swap_horiz On the Move: A Life Alternatives

1

Meditations

Meditations is a personal journal written by Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher. It offers insights in...

Philosophy Memoir Roman Stoicism

9.5 Brilliant

2

If This Is a Man

Primo Levi's 1947 memoir details his horrific experiences as an Italian Jewish chemist imprisoned in the Auschwitz conce...

Wwii Holocaust Memoir Jewish

9.4 Excellent

3

Night

Elie Wiesel's seminal 1960 memoir details his horrific experiences with his father in the Nazi German concentration camp...

Wwii Holocaust Memoir Jewish

9.2 Excellent

4

The Periodic Table

Primo Levi's 1975 memoir uses the chemical elements as a framework to reflect on his life as a chemist and his survival...

Chemistry Science Memoir Jewish

9.1 Excellent

5

When Breath Becomes Air

This 2016 memoir by Paul Kalanithi chronicles his life as a neurosurgeon and his battle with stage IV metastatic lung ca...

Terminal Medical Memoir Mortality

8.9 Great

6

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

This 1985 biographical collection of anecdotes details the unconventional and humorous life of Nobel Prize-winning physi...

Physics Science Humor Memoir

8.9 Great

7

American Prometheus

This Pulitzer Prize-winning 2005 biography by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin details the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and...

Science Political Bird Sherwin Atomic Age

8.9 Great

8

Walden

Henry David Thoreau's 1854 memoir details his experiences living alone in a cabin near Walden Pond, reflecting on simple...

Philosophy American Memoir Thoreau

8.8 Great

9

Shoe Dog

This 2016 memoir by Nike co-founder Phil Knight chronicles the early, risky years of building the iconic global sportswe...

Business American Nike Memoir

8.7 Great

10

The Pianist

Originally published in 1946, this memoir by Wadysaw Szpilman details his survival as a Jewish musician in the Warsaw Gh...

Music Wwii Holocaust Memoir

8.7 Great

11

West with the Night

This 1942 memoir by Beryl Markham chronicles her adventurous life growing up in Kenya and her career as a pioneering avi...

Adventure Africa Aviation Memoir

8.7 Great

12

An Unquiet Mind

In her 1995 memoir, psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison recounts her personal struggle with bipolar disorder, blending cli...

Mental Health Medical Memoir Jamison

8.7 Great

13

Between the World and Me

Ta-Nehisi Coates's 2015 memoir, written as a letter to his teenage son, explores the harsh realities of being Black in A...

African American Social Memoir Race

8.7 Great

14

Born Standing Up

Steve Martin's 2007 memoir chronicles his intense early comedy career and the development of his groundbreaking, absurdi...

Martin American Comedy Memoir

8.7 Great

15

Dreams from My Father

Published in 1995, this memoir by Barack Obama explores his early life, his multicultural upbringing, and his family roo...

African American Identity Political Memoir

8.6 Great

16

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot's 2010 nonfiction book examines the life of Henrietta Lacks and the history of the HeLa cell line derived...

African American Science Medical Ethics Skloot

8.5 Great

17

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Tracy Kidder's 2003 biography profiles Paul Farmer, a physician dedicated to providing healthcare to impoverished commun...

Medical Humanitarian Haiti Kidder

8.5 Great

18

Lab Girl

Hope Jahren's 2016 memoir details her life as a geobiologist, exploring her research on plants alongside her struggles w...

Academic Biology Science Memoir

8.3 Great

19

The Double Helix

This 1968 memoir by James Watson provides a personal account of the 1953 discovery of the DNA double helix structure alo...

Biology Science Dna Memoir

8.0 Great

20

The Brain That Changes Itself

Psychiatrist Norman Doidge's 2007 book explores neuroplasticity through biographical case studies of scientists and pati...

Narrative Science Medical Neuroscience

7.8 Good