Best 2015, Best Books, Best Year-End, Biography & Memoir, History, Nonfiction

The Best Biography & Memoir Books Of 2015 (A Year-End List Aggregation)

141 different books were found in the 17 “Best Biography & Memoir” book lists we consulted. Of the 141 books, 34 titles appeared on multiple lists. The top book should come as no surprise, in fact, several of the top books should come as no surprise since they also dominated our list of the top non-fiction books of the year as well.

We added pictures and links for the top 34 biography & memoir books that appear on multiple lists, To see our aggregated year-end lists for other categories, follow the links below.

The Best Non-Fiction Books of 2015

The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2015

The Best Cook Books of 2015

The Best Art & Photography Books of 2015

The Best Graphic Novels of 2015

The Best Poetry Books of 2015

The Best Science Books of 2015

The Best History Books of 2015

 



The Top 34 Biography & Memoir Books of 2015


1) Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Appears On: 6 Lists
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Between the World and Me


2) H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald

Appears On: 6 Lists
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H Is for Hawk


3) Ted Hughes: The Unauthorized Life by Jonathan Bate

Appears On: 6 Lists
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Ted Hughes- The Unauthorised Life


4) The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

Appears On: 5 Lists
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The Argonauts


5) Blackout: Remembering The Things I Drank To Forget by Sarah Hepola

Appears On: 4 Lists
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Blackout- Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget


6) Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl: A Memoir by Carrie Brownstein

Appears On: 4 Lists
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Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl- A Memoir


7) It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life Of Love And War by Lynsey Addario

Appears On: 4 Lists
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It's What I Do- A Photographer's Life of Love and War


8) My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem

Appears On: 4 Lists
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My Life on the Road


9) The Seven Good Years: A Memoir by Etgar Keret

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Seven Good Years- A Memoir


10) The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

Appears On: 4 Lists
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The Wright Brothers


11) Bettyville: A Memoir by George Hodgman

Appears On: 3 Lists
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Bettyville- A Memoir


12) Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

Appears On: 3 Lists
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Furiously Happy- A Funny Book About Horrible Things


13) M Train by Patti Smith

Appears On: 3 Lists
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M Train


14) On the Move: A Life by Oliver Sacks

Appears On: 3 Lists
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On the Move- A Life


15) Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary by Anita Anand

Appears On: 3 Lists
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Sophia- Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary


16) A House in St John’s Wood by Matthew Spender

Appears On: 2 Lists
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A House in St John's Wood- In Search of My Parents


17) Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Barbarian Days- A Surfing Life


18) Barefoot to Avalon: A Brother’s Story by David Payne

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Barefoot to Avalon- A Brother's Story


19) Between You & Me: Confessions Of A Comma Queen by Mary Norris

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Between You & Me- Confessions of a Comma Queen


20) Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Girl in a Band- A Memoir


21) Hold Still: A Memoir With Photographs by Sally Mann

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Hold Still- A Memoir with Photographs


22) Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland by Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Hope- A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland


23) John le Carré: The Biography by Adam Sisman

Appears On: 2 Lists
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John le Carre- The Biography


24) Negroland: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Negroland- A Memoir


25) Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film by Patton Oswalt

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Silver Screen Fiend- Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film


26) Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot By Mark Vanhoenacker

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Skyfaring- A Journey with a Pilot


27) The Art Of Memoir by Mary Karr

Appears On: 2 Lists
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The Art of Memoir


28) The Fly Trap by Fredrik Sjöberg, translated by Thomas Teal

Appears On: 2 Lists
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The Fly Trap


29) The Fortunes of Francis Barber by Michael Bundock

Appears On: 2 Lists
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The Fortunes of Francis Barber- The True Story of the Jamaican Slave Who Became Samuel Johnson’s Heir


30) The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf

Appears On: 2 Lists
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The Invention of Nature- Alexander von Humboldt's New World


31) The Story Of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden

Appears On: 2 Lists
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The Story of My Tits


32) The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 by James Shapiro

Appears On: 2 Lists
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The Year of Lear- Shakespeare in 1606


33) Words Without Music: A Memoir by Philip Glass

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Words Without Music- A Memoir


34) Young Eliot: From St Louis to The Waste Land by Robert Crawford

Appears On: 2 Lists
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Young Eliot- From St. Louis to The Waste Land



The 107 Additional Title Appearing on a Single List


 

