careers — compelling for its candor and voice, though undermined at points by factual slippage that critics have flagged. This review covers the book's content and published reception; it does not reflect hands-on use or reading.
Jul 22, 2026
Jonathan Thomason's Ann Widdecombe: A Life in Politics is a concise Kindle biography covering the career of one of British conservatism's most recognisable and polarising figures — from her two decades as MP for Maidstone to her late-career return as a Brexit Party MEP. At 42 pages, it is an accessible entry point rather than a definitive study, best suited to readers seeking a structured overview of Widdecombe's political journey.
Jul 11, 2026Search
Rating
Active Filters
Search
Rating
Active Filters
Showing 13 - 24 of 99 reviews
