Must-Read
Best Memoirs & Biographies for the Long Form
Bill Clinton's 957 pages. James R. Hansen's authorized Armstrong. James Haller's Loire Valley summer. Books that reward the long form and earn their length.
6 books on this list.
My Lifeby Bill Clinton
4.0“My Life by Bill Clinton 2004 review. The 42nd President’s 957-page memoir, exhaustive on policy, charming on biography, evasive on Lewinsky, and surprisingly self-aware on race.”
First Man : The Life of Neil A. Armstrongby James R. Hansen
5.0“First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen 2005 review. The authorized 769-page biography of Armstrong that became the source for the 2018 Ryan Gosling film, and is meaningfully better than the film remembers.”
Vie De France : Sharing Food, Friendship, and a Kitchen in the Loire Valleyby James Haller
4.0“Vie de France by James Haller 2008 review. A small-town New Hampshire chef takes his cooking-school students to the Loire Valley for a summer and rebuilds his cooking from the ground up.”
Clinton on Clinton: A Portrait of the President in His Own Wordsby Bill Clinton
3.0“Clinton on Clinton: A Portrait of the President in His Own Words 1996 review. A campaign-era compilation of Clinton speeches, statements, and excerpts assembled to chase the 1996 reelection cycle.”
Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internetby Katie Hafner
5.0“Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet by Katie Hafner 1996 review. The first serious history of ARPANET and the team at BBN that built it, written by reporters who actually talked to the engineers.”
CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revisedby Katie Hafner
4.0“Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier by Katie Hafner and John Markoff 1991 review. The 1991 nonfiction account of three early hackers (Kevin Mitnick, Pengo, Robert Morris) that helped define the public understanding of the hacker mythology.”