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biography , form of literature , commonly considered nonfictional, the subject of which is the life of an individual. One of the oldest forms of literary expression, it seeks to re-create in words the life of a human being—as understood from the historical or personal perspective of the author—by drawing upon all available evidence, including that retained in memory as well as written, oral, and pictorial material.

Biography is sometimes regarded as a branch of history , and earlier biographical writings—such as the 15th-century Mémoires of the French councellor of state, Philippe de Commynes , or George Cavendish’s 16th-century life of Thomas Cardinal Wolsey —have often been treated as historical material rather than as literary works in their own right. Some entries in ancient Chinese chronicles included biographical sketches; imbedded in the Roman historian Tacitus ’s Annals is the most famous biography of the emperor Tiberius ; conversely , Sir Winston Churchill ’s magnificent life of his ancestor John Churchill, first duke of Marlborough , can be read as a history (written from a special point of view) of Britain and much of Europe during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14). Yet there is general recognition today that history and biography are quite distinct forms of literature. History usually deals in generalizations about a period of time (for example, the Renaissance), about a group of people in time (the English colonies in North America), about an institution (monasticism during the Middle Ages). Biography more typically focuses upon a single human being and deals in the particulars of that person’s life.

Both biography and history, however, are often concerned with the past, and it is in the hunting down, evaluating, and selection of sources that they are akin. In this sense biography can be regarded as a craft rather than an art: techniques of research and general rules for testing evidence can be learned by anyone and thus need involve comparatively little of that personal commitment associated with art.

A biographer in pursuit of an individual long dead is usually hampered by a lack of sources: it is often impossible to check or verify what written evidence there is; there are no witnesses to cross-examine. No method has yet been developed by which to overcome such problems. Each life, however, presents its own opportunities as well as specific difficulties to the biographer: the ingenuity with which the biographer handles gaps in the record—by providing information, for example, about the age that casts light upon the subject—has much to do with the quality of the resulting work. James Boswell knew comparatively little about Samuel Johnson ’s earlier years; it is one of the greatnesses of his Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. (1791) that he succeeded, without inventing matter or deceiving the reader, in giving the sense of a life progressively unfolding. Another masterpiece of reconstruction in the face of little evidence is A.J.A. Symons ’ biography of the English author and eccentric Frederick William Rolfe , The Quest for Corvo (1934). A further difficulty is the unreliability of most collections of papers, letters, and other memorabilia edited before the 20th century. Not only did editors feel free to omit and transpose materials, but sometimes the authors of documents revised their personal writings for the benefit of posterity , often falsifying the record and presenting their biographers with a difficult situation when the originals were no longer extant .

The biographer writing the life of a person recently dead is often faced with the opposite problem: an abundance of living witnesses and a plethora of materials, which include the subject’s papers and letters, sometimes transcriptions of telephone conversations and conferences, as well as the record of interviews granted to the biographer by the subject’s friends and associates. Frank Friedel, for example, in creating a biography of the U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt , had to wrestle with something like 40 tons of paper. But finally, when writing the life of any person, whether long or recently dead, the biographer’s chief responsibility is vigorously to test the authenticity of the collected materials by whatever rules and techniques are available. When the subject of a biography is still alive and a contributor to the work, the biographer’s task is to examine the subject’s perspective against multiple, even contradictory sources.

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The 30 best biographies of all time.

Biographer Richard Holmes once wrote that his work was “a kind of pursuit… writing about the pursuit of that fleeting figure, in such a way as to bring them alive in the present.”

At the risk of sounding cliché, the best biographies do exactly this: bring their subjects to life. A great biography isn’t just a laundry list of events that happened to someone. Rather, it should weave a narrative and tell a story in almost the same way a novel does. In this way, biography differs from the rest of nonfiction .

All the biographies on this list are just as captivating as excellent novels , if not more so. With that, please enjoy the 30 best biographies of all time — some historical, some recent, but all remarkable, life-giving tributes to their subjects.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great biographies out there, you can also take our 30-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized biography recommendation  😉

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1. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

This biography of esteemed mathematician John Nash was both a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize and the basis for the award-winning film of the same name. Nasar thoroughly explores Nash’s prestigious career, from his beginnings at MIT to his work at the RAND Corporation — as well the internal battle he waged against schizophrenia, a disorder that nearly derailed his life.

2. Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film The Imitation Game - Updated Edition by Andrew Hodges

Hodges’ 1983 biography of Alan Turing sheds light on the inner workings of this brilliant mathematician, cryptologist, and computer pioneer. Indeed, despite the title ( a nod to his work during WWII ), a great deal of the “enigmatic” Turing is laid out in this book. It covers his heroic code-breaking efforts during the war, his computer designs and contributions to mathematical biology in the years following, and of course, the vicious persecution that befell him in the 1950s — when homosexual acts were still a crime punishable by English law.

3. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton is not only the inspiration for a hit Broadway musical, but also a work of creative genius itself. This massive undertaking of over 800 pages details every knowable moment of the youngest Founding Father’s life: from his role in the Revolutionary War and early American government to his sordid (and ultimately career-destroying) affair with Maria Reynolds. He may never have been president, but he was a fascinating and unique figure in American history — plus it’s fun to get the truth behind the songs.

Prefer to read about fascinating First Ladies rather than almost-presidents? Check out this awesome list of books about First Ladies over on The Archive.

4. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

A prolific essayist, short story writer, and novelist, Hurston turned her hand to biographical writing in 1927 with this incredible work, kept under lock and key until it was published 2018. It’s based on Hurston’s interviews with the last remaining survivor of the Middle Passage slave trade, a man named Cudjo Lewis. Rendered in searing detail and Lewis’ highly affecting African-American vernacular, this biography of the “last black cargo” will transport you back in time to an era that, chillingly, is not nearly as far away from us as it feels.

5. Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert

Though many a biography of him has been attempted, Gilbert’s is the final authority on Winston Churchill — considered by many to be Britain’s greatest prime minister ever. A dexterous balance of in-depth research and intimately drawn details makes this biography a perfect tribute to the mercurial man who led Britain through World War II.

Just what those circumstances are occupies much of Bodanis's book, which pays homage to Einstein and, just as important, to predecessors such as Maxwell, Faraday, and Lavoisier, who are not as well known as Einstein today. Balancing writerly energy and scholarly weight, Bodanis offers a primer in modern physics and cosmology, explaining that the universe today is an expression of mass that will, in some vastly distant future, one day slide back to the energy side of the equation, replacing the \'dominion of matter\' with \'a great stillness\'--a vision that is at once lovely and profoundly frightening.

Without sliding into easy psychobiography, Bodanis explores other circumstances as well; namely, Einstein's background and character, which combined with a sterling intelligence to afford him an idiosyncratic view of the way things work--a view that would change the world. --Gregory McNamee

6. E=mc²: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis

This “biography of the world’s most famous equation” is a one-of-a-kind take on the genre: rather than being the story of Einstein, it really does follow the history of the equation itself. From the origins and development of its individual elements (energy, mass, and light) to their ramifications in the twentieth century, Bodanis turns what could be an extremely dry subject into engaging fare for readers of all stripes.

7. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

When Enrique was only five years old, his mother left Honduras for the United States, promising a quick return. Eleven years later, Enrique finally decided to take matters into his own hands in order to see her again: he would traverse Central and South America via railway, risking his life atop the “train of death” and at the hands of the immigration authorities, to reunite with his mother. This tale of Enrique’s perilous journey is not for the faint of heart, but it is an account of incredible devotion and sharp commentary on the pain of separation among immigrant families.

8. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

Herrera’s 1983 biography of renowned painter Frida Kahlo, one of the most recognizable names in modern art, has since become the definitive account on her life. And while Kahlo no doubt endured a great deal of suffering (a horrific accident when she was eighteen, a husband who had constant affairs), the focal point of the book is not her pain. Instead, it’s her artistic brilliance and immense resolve to leave her mark on the world — a mark that will not soon be forgotten, in part thanks to Herrera’s dedicated work.

9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Perhaps the most impressive biographical feat of the twenty-first century, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about a woman whose cells completely changed the trajectory of modern medicine. Rebecca Skloot skillfully commemorates the previously unknown life of a poor black woman whose cancer cells were taken, without her knowledge, for medical testing — and without whom we wouldn’t have many of the critical cures we depend upon today.

10. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Christopher McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, hitchhiked to Alaska and disappeared into the Denali wilderness in April 1992. Five months later, McCandless was found emaciated and deceased in his shelter — but of what cause? Krakauer’s biography of McCandless retraces his steps back to the beginning of the trek, attempting to suss out what the young man was looking for on his journey, and whether he fully understood what dangers lay before him.

11. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Three Tenant Families by James Agee

"Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us.” From this line derives the central issue of Agee and Evans’ work: who truly deserves our praise and recognition? According to this 1941 biography, it’s the barely-surviving sharecropper families who were severely impacted by the American “Dust Bowl” — hundreds of people entrenched in poverty, whose humanity Evans and Agee desperately implore their audience to see in their book.

12. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

Another mysterious explorer takes center stage in this gripping 2009 biography. Grann tells the story of Percy Fawcett, the archaeologist who vanished in the Amazon along with his son in 1925, supposedly in search of an ancient lost city. Parallel to this narrative, Grann describes his own travels in the Amazon 80 years later: discovering firsthand what threats Fawcett may have encountered, and coming to realize what the “Lost City of Z” really was.

13. Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang

Though many of us will be familiar with the name Mao Zedong, this prodigious biography sheds unprecedented light upon the power-hungry “Red Emperor.” Chang and Halliday begin with the shocking statistic that Mao was responsible for 70 million deaths during peacetime — more than any other twentieth-century world leader. From there, they unravel Mao’s complex ideologies, motivations, and missions, breaking down his long-propagated “hero” persona and thrusting forth a new, grislier image of one of China’s biggest revolutionaries.

14. Mad Girl's Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted by Andrew Wilson by Andrew Wilson

Titled after one of her most evocative poems, this shimmering bio of Sylvia Plath takes an unusual approach. Instead of focusing on her years of depression and tempestuous marriage to poet Ted Hughes, it chronicles her life before she ever came to Cambridge. Wilson closely examines her early family and relationships, feelings and experiences, with information taken from her meticulous diaries — setting a strong precedent for other Plath biographers to follow.

15. The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes

What if you had twenty-four different people living inside you, and you never knew which one was going to come out? Such was the life of Billy Milligan, the subject of this haunting biography by the author of Flowers for Algernon . Keyes recounts, in a refreshingly straightforward style, the events of Billy’s life and how his psyche came to be “split”... as well as how, with Keyes’ help, he attempted to put the fragments of himself back together.

16. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

This gorgeously constructed biography follows Paul Farmer, a doctor who’s worked for decades to eradicate infectious diseases around the globe, particularly in underprivileged areas. Though Farmer’s humanitarian accomplishments are extraordinary in and of themselves, the true charm of this book comes from Kidder’s personal relationship with him — and the sense of fulfillment the reader sustains from reading about someone genuinely heroic, written by someone else who truly understands and admires what they do.

17. Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts

Here’s another bio that will reshape your views of a famed historical tyrant, though this time in a surprisingly favorable light. Decorated scholar Andrew Roberts delves into the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, from his near-flawless military instincts to his complex and confusing relationship with his wife. But Roberts’ attitude toward his subject is what really makes this work shine: rather than ridiculing him ( as it would undoubtedly be easy to do ), he approaches the “petty tyrant” with a healthy amount of deference.

18. The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson IV by Robert A. Caro

Lyndon Johnson might not seem as intriguing or scandalous as figures like Kennedy, Nixon, or W. Bush. But in this expertly woven biography, Robert Caro lays out the long, winding road of his political career, and it’s full of twists you wouldn’t expect. Johnson himself was a surprisingly cunning figure, gradually maneuvering his way closer and closer to power. Finally, in 1963, he got his greatest wish — but at what cost? Fans of Adam McKay’s Vice , this is the book for you.

19. Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

Anyone who grew up reading Little House on the Prairie will surely be fascinated by this tell-all biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Caroline Fraser draws upon never-before-published historical resources to create a lush study of the author’s life — not in the gently narrated manner of the Little House series, but in raw and startling truths about her upbringing, marriage, and volatile relationship with her daughter (and alleged ghostwriter) Rose Wilder Lane.

20. Prince: A Private View by Afshin Shahidi

Compiled just after the superstar’s untimely death in 2016, this intimate snapshot of Prince’s life is actually a largely visual work — Shahidi served as his private photographer from the early 2000s until his passing. And whatever they say about pictures being worth a thousand words, Shahidi’s are worth more still: Prince’s incredible vibrance, contagious excitement, and altogether singular personality come through in every shot.

21. Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss

Could there be a more fitting title for a book about the husband-wife team who discovered radioactivity? What you may not know is that these nuclear pioneers also had a fascinating personal history. Marie Sklodowska met Pierre Curie when she came to work in his lab in 1891, and just a few years later they were married. Their passion for each other bled into their passion for their work, and vice-versa — and in almost no time at all, they were on their way to their first of their Nobel Prizes.

22. Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson

She may not have been assassinated or killed in a mysterious plane crash, but Rosemary Kennedy’s fate is in many ways the worst of “the Kennedy Curse.” As if a botched lobotomy that left her almost completely incapacitated weren’t enough, her parents then hid her away from society, almost never to be seen again. Yet in this new biography, penned by devoted Kennedy scholar Kate Larson, the full truth of Rosemary’s post-lobotomy life is at last revealed.

23. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

This appropriately lyrical biography of brilliant Jazz Age poet and renowned feminist, Edna St. Vincent Millay, is indeed a perfect balance of savage and beautiful. While Millay’s poetic work was delicate and subtle, the woman herself was feisty and unpredictable, harboring unusual and occasionally destructive habits that Milford fervently explores.

