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Memoir & Biography

One life at a time — usually someone close enough to power to describe how it actually operates.

40 books

newest read first
The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution Gregory Zuckerman · 2019 · read Jul 2026Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman's biography of Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies — the secretive… Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America by Robert B. Reich Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America Robert B. Reich · 2025 · read Mar 2026Robert Reich's 2025 memoir — across his career as Labor Secretary, Berkeley professor, and progressive public intellectual —… The Fall by Michael Wolff The Fall Michael Wolff · 2023 · read Feb 2026Wolff's 2023 book on the Murdoch family and Fox News — Rupert's late years, the succession question, the Dominion lawsuit, the… The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip by Stephen Witt The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip Stephen Witt · 2025 · read Nov 2025Stephen Witt's biography of Jensen Huang and the company he founded — Nvidia's evolution from graphics-card maker to the central… The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John Bolton The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir John Bolton · 2020 · read Oct 2025John Bolton's memoir from his 17 months as Trump's third National Security Advisor — Ukraine, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, and… 107 Days by Kamala Harris 107 Days Kamala Harris · 2025 · read Oct 2025Kamala Harris's 2025 account of her 107-day presidential campaign — Biden's withdrawal, the nomination, the campaign itself,… Source Code: My Beginnings by Bill Gates Source Code: My Beginnings Bill Gates · 2025 · read Sep 2025The first volume of Bill Gates's planned three-volume autobiography — his Seattle childhood, parents, Lakeside School, the early… Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror by Michael V. Hayden Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror Michael V. Hayden · 2016 · read Jun 2025General Michael Hayden's memoir from his vantage as director of NSA (1999-2005) and CIA (2006-2009) — the operational and legal… Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis by Scott Payne Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis Scott Payne · 2025 · read Jun 2025Former FBI undercover agent Scott Payne's memoir of his years infiltrating white-supremacist organizations — Aryan Nations, the… Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford by Clint Hill Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford Clint Hill · 2016 · read May 2025Clint Hill's memoir of his career on the presidential Secret Service detail across five administrations — most famously the agent… Madoff: The Final Word by Richard Behar Madoff: The Final Word Richard Behar · 2024 · read Mar 2025Veteran financial journalist Richard Behar's biography of Bernie Madoff — the longest-running, largest-dollar Ponzi scheme in… Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer's Insights into North Korea's Enigmatic Young Dictator by Jung H. Pak Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer's Insights into North Korea's Enigmatic Young Dictator Jung H. Pak · 2020 · read Feb 2025Former CIA senior analyst Jung Pak's analytical biography of Kim Jong Un — drawing on the intelligence-community methods she was… Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds David Goggins · 2018 · read Feb 2025Navy SEAL / Army Ranger / ultra-endurance athlete David Goggins's memoir-and-self-help — a brutal childhood,… A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology by Mike Rinder A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Mike Rinder · 2022 · read Feb 2025Former Scientology Office of Special Affairs head Mike Rinder's memoir of his decades inside Scientology's senior leadership, his… Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty by Hillary Rodham Clinton Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty Hillary Rodham Clinton · 2024 · read Jan 2025Hillary Clinton's 2024 essay collection — written after she'd left active electoral politics — across topics from marriage and… On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service Anthony Fauci · 2024 · read Dec 2024Anthony Fauci's memoir spanning his entire NIAID directorship from 1984 through 2022 — HIV/AIDS, anthrax, SARS, Ebola, Zika, and… The Showman by Simon Shuster The Showman Simon Shuster · 2024 · read Dec 2024Time correspondent Simon Shuster's biography of Volodymyr Zelensky — from his Servant of the People comedy origins through the… A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times by Mark T. Esper A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times Mark T. Esper · 2022 · read Dec 2024Mark Esper's memoir from his year-plus as Trump's last Senate-confirmed Secretary of Defense — covering the Soleimani strike, the… At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House by H.R. McMaster At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House H.R. McMaster · 2024 · read Nov 2024H.R. True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between by Gretchen Whitmer True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between Gretchen