This month’s best new biographies and memoirs

Don’t miss the best new biographies and memoirs from the past month, hand-picked by our editors! Check out our roundup of this month’s buzziest biographies and memoirs — which includes the latest release from the author of Say Nothing, a harrowing account of an extremist cult, and more.

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	‘Consider this a real-life Harlan Coben novel’ (The New York Times) WHY IT’S READWORTHY: The latest release from the author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain has been hotly anticipated by The Washington Post, Time, The New Yorker, and more As a family reeled from their son’s sudden apparent suicide, they uncovered his secret life in London’s criminal underworld This “blockbuster feat of reportage” (Esquire) follows 19-year-old Zac Brettler’s dangerous dealings while posing as a Russian oligarch’s heir Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers A larger-than-life father — and the many secrets he left behind WHY IT’S READWORTHY: “Affecting… Moves like a song, drawing you in with its melody before delivering an emotional wallop” (The New York Times) Tom Junod learned about manhood from his charming, womanizing father. In this moving memoir, he grapples with masculinity and redemption after his dad’s death An award-winning journalist delivers a work that’s part detective story, part family portrait, and completely “a winner” (Publishers Weekly) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers A witty, insightful guide to thriving during difficult times WHY IT’S READWORTHY: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy In this “uplifting, encouraging, and incredibly inspiring” read (Library Journal starred review), Lawson reflects on her own hard times and offers advice for anyone facing anxiety, creative block, chronic illness, and more New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi says, “I hope Jenny Lawson never gets tired of being an actual national treasure” Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers Meet I. H. Godlove — the brilliant, obsessive scientist behind our modern color definitions WHY IT’S READWORTHY: “Filled with opinionated, insistent, stubborn characters who devoted their lives to accuracy… A fresh, irreverent history of words” (Kirkus Reviews) Go behind the scenes of the Merriam-Webster office in the mid–20th century, where Godlove was hired to help revise the dictionary for modern times “An uproarious journey” (Publishers Weekly starred review) for anyone fascinated by lexicography or hidden histories Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers A multiplatinum, Grammy Award–winning performer bares all WHY IT’S READWORTHY: Brandy reveals what it was like to get a record deal at age 14, become the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen, and learn to stand on her own in Hollywood “A hopeful, honest memoir” (Kirkus Reviews) that reflects on the highs and considerable lows of fame and fortune “Offers an intimate look at the cost of celebrity and the hard-won process of reclaiming one’s voice” (Booklist) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers When Serena’s father set out to create a jeweled egg to rival Fabergé, it sparked their family’s ruin WHY IT’S READWORTHY: “An extraordinary family story and a strange, poignant portrait of obsession” (Sophie Elmhirst, author of A Marriage at Sea) The extravagant, solid gold egg led to the collapse of Paul Kutchinsky’s business, the dissolution of his marriage, and even his death — but then, it vanished without a trace “The author unearths the story with a journalist’s doggedness and a novelist’s flair for detail, bravely seeking answers to childhood mysteries many would leave unsolved” (Publishers Weekly starred review) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers ‘Hair-raising… This rigorous study of religious abuse isn’t easy to shake’ (Publishers Weekly) WHY IT’S READWORTHY: Learn about the rise and fall of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, a paramilitary religious cult, through the stories of its cruel leader, an early member, and the founder’s daughter Pulitzer Prize–winning author Joby Warrick calls it “a riveting portrait of one of the strangest American cults in recent memory” Highly anticipated by Oprah Daily and Town & Country Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers This atmospheric memoir will carry you from Zimbabwe to Oxford WHY IT’S READWORTHY: “A well-crafted blend of personal and political history” (Kirkus Reviews) from an Oxford professor who was the only Black man in his college class Simukai Chigudu details his childhood in a newly independent Zimbabwe rife with racism — and reflects on how decolonization shaped his life and family This “elegant exploration of how political liberation does not always bring freedom for oneself… asks what it means to stand up to the past without being trapped by it, and whether a different kind of freedom might still be possible” (The Guardian) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers The definitive biography of the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lonesome Dove WHY IT’S READWORTHY: An acclaimed journalist and friend of Larry McMurtry “captures the restless genius” (BookPage) of the beloved author of the American West “Streitfeld brings the writer’s unfiltered voice and unique anecdotes into the narrative… The result is a memorable portrait of a Texas icon” (Publishers Weekly) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers Empress Maria Theresia’s seven daughters were pawns in 18th-century dynastic politics WHY IT’S READWORTHY: Includes Queen Marie Antoinette of France; Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen; and Carolina of Naples, Napoleon’s staunch enemy “A richly detailed history of eventful lives” (Kirkus Reviews starred review), based on the women’s diaries and letters Court intrigue, personal ambition, and revolution abound in this “novel and insightful” page-turner (Adam Zamoyski) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers
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