swap_horiz Walden 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

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

3

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

4

The Passage of Power

Published in 2012, this fourth volume of Robert Caro's biography covers Lyndon B. Johnson's transition to the presidency...

American Political Caro Lbj

9.3 Excellent

5

The Path to Power

Published in 1982, Robert Caro's book is the first volume in his acclaimed biographical series detailing the early life...

American Political Caro Lbj

9.2 Excellent

6

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

7

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

8

The Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Williams's 1944 memory play, classified here as biography due to its highly autobiographical elements about hi...

American Drama Family Williams

9.1 Excellent

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

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

11

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

12

Liar's Poker

Michael Lewis's 1989 memoir details his brief career as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers, offering a scathing look at...

Finance American Memoir Lewis

8.5 Great

13

The Seven Storey Mountain

Thomas Merton's 1948 spiritual autobiography details his journey from a restless young academic to a devout Trappist mon...

American Spiritual Memoir Monastic

8.5 Great

14

A Promised Land

This 2020 presidential memoir by Barack Obama details his early political career and the first term of his historic pres...

American Presidency Political Memoir

8.2 Great

15

Bossypants

Tina Fey's 2011 comedic memoir covering her time as head writer for Saturday Night Live and her experiences breaking int...

Entertainment American Comedy Memoir

7.9 Good

16

The Tender Bar

J.R. Moehringer's 2005 memoir details his childhood on Long Island and his coming-of-age experiences guided by the patro...

American Family Coming Of Age Memoir

7.8 Good

17

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Aron Ralston's 2004 memoir detailing his harrowing experience of being trapped by a boulder in a Utah canyon and amputat...

Adventure American Survival Memoir

7.8 Good

18

Delivering Happiness

This 2010 business memoir by Tony Hsieh details his career as an internet entrepreneur and his efforts to build the corp...

Business American Memoir Hsieh

7.3 Good

19

Yes Please

Amy Poehler's 2014 humorous memoir sharing anecdotes from her time on Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation, alon...

Entertainment American Comedy Memoir

7.2 Good

20

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir

J. D. Vance's 2016 memoir exploring his Appalachian upbringing and the socio-economic struggles of the white working cla...

American Social Memoir Appalachia

6.9 Fair