swap_horiz The Double Helix 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

Just Kids

Patti Smith's 2010 memoir chronicles her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and their experiences in the late 1960s N...

Music 1970S Memoir Art

8.5 Great

17

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

18

On the Move: A Life

Neurologist Oliver Sacks's 2015 autobiography details his early career in medicine, his weightlifting experiences, and h...

Science Medical Memoir Neurologist

8.5 Great

19

Darkness Visible

William Styron's 1990 memoir chronicles his severe bout with clinical depression, profoundly shifting public discussions...

American Mental Health Memoir Depression

8.5 Great

20

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