  • 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear
  • A GUEST AT THE SHOOTERS’ BANQUET: MY GRANDFATHER’S SS PAST, MY JEWISH FAMILY, A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH
  • A Tour Of Bones: Facing Fear And Looking For Life by Denise Inge
  • A Work in Progress
  • Accidental Saints: Finding God In All The Wrong People by Nadia Bolz-Weber
  • Alex Ferguson – Leading
  • Alive, Alive Oh!
  • All I Know Now: Wonderings and Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully
  • ALL THE WRONG PLACES: A LIFE LOST AND FOUND
  • American Wife: Love, War, Faith, and Renewal
  • AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN, VOLUME 3: THE COMPLETE AND AUTHORITATIVE EDITION
  • Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American FamilyOct 20, 2015 by Amy Ellis Nutt
  • Binge
  • Born with Teeth
  • Buy Me the Sky
  • Charlotte Brontë: A Life
  • Dear Mr. You
  • Destiny And Power: The American Odyssey Of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham
  • Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt by Kristin Hersh
  • Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny
  • Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, And The Quest For A Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
  • Every Day I Fight
  • Everything She Wants
  • Fatherland: A Family History by Nina Bunjevac
  • Find a WayOct 20, 2015 by Diana Nyad
  • First Lady: The Life and Wars of Clementine Churchill
  • Going into the City by Robert Christgau
  • Guantánamo Diary
  • Henry IV Parts I and II
  • I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
  • If You Feel Too Much: Thoughts on Things Found and Lost and Hoped For
  • In Real Life: My Journey to a Pixelated World
  • In Search of Mary: the Mother of All Journeys
  • In Search of Sir Thomas Browne—Hugh Aldersey-Williams
  • Intimacy Idiot by Isaac Oliver
  • It Was Me All Along: A MemoirJan 6, 2015 by Andie Mitchell
  • James Merrill by Langdon Hammer
  • Joan Of Arc: A History by Helen Castor
  • John Aubrey: My Own Life
  • Josephine Tey by Jennifer Morag Henderson
  • Judas: The Troubling History of the Renegade Apostle
  • Kid Gloves
  • Killing a King—Dan Ephron
  • Kissinger: The Idealist, 1923-1968. By Niall Ferguson
  • Lafayette In The Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell
  • Leaving Before the Rains ComeJan 22, 2015 by Alexandra Fuller
  • Live Like Line, Love Like Ellyn: One Community’s Journey from Tragedy to Triumph by Bill Hoeft
  • Living on Paper
  • LORD FEAR: A MEMOIR
  • Maggie Smith
  • March: Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell
  • Mr & Mrs Disraeli
  • My Fight / Your Fight
  • My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers her Family’s Nazi Past,” by Jennifer Teege
  • My History, by Antonia Fraser
  • My Journey,” by Donna Karan
  • My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life by Ruth Reichl
  • No More Champagne: Churchill and His Money
  • Open the Cage, Murphy
  • Ordinary Light: A Memoir by Tracy K. Smith
  • Orson Welles: One-Man Band
  • Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World’s Superpowers
  • Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin
  • Reckless: My Life as a PretenderSep 8, 2015 by Chrissie Hynde
  • Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice
  • Scary Close: Dropping the Act and Finding True Intimacy
  • Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church
  • Showa: A History of Japan 1953-1989 by Shigeru Mizuki, translated by Zack Davisson
  • Showdown: Thurgood Marshall And The Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America by Wil Haygood
  • Sisters In Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor And Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went To The Supreme Court And Changed The World by Linda Hirshman
  • Slice Harvester: A Memoir In Pizza by Colin Atrophy Hagendorf
  • Spectacle: The Astonishing Life Of Ota Benga by Pamela Newkirk
  • Spectacles by Sue Perkins
  • Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own
  • Steve Jobs – The Man Who Thought Different
  • Street Poison: The Biography of Iceberg SlimAug 4, 2015 by Justin Gifford
  • Sue Perkins – Spectacles
  • The Arab Of The Future: A Childhood In The Middle East, 1978-1984: A Graphic Memoir by Riad Sattouf
  • The Billion Dollar Spy—David E. Hoffman
  • THE DOGS ARE EATING THEM NOW: OUR WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
  • THE FOLDED CLOCK: A DIARY
  • THE GIRL FROM HUMAN STREET: GHOSTS OF MEMORY IN A JEWISH FAMILY
  • The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story
  • The Light Of The World: A Memoir by Elizabeth Alexander
  • The New Tsar: The Rise And Reign Of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers
  • THE OREGON TRAIL: AN AMERICAN JOURNEY
  • The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams by Phyllis Lee Levin
  • The Speechwriter: A Brief Education In Politics by Barton Swaim
  • The Strategist by Bartholomew Sparrow
  • The Sweden File: Memoir of an American Expatriate, Letters and Comments,” by Bruce Stevens Proctor
  • THE WHITE ROAD: JOURNEY INTO AN OBSESSION
  • THE WORLD’S LARGEST MAN: A MEMOIR
  • Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA,” by Robert Kaplan
  • Threads
  • Troublemaker
  • Ty Cobb by Charles Leerhsen
  • Virginia Woolf by Vivane Forrester
  • Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku” by David Davis
  • We Were Brothers by Barry Moser
  • Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
  • Widow Basquiat: A Love Story by Jennifer Clement
  • Wildflower by Drew Barrymore
  • Winner: A Racing Life
  • WORLDS APART: A MEMOIR
  • Year of the Fat Knight
  • You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir by Felicia Day
  • Young Ovid by Diane Middlebrook

The 17 “Best Biography & Memoir Book” Year-End Lists Consulted