Biography & Autobiography

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

A One-Man Archive of Baseball History
A new biography of the dean of American baseball writing.
Kevin CanfieldJun 23, 2019
Mel Brooks, Boomer’s Comedian
Mel Brooks looked for boundaries to cross and conventions to subvert, but his best work rarely came from crossing social and political boundaries.
Chris YogerstJun 12, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
- Film
The Mind Has a Mind of Its Own: On Maria Popova’s “Figuring”
Janet Sternburg sweeps through the innovative “Figuring” by Maria Popova.
Janet SternburgMay 22, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
- Memoir & Essay
Portrait of an Artist: On Catherine Cusset’s “Life of David Hockney: A Novel”
Geoff Nicholson looks at “Life of David Hockney: A Novel” by Catherine Cusset, translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan.
Geoff NicholsonMay 14, 2019
Philosophy for Everyone and No One: On Two Recent Books by John Kaag
John Muller discusses John Kaag’s innovation in the genre of philosophical memoir.
John F. MullerMay 7, 2019
So Then Assemble Me: On Dana Greene’s “Elizabeth Jennings: ‘The Inward War’”
A. M. Juster scans “Elizabeth Jennings: ‘The Inward War’” by Dana Greene.
A. M. JusterApr 29, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
- Poetry
The Prophet Is Human
A towering new biography of a great American orator and public intellectual.
Mary F. CoreyApr 11, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
First and Not Last
"First: Sandra Day O’Connor" is the happy product of a rare publishing phenomenon: the marriage of a significant subject with a mature, empathetic writer.
Jonathan ShapiroApr 1, 2019
The Awful Shapelessness of Loss: On Katharine Smyth’s “All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking Solace in Virginia Woolf”
Morten Høi Jensen lingers over “All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking Solace in Virginia Woolf” by Katharine Smyth.
Morten Høi JensenMar 27, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
- Memoir & Essay
On the Vice of Storytelling: An Interview with Aaron Shulman
Aaron Shulman tells a real-life family saga of modern Spain.
Lauren HamlinMar 20, 2019
The Black Disk of the Sun: On Brian J. Boeck’s Biography of Mikhail Sholokhov, “Stalin’s Scribe”
Boris Dralyuk appreciates a “riveting political biography” of Mikhail Sholokhov, “Stalin’s Scribe” by Brian J. Boeck.
Boris DralyukMar 11, 2019
Remaining Rogue: On Andrew S. Curran’s “Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely”
Robert Zaretsky ponders “Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely” by Andrew S. Curran.
Robert ZaretskyMar 1, 2019