swap_horiz Up from Slavery Alternatives

1

The Power Broker

The Power Broker details Robert Caro’s exhaustive investigation into Robert Moses, a pivotal figure in twentieth-century...

New York Political Urban Planning Caro

9.5 Brilliant

2

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

3

Master of the Senate

The third volume in Robert Caro's series on Lyndon B. Johnson, this 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography details his ti...

American Political Caro Lbj

9.4 Excellent

4

The Warmth of Other Suns

Isabel Wilkerson's 2010 book explores the Great Migration by tracking the lives of African Americans who left the rural...

African American Narrative History Migration

9.2 Excellent

5

Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

Published in 1885, this military memoir by the 18th U.S. President details his service during the American Civil War and...

Military American Autobiography Civil War

9.0 Excellent

6

Napoleon: A Life

Published in 2014, Andrew Roberts's biography details the life, political career, and military campaigns of French emper...

Military French 19TH Century Roberts

8.8 Great

7

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

8

Open

Published in 2009, this autobiography by Andre Agassi details his professional tennis career, his rivalries, and his per...

Tennis 20TH Century Autobiography Sports

8.6 Great

9

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

10

Grant

Written by Ron Chernow in 2017, this comprehensive biography explores the military and political career of the 18th US P...

Military American 19TH Century Chernow

8.5 Great

11

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

12

My Bondage and My Freedom

Published in 1855, this autobiographical work by Frederick Douglass expands upon his earlier narrative, detailing his tr...

African American 19TH Century Autobiography Slavery

8.5 Great

13

The Color of Water

James McBride's 1996 memoir explores his upbringing as a Black man, focusing on his complex relationship with his Orthod...

African American Family Identity Memoir

8.4 Great

14

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Written between 1771 and 1790, this classic American autobiography details the life and virtues of Founding Father Benja...

18TH Century American Autobiography Founding Father

8.3 Great

15

The Autobiography of a Yogi

Published in 1946, this spiritual memoir by Paramahansa Yogananda details his life in India and his introduction of yoga...

Indian Yoga Autobiography Spiritual

8.3 Great

16

Stride Toward Freedom

This 1958 historical account by Martin Luther King Jr. chronicles the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and his pivotal role i...

African American Nonviolence Memoir Civil Rights

8.3 Great

17

I Am Malala

This 2013 memoir by Malala Yousafzai details her fight for female education after surviving an assassination attempt by...

Education Activist Memoir Pakistan

7.9 Good

18

Long Walk to Freedom

Published in 1994, Nelson Mandela's autobiography chronicles his early life, his 27-year imprisonment, and his role in e...

South Africa Autobiography Political Mandela

7.8 Good

19

The Story of My Life

Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography details her early life, her experience with deafblindness, and her transformative educ...

American Autobiography Early 20TH Century Disability

7.8 Good

20

Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortenson's 2006 memoir describes his humanitarian efforts to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, though the...

Education Humanitarian Memoir Pakistan

4.5 Poor