24. Shelley: The Pursuit by Richard Holmes

Holmes’ famous philosophy of “biography as pursuit” is thoroughly proven here in his first full-length biographical work. Shelley: The Pursuit details an almost feverish tracking of Percy Shelley as a dark and cutting figure in the Romantic period — reforming many previous historical conceptions about him through Holmes’ compelling and resolute writing.

25. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Another Gothic figure has been made newly known through this work, detailing the life of prolific horror and mystery writer Shirley Jackson. Author Ruth Franklin digs deep into the existence of the reclusive and mysterious Jackson, drawing penetrating comparisons between the true events of her life and the dark nature of her fiction.

26. The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

Fans of Into the Wild and The Lost City of Z will find their next adventure fix in this 2017 book about Christopher Knight, a man who lived by himself in the Maine woods for almost thirty years. The tale of this so-called “last true hermit” will captivate readers who have always fantasized about escaping society, with vivid descriptions of Knight’s rural setup, his carefully calculated moves and how he managed to survive the deadly cold of the Maine winters.

27. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

The man, the myth, the legend: Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple, is properly immortalized in Isaacson’s masterful biography. It divulges the details of Jobs’ little-known childhood and tracks his fateful path from garage engineer to leader of one of the largest tech companies in the world — not to mention his formative role in other legendary companies like Pixar, and indeed within the Silicon Valley ecosystem as a whole.

28. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Olympic runner Louis Zamperini was just twenty-six when his US Army bomber crashed and burned in the Pacific, leaving him and two other men afloat on a raft for forty-seven days — only to be captured by the Japanese Navy and tortured as a POW for the next two and a half years. In this gripping biography, Laura Hillenbrand tracks Zamperini’s story from beginning to end… including how he embraced Christian evangelism as a means of recovery, and even came to forgive his tormentors in his later years.

29. Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) by Stacy Schiff

Everyone knows of Vladimir Nabokov — but what about his wife, Vera, whom he called “the best-humored woman I have ever known”? According to Schiff, she was a genius in her own right, supporting Vladimir not only as his partner, but also as his all-around editor and translator. And she kept up that trademark humor throughout it all, inspiring her husband’s work and injecting some of her own creative flair into it along the way.

30. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

William Shakespeare is a notoriously slippery historical figure — no one really knows when he was born, what he looked like, or how many plays he wrote. But that didn’t stop Stephen Greenblatt, who in 2004 turned out this magnificently detailed biography of the Bard: a series of imaginative reenactments of his writing process, and insights on how the social and political ideals of the time would have influenced him. Indeed, no one exists in a vacuum, not even Shakespeare — hence the conscious depiction of him in this book as a “will in the world,” rather than an isolated writer shut up in his own musty study.

If you're looking for more inspiring nonfiction, check out this list of 30 engaging self-help books , or this list of the last century's best memoirs !

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Home » Writing » Autobiography vs. Biography vs. Memoir

What is a Biography?

A biography, also called a bio, is a non-fiction piece of work giving an objective account of a person’s life. The main difference between a biography vs. an autobiography is that the author of a biography is not the subject. A biography could be someone still living today, or it could be the subject of a person who lived years ago.

Biographies include details of key events that shaped the subject’s life, and information about their birthplace, education, work, and relationships. Biographers use a number of research sources, including interviews, letters, diaries, photographs, essays, reference books, and newspapers. While a biography is usually in the written form, it can be produced in other formats such as music composition or film.

If the target person of the biography is not alive, then the storytelling requires an immense amount of research. Interviews might be required to collect information from historical experts, people who knew the person (e.g., friends and family), or reading other older accounts from other people who wrote about the person in previous years. In biographies where the person is still alive, the writer can conduct several interviews with the target person to gain insight on their life.

The goal of a biography is to take the reader through the life story of the person, including their childhood into adolescence and teenage years, and then their early adult life into the rest of their years. The biography tells a story of how the person learned life’s lessons and the ways the person navigated the world. It should give the reader a clear picture of the person’s personality, traits, and their interaction in the world.

Biographies can also be focused on groups of people and not just one person. For example, a biography can be a historical account of a group of people from hundreds of years ago. This group could have the main person who was a part of the group, and the author writes about the group to tell a story of how they shaped the world.

Fictional biographies mix some true historical accounts with events to help improve the story. Think of fictional biographies as movies that display a warning that the story is made of real characters, but some events are fictional to add to the storyline and entertainment value. A lot of research still goes into a fictional biography, but the author has more room to create a storyline instead of sticking to factual events.

Examples of famous biographies include:

• His Excellency: George Washington  by Joseph J. Ellis
• Einstein: The Life and Times  by Ronald William Clark
• Princess Diana – A Biography of The Princess of Wales  by Drew L. Crichton

What is an Autobiography?

An autobiography is the story of a person’s life written by that person. Because the author is also the main character of the story, autobiographies are written in the first person. Usually, an autobiography is written by the person who is the subject of the book, but sometimes the autobiography is written by another person. Because an autobiography is usually a life story for the author, the theme can be anything from religious to a personal account to pass on to children.

The purpose of an autobiography is to portray the life experiences and achievements of the author. Therefore, most autobiographies are typically written later in the subject’s life. It’s written from the point of view of the author, so it typically uses first person accounts to describe the story.

An autobiography often begins during early childhood and chronologically details key events throughout the author’s life. Autobiographies usually include information about where a person was born and brought up, their education, career, life experiences, the challenges they faced, and their key achievements.

On rare occasions, an autobiography is created from a person’s diary or memoirs. When diaries are used, the author must organize them to create a chronological and cohesive story. The story might have flashbacks or flashforwards to describe a specific event, but the main storyline should follow chronological order from the author’s early life to their current events.

One of the main differences between an autobiography vs. a biography is that autobiographies tend to be more subjective. That’s because they are written by the subject, and present the facts based on their own memories of a specific situation, which can be biased. The story covers the author’s opinions on specific subjects and provides an account of their feelings as they navigate certain situations. These stories are also very personal because it’s a personal account of the author’s life rather than a biography where a third party writes about a specific person.

Examples of famous autobiographies include:

• The Story of My Life  by Helen Keller
• The Diary of a Young Girl  by Anne Frank
• Losing My Virginity  by Richard Branson

What is a Memoir?

Memoir comes from the French word  mémoire , meaning memory or reminiscence. Similar to an autobiography, a memoir is the story of a person’s life written by that person. These life stories are often from diary entries either from a first-person account or from a close family member or friend with access to personal diaries.

The difference between a memoir vs. an autobiography is that a memoir focuses on reflection and establishing an emotional connection, rather than simply presenting the facts about their life. The author uses their personal knowledge to tell an intimate and emotional story about the private or public happenings in their life. The author could be the person in the story, or it can be written by a close family member or friend who knew the subject person intimately. The topic is intentionally focused and does not include biographical or chronological aspects of the author’s life unless they are meaningful and relevant to the story.