Whitmer · 2024 · read Oct 2024Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's short, accessible leadership memoir — built around the major stress tests of her tenure… Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump by Michael Cohen Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Michael Cohen · 2020 · read Oct 2024Michael Cohen's memoir from his vantage as Trump's longtime "fixer" — through the 2016 campaign, the Stormy Daniels payment that… What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton What Happened Hillary Rodham Clinton · 2017 · read Sep 2024Hillary Clinton's 2017 memoir of the 2016 presidential campaign — what she thinks she did wrong, what she thinks others did… A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James B. Comey A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership James B. Comey · 2018 · read Aug 2024James Comey's memoir spanning his career — Mafia prosecution, the Stellar Wind hospital-bed confrontation with the Bush… The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump by Andrew G. McCabe The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump Andrew G. McCabe · 2019 · read Aug 2024Former FBI Deputy Director (and briefly Acting Director) Andrew McCabe's memoir spanning his career — counter-terrorism, the… The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman Speaker of the House by Nancy Pelosi The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi · 2024 · read Aug 2024Nancy Pelosi's memoir spanning her decades in Democratic leadership — the votes she counted, the bills she passed (ACA,… Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis J.D. Vance · 2016 · read Jul 2024J.D. Permanent Record by Edward Snowden Permanent Record Edward Snowden · 2019 · read Mar 2024Edward Snowden's memoir tracing his path from middle-American patriotism through CIA and NSA contracting to the 2013 disclosures… Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country by Adam Kinzinger Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country Adam Kinzinger · 2023 · read Dec 2023Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger's memoir of his decision to vote for Trump's second impeachment and serve on the… Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning Liz Cheney · 2023 · read Dec 2023Liz Cheney's memoir from her vantage as vice-chair of the House Select Committee on January 6 — built around her decision to… Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins Romney: A Reckoning McKay Coppins · 2023 · read Nov 2023Atlantic writer McKay Coppins's biography of Mitt Romney, built on extensive interviews and unprecedented access to Romney's… Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation by Jon Ward Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation Jon Ward · 2023 · read Nov 2023Yahoo News political reporter Jon Ward's memoir-journalism hybrid on his own evangelical upbringing in DC-area megachurch… Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson Elon Musk Walter Isaacson · 2023 · read Oct 2023Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Elon Musk, based on two years of shadowing him across Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter (the… Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar Counting the Cost Jill Duggar · 2023 · read Sep 2023Jill Duggar's memoir of growing up in the family of 19 Kids and Counting, her separation from her parents and the IBLP (Bill… The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer—The Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atom Bomb by James W. Kunetka The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer—The Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atom Bomb James W. Kunetka · 2015 · read Sep 2023A dual biography of Leslie Groves (the Army engineer who ran the Manhattan Project) and J. Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could by Adam Schiff Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could Adam Schiff · 2021 · read Aug 2023Adam Schiff's memoir-and-account from his vantage as House Intelligence Committee chair through the Mueller probe, first Trump… The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being Rick Rubin · 2023 · read Mar 2023Music producer Rick Rubin's loose, aphoristic meditation on creativity — written as a series of short chapters that treat… Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free Linda Kay Klein · 2018 · read Feb 2023Klein's hybrid memoir-and-journalism on evangelical "purity culture" of the 1990s and 2000s — True Love Waits, purity rings,… Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life by Eugene O'Kelly Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life Eugene O'Kelly · 2005 · read Jan 2023KPMG's CEO, given a brain cancer diagnosis with months to live, writes a final book in his remaining time — treating the dying… A Promised Land by Barack Obama A Promised Land Barack Obama · 2020 · read Nov 2021The first volume of Barack Obama's presidential memoir — covering his early political career, the 2008 campaign, and roughly the… Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates · 2015 · read Feb 2021Ta-Nehisi Coates's 2015 National Book Award-winning letter to his teenage son — about race, the body, American history, and the…

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