Books on Memoir

Breaking Rank

A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing

By Norm Stamper

"Stamper has written a tremendously important book, pulling no punches as he takes a searing look at law enforcement as it is - and as it should be.... Shocking, heartbreaking, hilarious and illuminating, Breaking Rank will attract both cops and 'civilians.' I loved it." --Ann Rule

Denial and Deception

An Insider's View of the CIA

By Melissa Boyle Mahle

Melissa Boyle Mahle was a CIA covert operative in the Middle East from 1988 to 2002, one of a handful of women agents who spoke Arabic, and the top-ranked female Arabist in the agency. This is her revealing take on the CIA from the inside.

Darfur Diaries

Stories of Survival

By Jen Marlowe, Aisha Bain and Adam Shapiro

In November 2004, three independent filmmakers traveled to eastern Chad and crept across the border into Darfur. Improvising as they went, they spoke with dozens of Darfurians, learning about their history, hopes, and fears, and the resilience and tragedy of their everyday lives.

Darfur Diaries was selected as a "Book of Conscience" by the American Booksellers Association and the Genocide Prevention Project to help commemorate April 2009 as Genocide Prevention Month.

The End of Romance

A Memoir of Love, Sex, and the Mystery of the Violin

By Norma Barzman

The End of Romance is a riveting memoir set against the backdrop of the rise of the Red Brigades and the resurgence of fascism in Italy.

Zioncheck for President

A True Story of Idealism and Madness in American Politics

By Phil Campbell

Zioncheck for President tells the true story of Grant Cogswell, Seattle poet, punk rock fan, anarchist, and grassroots activist who ran for city council in 2001. Unfolding in parallel is the tale of US representative Marion Anthony Zioncheck, a legendary boozer and forgotten lefty radical from the 1930s.

Persona Non Grata

A Memoir of Disenchantment with the Cuban Revolution

By Jorge Edwards

In 1970 Jorge Edwards was dispatched by socialist Chilean President Salvador Allende to break the diplomatic blockade that had sealed Cuba for over a decade. His arrival coincided with the turning point of the Revolution, when Castro began to repress the very intellectuals he once courted.

Capri and No Longer Capri

By Raffaele La Capria

Long a cult travel guide/memoir for Italians, Capri and no Longer Capri, now translated, is available to a wider audience.

I'd Hate Myself in the Morning

A Memoir

By Ring Lardner, Jr.

All For Love

By Ved Mehta

One of the literary world's most versatile and surprising writers (and famously private about his personal life) tells a hair-raising story of four beautiful women who drove him to extremes of hope and despair.

The Good, the Bad, and the Dolce Vita

The Adventures of an Actor in Hollywood, Paris, and Rome

By Mickey Knox

What Isn't There

Inside a Season of Change

By Jocelyn Lieu

Backstabbing for Beginners

My Crash Course in International Diplomacy

By Michael Soussan

The Wall Street Journal listed Backstabbing for Beginners as one of the 12 best books of 2008.

A World I Loved

The Story of an Arab Woman

By Wadad Makdisi Cortas

The Red Letters

My Father's Enchanted Period

By Ved Mehta

Songs of Blood and Sword

A Daughter’s Memoir

By Fatima Bhutto

Fatima Bhutto's powerful new memoir, Songs of Blood and Sword, tells the story of a family of rich feudal landlords—the proud descendants of a warrior caste—who became power brokers in the newly created state of Pakistan. It is an epic tale full of the romance and legend of feudal life, the glamor and license of the international political elite and ultimately, the tragedy of four generations of a family defined by a political idealism that would destroy them.

See Fatima on her book tour!