Memoirs come in several types, all of which are written as an emotional account of the target person. They usually tell a story of a person who went through great struggles or faced challenges in a unique way. They can also cover confessionals where the memoir tells the story of the author’s account that contradicts another’s account.

This genre of writing is often stories covering famous people’s lives, such as celebrities. In many memoir projects, the celebrity or person of interest needs help with organization, writing the story, and fleshing out ideas from the person’s diaries. It might take several interviews before the story can be fully outlined and written, so it’s not uncommon for a memoir project to last several months.

Memoirs do not usually require as much research as biographies and autobiographies, because you have the personal accounts in diary entries and documents with the person’s thoughts. It might require several interviews, however, before the diary entries can be organized to give an accurate account on the person’s thoughts and emotions. The story does not necessarily need to be in chronological order compared to an autobiography, but it might be to tell a better story.

Examples of famous memoirs include:

• Angela’s Ashes  by Frank McCourt
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings  by Maya Angelou
• Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S.  Grant by Ulysses S. Grant

Autobiography vs. Biography vs. Memoir Comparison Chart

Check out some of our blogs to learn more about memoirs:

• What is a memoir?
• 5 tips for writing a memoir
• Your memoir is your legacy

Ready to get started on your own memoir, autobiography, or biography? Download our free desktop book-making software, BookWright .

Autobiographies , Biographies , memoirs

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Definition of Biography

Common examples of biographical subjects, famous examples of biographical works.

Here are some famous examples of biographical works that are familiar to many readers outside of biography fans:

Difference Between Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir

A biography is an informational narrative and account of the life history of an individual person, written by someone who is not the subject of the biography. An autobiography is the story of an individual’s life, written by that individual. In general, an autobiography is presented chronologically with a focus on key events in the person’s life. Since the writer is the subject of an autobiography, it’s written in the first person and considered more subjective than objective, like a biography. In addition, autobiographies are often written late in the person’s life to present their life experiences, challenges, achievements, viewpoints, etc., across time.

Examples of Biography in Literature

An important subset of biography is literary biography. A literary biography applies biographical study and form to the lives of artists and writers. This poses some complications for writers of literary biographies in that they must balance the representation of the biographical subject, the artist or writer, as well as aspects of the subject’s literary works. This balance can be difficult to achieve in terms of judicious interpretation of biographical elements within an author’s literary work and consideration of the separate spheres of the artist and their art.

Example 1:  Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay  (Nancy Milford)

One of the first things Vincent explained to Norma was that there was a certain freedom of language in the Village that mustn’t shock her. It wasn’t vulgar. ‘So we sat darning socks on Waverly Place and practiced the use of profanity as we stitched. Needle in, . Needle out, piss. Needle in, . Needle out, c. Until we were easy with the words.’

Example 2:  The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens  (Claire Tomalin)

The season of domestic goodwill and festivity must have posed a problem to all good Victorian family men with more than one family to take care of, particularly when there were two lots of children to receive the demonstrations of paternal love.

Example 3:  Virginia Woolf  (Hermione Lee)

‘A self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living’: so too with the biography of that self. And just as lives don’t stay still, so life-writing can’t be fixed and finalised. Our ideas are shifting about what can be said, our knowledge of human character is changing. The biographer has to pioneer, going ‘ahead of the rest of us, like the miner’s canary, testing the atmosphere , detecting falsity, unreality, and the presence of obsolete conventions’. So, ‘There are some stories which have to be retold by each generation’. She is talking about the story of Shelley, but she could be talking about her own life-story.

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• A-Z Publications

Annual Review of Sociology

Volume 49, 2023, review article, open access, life's work: history, biography, and ideas.

• Ann Swidler 1
• View Affiliations Hide Affiliations Affiliations: Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA; email: [email protected]
• Vol. 49:21-37 (Volume publication date July 2023) https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-031021-040416
• Copyright © 2023 by the author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See credit lines of images or other third-party material in this article for license information

Part personal autobiography, part intellectual history, this article offers lessons from a long career, reflections on my sociological contributions, and an account of how major social changes shaped my trajectory and made me the sociologist I am. I also offer an assessment of some of my central ideas and some new suggestions about how to understand culture.

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How to Write a Biography

Last Updated: May 28, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,866,896 times.

Writing a biography can be a fun challenge, where you are sharing the story of someone’s life with readers. You may need to write a biography for a class or decide to write one as a personal project. Once you have identified the subject of the biography, do your research so you know as much about them as possible. Then, dive into the writing of the biography and revising it until it is at its finest.

Researching Your Subject

• If the subject does not give you permission to write the biography, you may want to choose a different subject. If you decide to publish the biography without the subject’s permission, you may be susceptible to legal action by the subject.
• If the subject is no longer alive, you obviously do not need to ask permission to write about them.

• You may create research questions to help focus your research of the subject, such as, What do I find interesting about the subject? Why is this subject important to readers? What can I say that is new about the subject? What would I like to learn more about?

• For in person interviews, record them with a tape recorder or a voice recorder on your computer or phone.
• You may need to interview the subject and others several times to get the material you need.

• You may also want to visit areas where the subject made a major decision or breakthrough in their life. Being physically in the area can give you a sense of how the subject might have felt and help you write their experiences more effectively.

• When researching the time period ask yourself: What were the social norms of that time? What was going on economically and politically? How did the social and political climate affect the subject?

• You may also include historical events or moments that affected the subject on the timeline. For example, maybe there was a conflict or civil war that happened during the person’s life that affected their life.

Writing the Biography

• You may end up focusing on particular areas of the person’s life. If you do this, work through a particular period in the person’s life chronologically.

• For example, you may have a thesis statement about focusing on how the person impacted the civil rights movement in America in the 1970s. You can then make sure all your content relates back to this thesis.

• Flashbacks should feel as detailed and real as present day scenes. Use your research notes and interviews with the subject to get a good sense of their past for the flashbacks.
• For example, you may jump from the person’s death in the present to a flashback to their favorite childhood memory.

• For example, you may focus on the person’s accomplishments in the civil rights movement. You may write a whole section about their contributions and participation in major civil rights marches in their hometown.

• For example, you may notice that the person’s life is patterned with moments of adversity, where the person worked hard and fought against larger forces. You can then use the theme of overcoming adversity in the biography.

• For example, you may note how you see parallels in the person’s life during the civil rights movement with your own interests in social justice. You may also commend the person for their hard work and positive impact on society.

Polishing the Biography

• Revise the biography based on feedback from others. Do not be afraid to cut or edit down the biography to suit the needs of your readers.

• Having a biography riddled with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors can turn off your readers and result in a poor grade if you are handing in the text for a class.

• If the biography is for a class, use MLA , APA , or Chicago Style citations based on the preferences of your instructor.

