Biography & Autobiography

"I don't think anyone should write their autobiography until after they're dead." — Samuel Goldwyn

What Should I Do with Such a Man?: On “Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture”
A new biography does the seemingly impossible: it casts new light on the much-studied founding father of Haiti.
Adolf AlzupharNov 26, 2020
“History Has Many Cunning Passages”: On Jonathan Kaufman’s “The Last Kings of Shanghai”
Qiu Xiaolong reviews “The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China” by Jonathan Kaufman.
Qiu XiaolongNov 20, 2020
Mountain Music, Women’s Music, and the Roots of Our Obsession with Roots
A pioneer folklorist found some British origins of Appalachian music, but missed so much else.
Gregory P. DownsNov 5, 2020
For a More Perfect Fascism: On Victoria de Grazia’s “The Perfect Fascist”
Aliza Wong reviews "The Perfect Fascist," the new biography by Victoria de Grazia.
Aliza WongNov 3, 2020
Dishing: On John Birdsall’s “The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard”
An engaging new biography of the pioneer of American cuisine.
Benjamin Aldes WurgaftOct 22, 2020
- Biography & Autobiography
- Food & Drink
A Cohort of One’s Own
Frances Lazare considers the friendships and fights of "The Equivalents" by Maggie Doherty and "No Modernism Without Lesbians" by Diana Souhami.
Frances LazareOct 9, 2020
Between Irritation and Oyster: On Bob Blaisdell’s “Creating Anna Karenina”
Janet Fitch is enlightened by Bob Blaisdell’s biographical study of Tolstoy, “Creating Anna Karenina.”
Oct 4, 2020
- Biography & Autobiography
- Literary Criticism
Koba: An Excerpt from Ronald Grigor Suny’s “Stalin: Passage to Revolution”
LARB presents an excerpt from “Stalin: Passage to Revolution” by Ronald Grigor Suny.
Ronald Grigor SunySep 28, 2020
“Here Lies Herm — I Mean, Joe”: On Sydney Ladensohn Stern’s “The Brothers Mankiewicz”
Alex Harvey delves into “The Brothers Mankiewicz” by Sydney Ladensohn Stern.
Alex HarveySep 27, 2020
- Biography & Autobiography
- Film
Sound Territory: The Genius of Ornette Coleman
Kathelin Gray reviews Maria Golia’s biography of composer and musician Ornette Coleman.
Kathelin GraySep 24, 2020
- Biography & Autobiography
- Music
Marvelous Belief
Cass R. Sunstein looks at Liel Leibovitz’s recently published biography of Stan Lee.
Cass R. SunsteinSep 21, 2020
- Biography & Autobiography
- Comics
“Unchangeably Appealing”: On Anatoly Liberman’s “Evgeny Boratynsky and the Russian Golden Age”
Sibelan Forrester reviews “Evgeny Boratynsky and the Russian Golden Age,” translated and annotated by Anatoly Liberman.
Sibelan ForresterSep 20, 2020