Category: Memoir/Biography

June 18, 2010

No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin *** (of 4)

The book only covers five years, but it does it so thoroughly that it probably contains more than half a million words. Goodwin brings several...

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June 18, 2010

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson **** (of 4)

Bryson recounts his Iowa childhood of the 1950s writing scenes so effectively that I could see every lincoln log (he peed on), smell the pages...

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June 18, 2010

The Know it All by A.J. Jacobs **** (of 4)

Proof that passionate writing overwhelms mundane subject matter. AJ Jacobs read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and writes a book about it.. Naturally, his book begins...

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June 18, 2010

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Burdain *** (of 4)

Extremely well written, if a little long, about the inside view of being a New York City chef.

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June 18, 2010

Jarhead by Anthony Swofford *** (of 4)

An excellent memoir of life in the marines during the first Gulf War.

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June 18, 2010

The Inextinguishable Symphony by Martin Goldsmith ** (of 4)

I listened to about half of the book on cassette and have to say I was disappointed. I love listening to Goldsmith on the radio....

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June 17, 2010

Goodbye Darkness by William Manchester *** (of 4)

One of Manchester’s best. A memoir about his role in WWII marines in Pacific theater.

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June 17, 2010

Fifty Miles from Tomorrow by William L. Iggiagruk Hensley ** (of 4)

The life story of a native Inupiaq from the early 40s when native Alaskans were virtually untouched by Westerners, except missionaries, through statehood and the...

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June 17, 2010

Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama *** (of 4)

Obama’s memoir of his earliest memories through his years as an organizer strike me first as the story of someone I could easily have gone...

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June 17, 2010

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller *** (of 4)

This book is the Angela’s Ashes of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. Fuller is utterly forthcoming about growing up the child of white, racist, ex-pat, British, drunken parents during...

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