Biography Help

Community Q&A

• Be careful when publishing private or embarrassing information, especially if the person is not a celebrity. You may violate their "Right of Privacy" or equivalent. Thanks Helpful 31 Not Helpful 5
• Have the sources to back up your statements about the subject's life. Untruthful written statements can lead to litigation. If it is your opinion, be clear that it is such and not fact (although you can support your opinion with facts). Thanks Helpful 16 Not Helpful 15

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/writing/how-to-write-a-biography.html
• ↑ https://au.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-bio
• ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/3-tips-for-writing-successful-flashbacks
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-bio/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ https://www.plagiarism.org/article/how-do-i-cite-sources

About This Article

Before you write a biography, gather as much information about the subject that you can from sources like newspaper articles, interviews, photos, existing biographies, and anything else you can find. Write the story of that person’s life, including as much supporting detail as you can, including information about the place and time where the person lived. Focus on major events and milestones in their life, including historical events, marriage, children, and events which would shape their path later in life. For tips from our reviewer on proofreading the biography and citing your sources, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Write a Personal History

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Why Create a Personal History?
• 3 When Should I Create My Personal History?
• 4.1 Written Biographies
• 4.2 Journals
• 4.3 Narratives
• 4.4 Records of Milestones
• 4.5 Scrapbooking
• 4.6 Oral Histories
• 4.7 Electronic Recordings
• 4.8 Online Photo Books
• 5.1 Potential Subjects for Your History
• 5.2 Start Writing
• 5.3 Other Things to Include
• 5.4 Writing Challenges
• 6.1 After the Review
• 7 Decide How You Want Your Finished History to Look
• 8.1 Websites
• 10 Websites
• 11 See also

Introduction [ edit | edit source ]

A personal history is one way of leaving a legacy for descendants to treasure for generations. It is important to retain accuracy of information when creating your personal history. If you leave it to someone else to create it, he or she can only rely on their memories of you and secondhand stories that may not accurately reflect your life.

If you feel overwhelmed about where to begin, go to jrnl.com (Sign up; it’s free!) On the site, there is a section titled “All About Me.” This is a great starting point, because not only does it ask questions to trigger memories, it also allows you to document your answers right there within the form. The questions are categorized to keep details organized.

Also, see this FamilySearch blog article about this subject, New Year's Resolution: Write Your Life Story #52Stories .

Why Create a Personal History? [ edit | edit source ]

Ask yourself these questions – if your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors did not leave life histories, do you wish they had? Do you wish you could read about their lives? If so, it is likely for your descendants to feel the same way if you don’t. A record of your life can be a great gift to those who come after you. Words in print can be read and reread, pondered over, and returned to. The words your teenager rejects now may become clear and precious when he or she rereads them later in life.

You could have a great effect on those who follow you. Your example, trials, and triumphs can strengthen and motivate others. A famous, biblical example is Job of the Old Testament, who suffered many trials. “Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!” he mourned (Job 19:23-4 KJV). His words were written, and so his triumph over tragedy and his faith have remained an example of devotion to people of the world for thousands of years.

Writing your history can also provide you with an opportunity to evaluate your life. It may help to clarify your direction in life. Writing about your past, even if it was not idyllic, can help you cope with feelings and create an opportunity to find understanding and forgiveness. See also 2: Writing a Family History” in the FamilySearch Learning Center . Many of the same reasons also apply.

When Should I Create My Personal History? [ edit | edit source ]

There is no better time than now. Do not put off writing until you believe you’ll have more time, or until you’ll retire. Our expectations of how much time we have to do all that we need or want to so do not usually match that of what happens. In addition, you never know how long you may live, so do not procrastinate.

No one else can write your personal history the way you can. The story is about your life, and it should be written by you. However, the longer you wait to write it, the more details are likely to slip away and be forgotten.

When writing your story, set realistic and specific goals. For example, you could set a goal to complete a first draft in three months. A final draft could be ready to review within six. By the end of nine months, you could have a finished copy ready for distribution to your family members. The time allotted to write your history is subjective. It may be more reasonable for you to write a chapter a week for the next years or write about one subject per week or even a page per day. Do what you can, but do it regularly and consistency.

Your history isn’t limited to just subjects. It may be easier to write about the different stages of your life like preschool, grade school, high school, etc. Breaking up your history into segments like these makes the task easier to accomplish.

Different Types of Personal Histories [ edit | edit source ]

You can preserve your life history and memories in many ways. The following are a few ideas:

Written Biographies [ edit | edit source ]

A written biography is a great way to record personal histories for those who enjoy writing. They can include any of the following:

• Personal account of events in your life. Cyndislist is a good website to help you get started.
• Photographs of events, family, friends, homes you grew up in, places you’ve traveled, and other experiences of interest in your life. Photographs are good visual aides to supplement your history.
• Copies of family records, such as your birth and marriage certificates, school records, diplomas, religious certificates, awards, and other records of interest.

What you decide to include is up to you, and any physical documents or images can help round out your words.

Journals [ edit | edit source ]

Journals are excellent to preserve your history. Where a personal history tends to be broader in scope and generally covers a greater period of time, a journal can preserve the day-to-day or week-to-week events of your life. A journal provides a more intimates and detailed account of your daily experiences.

They may be easier for someone to write. Although journal writing can span over large amounts of time, it is done in small increments rather than covering a lot of information at once.

Journals have a more personal feeling to them. They often contain insights, expressions or emotion, observations about events and how they affect you and those around you, musings, and much more.

You may also choose to include drawings or photographs within the journal, which can add interesting dimension.

Journals are not only a good way for those after you to see into your personal, but also a medium for you to reflect on during your life to see how you’ve grown.

Narratives [ edit | edit source ]

Narratives are another form of personal history. This particular kind of narrative documents memorable events and are usually brief.

Many people find it useful to set aside a time each week to write their narratives. For example, one woman spends an hour writing each Sunday afternoon while her young children take a nap. During each session, she writes two or three short narratives.

These narratives can later be polished and compiled into a longer history.

Appendix A of this lesson gives a list of subjects for personal narratives. You do not need to limit yourself to these topics, though. They may, however, remind you of other events that you would like to write about.

Records of Milestones [ edit | edit source ]

Creating a record of milestones is similar to keeping a journal, except it tends to be added to less frequently.

It is a record of important events like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, death, life-changing experience, and major accomplishments. They also include your feelings regarding the milestones.

Scrapbooking is one method some people use to chronicle their own milestones.

Scrapbooking [ edit | edit source ]

This is also a popular form to preserve memories and can be a great alternative or addition to a written personal history. Scrapbooks focus on documenting special events using photographs and other memorabilia.

Scrapbooks tend to not be as comprehensive as written history, but they provide excellent visual documentation.

Scrapbook supplies and classes are often readily available.

Oral Histories [ edit | edit source ]

An oral history preserves the voice of someone. It is a great alternative for those who do not feel that they have the skills or desire to write. Those who struggle with writing may find it easier to sit down and talk about their lives. For many people, having someone record someone from their lives is a fun and deeply touching experience.

Electronic Recordings [ edit | edit source ]

With the development of electronic devices, like video equipment and tape recorders, recording history is easier than ever. Using this equipment to record your history, you can include much more than is typically found in a written history.

