Biography & Memoir

In this fascinating document, one of Japan's best known-and controversial-writers created what might be termed a new literary form. It is new because it combines elements of many existing types of writing, yet in the end fits into none of them.   At...

'I shall imagine myself as if I had no hands, no eyes, no flesh, no blood, no senses at all'Descartes was prepared to go to any lengths in his search for certainty – even to deny those things that seemed most self-evident. In...

Riveting, elegant, humorous—and illustrated by Smith’s signature Polaroids—New York Times bestseller Year of the Monkey is a moving and original work, a touchstone for our turbulent times. “A picaresque voyage...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER • One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge...

(Available after May 30th, 2022)"Astute and consistently surprising critic" (NPR) Olivia Laing investigates the body and its discontents through the great freedom movements of the twentieth century.   The body is a source of pleasure and of pain, at once...

We can't wait to read this. Viola Davis is an uncompromising and very talented actress with a compelling story to tell. OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • A HARPERS BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF 2022 • A PARADE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK...

In the vein of Lebowitz's acclaimed Netflix limited series, Pretend It's a City—The Fran Lebowitz Reader brings together two of the famed author's bestsellers, Metropolitan Life and Social Studies.In "elegant, finely honed prose" (The Washington Post...

“[In Pimp], Iceberg Slim breaks down some of the coldest, capitalist concepts I’ve ever heard in my life.” —Dave Chappelle, from his Netflix special The Bird RevelationAn immersive experience unlike anything before it, Pimp is the classic hustler’s tale...

Uranus is the coldest planet in the solar system, a frozen giant named after a Greek deity. It is also the inspiration for Uranism, a concept coined by the writer Karl Heinrich Ulrichs in 1864 to define the 'third sex' and the rights of those who 'love...

The electrifying diaries that are essential reading for anyone moved and fascinated by the life and work of one of America's most acclaimed poets. Sylvia Plath began keeping a diary as a young child. By the time she was at Smith College, when this book...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • A young poet tells the unforgettable story of his harrowing migration from El Salvador to the United States at the age of nine in this moving, page-turning memoir hailed as...

A witty introduction to the mind of Goethe, in a new translation for the first time in 150 yearsA Penguin ClassicBy the end of the nineteenth century, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was the world's most celebrated poet, novelist, critic and thinker. Today...

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A candid, hilarious look at women of a certain age and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself.“Wickedly witty ... Crackling sharp ... Fireworks shoot out [of this collection].” —The...

Selected as a Book of the Year in The Times Literary Supplement'This lucid and riveting new biography at once rescuses Kierkegaard from the scholars and shows why he is such an intriguing and useful figure' -- ObserverSøren Kierkegaard, one of the most...

From fiction to memoir to non-fiction, Ann Patchett engages us on every level. In every writing avenue, Patchett gets to the heart of the matter: life. Celebrate it with us in These Precious Days. The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects...

There can be a fine line between loving and loathing, and Belle Burden examines what went wrong after her husband of twenty years exits her life with no warning.INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Burden’s searing, probing...

Patti Smith offers another glimpse into her miraculous world by heading all the way back to the beginning. The writer reflects on her early years of art, exploration and creativity that helped her become the literary icon she is today. NEW YORK...

Each working day from January 29 to November 1, 1951, John Steinbeck warmed up to the work of writing East of Eden with a letter to the late Pascal Covici, his friend and editor at The Viking Press. It was his way, he said, of "getting my...

Following a career in finance, Gary Stevenson is here to tell-all — pulling no punches — about the volatile world he lived in. With an eye on the flaws of capitalism paired with hilarious observations of the financial world, this is a...

Hailed as the most compelling biography of the German dictator yet written, Ian Kershaw's Hitler brings us closer than ever before to the heart of its subject's immense darkness. From his illegitimate birth in a small Austrian village to his fiery death...