Topic
Biography & Memoir book summaries
The best biography and memoir summaries — the stories of the people who shaped business, science, and culture.
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
The Diary of a Young Girl
Steve Jobs
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maus: A Survivor's Tale
When Breath Becomes Air
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Born a Crime
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
Night
Just Mercy
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Into the Wild
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Educated: A Memoir
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
The Complete Persepolis
Between the World and Me
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Principles: Life and Work
The Last Lecture
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
Permanent Record
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
Brown Girl Dreaming
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
If You Tell
Untamed
Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder
Becoming
Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage
Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Incarceration
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Biography & Memoir books?
Among the most widely read biography & memoir titles summarized on SummaryShelf are Can't Hurt Me, The Diary of a Young Girl, Steve Jobs, Tuesdays with Morrie, and Elon Musk — ordered here by how many readers have shelved them.
Where should I start with Biography & Memoir?
Can't Hurt Me is the most-read pick in this topic and a solid place to begin. Each summary is a 4–5 minute read, so you can sample a few before deciding what to read in full.
How many Biography & Memoir book summaries are on SummaryShelf?
49, and growing — each distilled to its core ideas in a few minutes.