These can include recordings of your voice, of you singing or playing an instrument, among other visual and auditory images.

A thing to be aware of when deciding to record electronically is that they can deteriorate or become outdated. Computer discs, hardware, and software programs can become outdated over time, and this process is becoming faster, with technology changing vastly over a few short years. After a few years, you may find that you have difficulty finding a computer or program that will read what you have recorded.

You should review the medium your recorded with on a regular basis. Once a year it best. Tapes should be played back annually to prevent the sound from bleeding through the tape.

Before it gets harder to find equipment to play or read what you have recorded, it is a good idea to transfer your history to an updated medium.

Online Photo Books [ edit | edit source ]

With the availability of the Internet, it is possible to create a fine quality history book online and have it delivered to your door. You can add at many photographs and as much text as you would like. The company then prints out as many books as you want and ships them to you. These can then be distributed to friends and family members.

Before You Begin Writing [ edit | edit source ]

After considering your options, decide what method you would like to use to record your history. Whether you are going to write, video tape, or make a photo- or scrapbook, you should consider doing the following:

• Gathering everything you can find about your life that might help you remember events.
• Organizing the items per the type of history you plan to create.
• Carrying note cards with you to record memories as they come to mind. Often memories will come up at inconvenient times. Note cards provide an easy way to record them, regardless of when they arise.
• Elaborating on some of your memories as you have the time. Add more details that what you may have written on your note cards.
• Talking into a tape- or video-recording device to record some preliminary ideas. Memories may also come easier and with more detail if you are speaking them. You may want to transcribe the recording alter or use it as a starting point for writing.
• Asking relatives and friends to share memories and stories they have of you. These recollections are extremely valuable; others often remember events that happened when you were too young to remember them, or they might remember things that didn’t seem important to you when they happened or memories you may have forgotten.

Potential Subjects for Your History [ edit | edit source ]

Listed below are general topics you might consider as you prepare to write. Appendix A provides an additional list of questions to prompt your memory.

Below are some general topics to consider as you prepare to write. Appendix A provides an additional list of questions to prompt your memory.

• A list of life events in the order they occurred (a chronology)
• A list of the ten most important things in your life now and details about them
• A health chronology if there are health issues that might affect your descendants
• Family traditions
• Personal convictions and learning experiences
• Childhood memories
• Family members – ancestors and descendants
• Funny or embarrassing experiences
• Society, geography, and entertainments surround you – anything that gives context to your life
• Examples of your talents (poems, artwork, songs, etc.)
• Challenges and how they shaped you
• Stories of your life experiences
• Stories or comments about you contributed to by other people
• Advice you’d like to share with future generations. These words may be the most precious words you leave to your loved ones.

Start Writing [ edit | edit source ]

Do not be too critical of your writing skills. In the beginning, it is more important to get the information, stories, feelings, and events recorded first. Late, you can polish what you’ve written. These suggestions may help you begin your personal history:

• Begin your narrative at an exciting point in your life. You do not have to begin by listing your date of birth. Get your readers interested first, and then they will enjoy learning the facts later.
• Do not worry about style, grammar, punctuation, or other composition technicalities at the beginning. Write however feels most comfortable for you.
• Be visual with your words. Include background information about the location or local history at the time a memory or event took place. Describe clothing, rooms, expressions, and so on that were involved. Try to recapture the emotions of people. Give enough detail about the situation to make things interesting (See an example in the Teacher Suggestions section at the end of this lesson). Do not let your writing become just a list of dates and places with stories and a background to bring them to life.
• Be willing to laugh at yourself. Let your personality and humor shine through in your writing.
• Do not be afraid to write about your weaknesses, as well as your strengths. If you feel comfortable writing about mistake you’ve made, elaborate on what you learned from them and what consequences followed.
• Always be truthful and honest about your life. If something is too uncomfortable to share, just exclude it and move on.
• Be wary of extremely sensitive issues, especially if other people were involved. It’s important to be careful of libeling or embarrassing others.
• Remember your story doesn’t have to be told in chronological order. Digress whenever you feel like; these digressions may just be the most interesting parts of your story.

Other Things to Include [ edit | edit source ]

In addition to writing about your memories, you may want to include some of the following items of interest. They can be part of the body of the history or can be added as an appendix.

• Photographs of family, friends, homes, wedding day, yourself at milestone ages, a few vacation highlights, homes you have lived in, schools you attended, and so on
• Your feelings about social, religious, or personal issues
• Lessons you have learned
• Feelings about loved ones
• Dreams for the future
• Excerpts from journals
• Poems you have written
• Newspaper articles about you or events you took part in
• Copies of certificates
• Direction from insightful inspirations

Writing Challenges [ edit | edit source ]

If the writing process isn’t going well, ask yourself why. Maybe you’re writing about a subject you feel should be included but doesn’t excite you. Think about whether it is really important or if you can just skip over it, even if just for the moment.

Realize that hard work is often necessary for inspiration. Self-discipline to write when you don’t feel up to it may work, but taking a few days’ break may also. You can spend the time off from writing looking for photographs to include or revisiting a place you plan to talk about. Consider having a tape recorder handy while you’re doing these in case you remember more details. Activities related to your history may be enough to re-motivate you.

Sometimes the hardest part of writing is starting. If anything, write a single word. Then expand that word into a sentence. Expand that sentence into a paragraph. Once you’ve started writing, the process usually becomes easier and more enjoyable. When you need to take a break from writing, stop in the middle of an interesting story or paragraph. Then, when you return to your work, it will be easier for you to start again where you left off instead of wondering where to go next.

Another way is to start at the easiest part of your story, or begin will a topic you really want to write about. If you find that you’ve come to a stump and simply cannot keep writing, consider recording your thoughts and memories and transcribing it later, adding in additional details.

Review and Evaluate What You Have Written [ edit | edit source ]

Writing a first draft is only the beginning of your personal history process. Some of your best writing will happen as you review and revise what you’ve written. Take the time to rewrite sentence that don’t work as well as you’d like them to.

Getting a trusted friend, colleague, spouse, or family member to do the same will point out mistakes or confusions you may have skipped over. As you’re reviewing, ask yourself and any others helping you the following questions:

• Does the reader feel involved and care about the outcome of the stories?
• Is your writing organized? Do the stories flow well? If not, how can they be improved – rearrangement, additional details, etc.?
• Do you have good sentence structure? Are any sentences too long or complicated, or do you have too many simple sentences?
• Are the identities of people in the stories clear? For example, if you have mentioned Grandma, have you elaborated on which grandma? Do you explain which aunt you’re talking about when you say, “My aunt gave me my favorite Christmas gift that year”?
• Do any details or events need to be clarified or elaborated on?
• Have you included too much or overwhelming detail?
• Do the stories need to be shorted or lengthened to make them more enjoyable?
• Are there any spelling or other grammatical errors? These types of mistakes become more apparent when the text is read aloud.
• Do you use repetitive phrases or words often? For example, do too many sentences begin with, “I remember”?
• Are names, dates, places, and other details accurate?
• Have you used the proper tense throughout the entire history?

