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| Angela's Ashes | The contents of the book are depressing, but Frank McCourt writes in such a humorous style, that you can almost forget the tragedy. I really liked it a lot, because it made me think. | Frank McCourt | Biography |
| Belles on Their Toes | Line: "Belles on Their Toes" is the story of the Gilbreth family after the death of Frank Gilbreth Sr. in 1924, and the determination of his widow, Lillian Moller Gilbreth, to support and raise 11 children on her own after her husband's death. Although IMO not quite as good as the first book, "Cheaper by the Dozen", it's still well worth reading, and often very funny! | Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey | Biography |
| Charlotte Bronte: A Passionate Life | . | Lyndall Gordon | Biography |
| Cheaper by the Dozen | Katherine: An autobiography of a family in the twenties and thirties with eleven children whose parents were pioneers of motion study for industry. Hysterically funny, very touching, delightfully tear-jerking at points. A must-read! | Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey | Biography |
| Children of Henry VIII, The | Golda: This book explores the relationships between Henry VIII’s three legitimate children as well as his great niece Lady Jane Grey, who is included because she plays an integral part in the transition of the throne after Edward VI dies at the age of 16. It’s a good read if you are interested in the Tudors, as Alison Weir makes the history interesting without being dry. | Alison Weir | Biography |
| Color of Water, The: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother | Laurel: This biography is really two stories – that of the author growing up in a large family in New York, and also that of his mother, a Jewish immigrant who left her own family at 19. Though on the surface she seems rather non-descript and ordinary, you’ll soon find that she is anything but. Heartwarming and inspiring, but not mushy. | James McBride | Biography |
| Don't Let's Go to the Dog's Tonight: An African Childhood | About a young woman (Fuller) born in England who grows up on farms in Africa during the 1960s - 1970s. | Alexandra Fuller | Biography |
| Elizabeth I | CourtneyLynne, HannahR, Golda: I found the book fascinating and very educational. I daresay that the author occasionally draws conclusions that another historian might debate, although she does present her documentary evidence as back-up. | Alison Weir | Biography |
| Emily Bronte: Heretic | Very good bio/lit criticism, goes into depth with 'Wuthering Heights' and all her poems. | Stevie Davies | Biography |
| Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul | LynnMarie: What an interesting story of the friendship between two incredibly different personalities living in seismically different worlds. You have Father Joe's peaceful,accepting persona and Hendra's brilliant yet biting view of himself and other people. He (TH) didn't spare himself in telling his story but was brutally honest about his life and his failings. | Tony Hendra | Biography |
| Firebird : A Memoir | Laraine: Doty's second memoir. It isn't as great a triumph as Heaven's Coast, but it's one of the best memoirs you could read. | Mark Doty | Biography |
| Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman | LizM: This is the same author who wrote the wonderful book on chaos theory, and his scientific background is invaluable to examining a subject like Feynman, whom the term "genius" only begins to describe. | James Gleick | Biography |
| Heaven's Coast | Laraine: A memoir by poet Mark Doty about the death of his partner from AIDS. The book has a poet's sensibility, a strong connection to the classical elegy, and ends with his thoughts on redemption and the sacramental nature of the world--like The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The book is distinctly gay. Nothing graphic, to be sure, but it wouldn't make a PG13 rating. | Mark Doty | Biography |
| If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor | Andrea: So funny and so interesting. If you are familiar with or have enjoyed anything he's ever been in, it's a good read. It's the best thing I've read this year so far. | Bruce Campbell | Biography |
| In Search of History | This autobiography is by the author who wrote the Making of the President series. It tells how White, a poor boy from Boston, graduated from Harvard and was able to witness the revolution in China in the 1940s. | Theodore H. White | Biography |
| Letters of Charlotte Bronte, The | Smith is an impeccable scholar and her footnotes are fascinating without threatening to engulf the text. It's absolutely one of my favorite Bronte books. | Margaret Smith | Biography |
| Man's Search for Meaning | The author was a Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz for three years and survived. He tells how he survived mentally and emotionally. He decided that he could find meaning in the terrible suffering that he and others endured. | Victor Frankl | Biography |
| Oscar Wilde | This biography is both scholarly and interesting. It brings out what a nice man Wilde was: none of his famous epigrams are ill-natured (except towards Victorian philistinism and hypocrisy). Ellmann presents Wilde's life as a Greek tragedy | Richard Ellman | Biography |
| Princes in the Tower, The | Another take on Richard III and all that. | Alison Weir | Biography |
| Richard III and the Princes in the Tower | Pollard is no great friend of Richard's, but I have found him to be an excellent source. He is one of the few authors who seems to be able to look at this topic with an academic eye | A.J. Pollard | Biography |
| Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self | Myretta: I recommend it to anyone interested in SP, The Restoration, the English navy or just about anything going on in England in the latter part of the 17th century. Like all of Tomalin's biographies, it's accessible and a smooth read. Gives a solid impression of the vitality and far-ranging interests of this fascinating man. | Claire Tomalin | Biography |
| Six Wives of Henry VIII, The | . | Alison Weir | Biography |
| Still Life With Oysters and Lemon | Laraine: Doty's third memoir, this book muses about the source of creating and of humanity. | Mark Doty | Biography |
| The Brontes | Kate: An exhaustive and arguably definitive biography of this extraordinary family. Very long, but worth the effort. | Juliet Barker | Biography |
| The Brontes: A Life in Letters | Alexandra: Absolutely brilliant. It really gave an insight into their lives and the really good thing about it was that it was written in their own words, their own letters. Juliet Barker actually interferes very little and lets the letters tell their own story apart from when a bit of background or explanation is needed. | Juliet Barker | Biography |
| Travelling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith | Witty, irreverent, honest, self-effacing, spiritual, neurotic -- all these things rolled up into one great writer. Lamott's essay-ish chapters in this book are by turns hilarious and deep as she relates her journeys through alcoholism, parenthood and finding religion. | Anne Lamott | Biography |
| Wars of the Roses, The | . | Alison Weir | Biography |