After the Review [ edit | edit source ]

You must decide what input and feedback is most valuable to revision. Sometimes a reviewer will express a concern that will indicate a problem besides the one mentioned. For example, a reviewer may say that a certain story is too long, but perhaps length is not the real issue. You may need to consider how to retell the story or describe events in another way.

Also, keep in mind if a reviewer makes a comment on a universal issue, for instance, using the proper tense or the same phrase within a certain area, it may apply to other areas within your history. Take the time to make sure the issue is addressed.

Now is also the time to decide where to insert photographs, letters, certificates, and other physical or visual documents.

Decide How You Want Your Finished History to Look [ edit | edit source ]

Play around with layout. It is a good time to review and adjust the appearance of your work. Consider line spacing, headings of chapters, and subheadings. You may decide to add or delete some of the design and layout elements as you work. Some elements may be:

• Cover page • Title page • Preface (where you share your thoughts and feelings about your project) • Table of contents • Lists of photographs and illustrations • Chronology (a quick and concise overview of your life in a page or two) • Narrative • Appendixes (family group sheets, pedigree charts, will extracts, handwriting samples, favourite recipes, and so on) • Maps • Index

Resources [ edit | edit source ]

Websites [ edit | edit source ].

• See the tutorial at the FamilySearch Learning Center , Ancestors Season 1: Leaving a Legacy .

Books [ edit | edit source ]

• "From Shoes Boxes to Books: Writing Great Personal Histories" by Amy Jo Oaks Long. Ten-step program to creating a personal history.
• "From Memories to Manuscript – The Five Step Method of Writing Your Life Story" by Joan R. Neubauer

Appendix [ edit | edit source ]

For suggested questions to prompt personal recollections, and for tips on preserving family photos and artifacts, go to the Appendix .

• Jrnl.com – New website to ldsjournal.com. Questions to trigger memories.
• Cyndislist.com – Links to various sites with help on writing personal histories.
• GenWriters.com – Help on writing personal histories.

See also [ edit | edit source ]

What to do with the genealogy and family history I collected

Use the FamilySearch Learning Center to find online genealogy classes.

• Personal History
• New to Genealogy

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Best Books Of 2011

The lives of geniuses: five brilliant biographies.

Michael Schaub

What separates a genius from somebody who's just really smart? Opinions vary, of course, but the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer was probably onto something when he wrote: "Talent hits a target that no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see." Intelligent people aren't all that hard to come by — just turn on Jeopardy! or drop by your local spelling bee — but real geniuses are exceedingly rare, and any given generation is lucky just to have a handful of them in their midst.

It's difficult to know what makes geniuses tick, but five biographies this year do a particularly great job chronicling the lives and careers of some of the world's best-known prodigies. These books take us inside the minds of a founding father and the father of the iPod; the vexing artists who brought us Starry Night and Slaughterhouse-Five ; and the couple whose scientific discoveries changed the world in awesome, and awful, ways. Though none of them is still living, it's safe to say that their genius will live forever.

James Madison

by Richard Brookhiser

James Madison was the fourth president of the United States, but he's most likely best known as "the father of the Constitution" who helped bring America the Bill of Rights. In his biography of the diminutive statesman, Richard Brookhiser argues that Madison was more than that — he was also the father of American politics. Madison co-founded what was then called the Republican Party (the precursor to today's Democratic Party) and was one of the first Americans to notice — and harness — the power of public opinion. While some books about the founding fathers tend toward hagiography, Brookhiser's portrait of Madison is fair-minded but sometimes critical — he takes a somewhat dim view of Madison's two-term presidency, but still treats his subject with respect and something like admiration. Brookhiser is a remarkable biographer — there are no wasted words in this slim volume, but plenty of fascinating insights into the patriot who "glimpsed our world before it existed."

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by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith

The stereotype of the brilliant, tortured artist exists for a reason — unfortunately, genius and mental illness often go hand in hand. That was definitely the case for Vincent van Gogh. Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith call him "a wayward, battered soul: a stranger in the world ... an enemy to himself." The authors do a brilliant job following the Dutch painter's career, from the line drawings of his youth to the post-impressionist masterpieces that changed the world of art forever. Van Gogh: The Life has already stirred up controversy — the authors argue (very convincingly) that the artist did not commit suicide, as most historians have maintained. Whether or not that's true, the book remains an essential, beautifully written look at the man who saw things nobody else ever did — as he himself put it, the "traveler going somewhere and to some destination ... [that] do not exist."

Radioactive

by Lauren Redniss

When the Polish-French scientist Marie Curie reflected on her fame, she was nonplussed: "When they talk about my 'splendid work' it seems to me that I'm already dead — that I'm looking at myself dead." Five years later, she passed away, killed by the radioactive materials she and her husband, Pierre, spent decades studying. Their discoveries would later be used to treat cancer, but also to wage a new, unspeakable type of war — the couple changed the world in good and bad ways even they might not have been able to anticipate. Lauren Redniss' biography of the Curies is fascinating, heartbreaking and indisputably original — the text (printed in a font designed by Redniss) is accompanied by the author's stunningly beautiful artwork, in radiant shades of blue, green and orange. It's not often a critic gets to say this, but there's never been a book quite like this before.

And So It Goes

by Charles J. Shields

Even in the infancy of his career, nobody ever knew quite what to make of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. His earliest books were given lurid covers and marketed as low-grade pulp fiction, sold in bus stations and drugstores. Even now, the Indiana-born writer divides tastes. His masterpiece, Slaughterhouse-Five , is widely considered to be one of the best war novels ever written, but his dark tone and oddball sensibilities continue to confuse readers whose tastes tend more toward the conventional. In the first authorized biography of the cult-hero author, Charles J. Shields brings us a captivating account of Vonnegut's life, from his days as a World War II prisoner of war in Dresden, to his final days living in New York (where he would die in 2007). Shields presents Vonnegut as a maddening figure, who wrote frequently about the importance of human kindness but was often mean, ill-tempered and unfaithful to his family. Like all people, he wasn't perfect — but he was never less than wholly original. And So It Goes proves to be a fascinating portrait of a fascinating man.

by Walter Isaacson

After Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs died just over two months ago, President Obama noted, "There may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented." Indeed, there's no doubt that the man responsible for the Macintosh computer, iPhone and iPad forever changed the way the world communicates. In his new biography of Jobs, Walter Isaacson explains how the skinny teenager with a fondness for pranks and LSD became one of the most influential inventors in American history. It's not always pretty — Jobs had a notorious temper, and made plenty of personal and business mistakes on his way to the top. Isaacson knows his way around difficult geniuses, though — he's written biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and Henry Kissinger — and he tells Jobs' story with impressive narrative drive. Steve Jobs is gone, but his legacy endures: not just in every gadget he invented, but in the generations of Americans he taught to "think different."

Michael Schaub is a regular contributor to NPR.org. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Portland Mercury and The Austin Chronicle, among other publications. A native of Texas, he now lives in Portland, Ore.

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Life History and Biography

Aims and themes of the network.

The Life History and Biography network is a lively forum – “a community of learners, researchers, and citizens” (Formenti, West, 2016, p. 11) for debate on research using narrative, biographical and auto/biographical methods so as to illuminate adult lives and learning from the insider’s perspective, as well as to locate such lives in a psychosocial and cultural context. Our conferences – held every year, in the first week of March, Thursday to Sunday, since 1993 – attract significant numbers of researchers, including doctoral students and senior researchers, from a wide range of different disciplinary backgrounds. Participants come from every corner of Europe, and beyond (e.g. Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States). Within adult education and lifelong learning, life history and biographical approaches vary considerably, and the network represents a variety of epistemological, theoretical and methodological frames. Our conferences are based on recognition and celebration of this diversity, since it brings us to a deeper and richer relationship to research and its possibilities. Hence we have worked over time to build a dynamic community, and create spaces for dialogue, demonstration, reflexivity and discovery enabling participants to write and publish together, to devise new research projects and collaborate in other ways. Earlier conferences explored methodology and different approaches, spanning the theoretical and practical, political, social, spiritual, and aesthetic issues.

History of the network

Publications

ESREA series West, L., Alheit, P., Andersen, A.S. & Merrill B. (Eds.) (2007). Using Biographical and Life History Approaches in the Study of Adult and Lifelong Learning: European Perspectives . Peter Lang, Frankfurt-am-Main. ➡

Edited books produced by the network Alheit, P., Bron, A., Brugger, E. & Dominicé, P. (1995) (Eds.). The biographical approach in European adult education . Verband Wiener Volksbildung: Wien.

Evans, R. (Ed) (2016). Before, Beside and After (Beyond) the Biographical Narrative . Duisburg: Nisaba Verlag.

Formenti, L. (2006) (Ed.). Dare voce al cambiamento. La ricerca interroga la vita adulta . Unicopli: Milano.

Formenti, L. & West, L. (2016). Stories that make a difference. Exploring the collective, social and political potential of narratives in adult education research . Pensa Multimedia: Lecce.

Formenti, L., West, L. & Horsdal, M. (2014) (Eds.). Embodied narratives. Connecting stories, bodies, cultures ad ecologies . University Press of Southern Denmark: Odense (DK).

Wright, H.R. & Høyen, M. (2020) (Eds.)  Discourses We Live By: Narratives of Social and Educational Endeavour.   Open Book Publishers: Cambridge (UK).

Journal’s special issues guest edited by the network

Gonzalez Monteagudo, J. (Ed.) (2008). Approches non-francophones des histoires de vie en Europe. Pratiques de formation/Analyses, 55, Université Paris 8

Research Methodologies Guide

• Action Research
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• Documentary
• Ethnography
• Focus Groups
• Grounded Theory
• Life Histories/Autobiographies
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• Participant Observation
• Qualitative Research (General)
• Quasi-Experimental Design
• Usability Studies

Life Histories

According to Payne & Payne (2004),

"Life histories are records of individuals’ personal experiences and the connections between them and past social events, while auto/biography treats these accounts not as established facts but as social constructions requiring further investigation and re-interpretation."

This type of research is often accomplished through in-depth interviews with individuals about their lives or specific events which occurred during their lifetimes. Sometimes, this research is stored as oral histories, in which the words of the individual being interviewed are recorded and presented "as is." 

For more information on life histories, review the resources below:

Where to Start

Below we have compiled a resources that can help you start your Life History research.

• Life History Methods by SAGE Research Methods Foundations Publication Date: 2020
• Lives in Context: The Art of Life History Research by Ardra L. Cole; J. Gary Knowles Publication Date: 2001
• Oral History (Online journal)

Additional Resources

• Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research Provides information about Life Histories and links to related organizations/websites.
• Oral History Center, Berkeley Berkeley's Oral History Center provides information about oral histories, as well as recordings from studies conducted by the center over the years.
• Life History - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wikipedia can be a useful place to start your research- check the citations at the bottom of the article for more information.
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By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 13, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2009

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) made significant and lasting contributions to nearly every aspect of human knowledge, from logic to biology to ethics and aesthetics. Though overshadowed in classical times by the work of his teacher Plato , from late antiquity through the Enlightenment, Aristotle’s surviving writings were incredibly influential. In Arabic philosophy, he was known simply as “The First Teacher.” In the West, he was “The Philosopher.”

Aristotle's Early Life

Aristotle was born in 384 B.C. in Stagira in northern Greece. Both of his parents were members of traditional medical families, and his father, Nicomachus, served as court physician to King Amyntus III of Macedonia . His parents died while he was young, and he was likely raised at his family’s home in Stagira. At age 17 he was sent to Athens to enroll in Plato's Academy . He spent 20 years as a student and teacher at the school, emerging with both a great respect and a good deal of criticism for his teacher’s theories. Plato’s own later writings, in which he softened some earlier positions, likely bear the mark of repeated discussions with his most gifted student.

Did you know? Aristotle's surviving works were likely meant as lecture notes rather than literature, and his now-lost writings were apparently of much better quality. The Roman philosopher Cicero said that "If Plato's prose was silver, Aristotle's was a flowing river of gold."

When Plato died in 347, control of the Academy passed to his nephew Speusippus. Aristotle left Athens soon after, though it is not clear whether frustrations at the Academy or political difficulties due to his family’s Macedonian connections hastened his exit. He spent five years on the coast of Asia Minor as a guest of former students at Assos and Lesbos. It was here that he undertook his pioneering research into marine biology and married his wife Pythias, with whom he had his only daughter, also named Pythias.

In 342 Aristotle was summoned to Macedonia by King Philip II to tutor his son, the future Alexander the Great —a meeting of great historical figures that, in the words of one modern commentator, “made remarkably little impact on either of them.”

Aristotle and the Lyceum

Aristotle returned to Athens in 335 B.C. As an alien, he couldn’t own property, so he rented space in the Lyceum, a former wrestling school outside the city. Like Plato’s Academy, the Lyceum attracted students from throughout the Greek world and developed a curriculum centered on its founder’s teachings. In accordance with Aristotle’s principle of surveying the writings of others as part of the philosophical process, the Lyceum assembled a collection of manuscripts that comprised one of the world’s first great libraries .

Aristotle's Works

It was at the Lyceum that Aristotle probably composed most of his approximately 200 works, of which only 31 survive. In style, his known works are dense and almost jumbled, suggesting that they were lecture notes for internal use at his school. The surviving works of Aristotle are grouped into four categories. 

The “Organon” is a set of writings that provide a logical toolkit for use in any philosophical or scientific investigation. Next come Aristotle’s theoretical works, most famously his treatises on animals (“Parts of Animals,” “Movement of Animals,” etc.), cosmology, the “Physics” (a basic inquiry about the nature of matter and change) and the “Metaphysics” (a quasi-theological investigation of existence itself).

Third are Aristotle’s so-called practical works, notably the “Nicomachean Ethics” and “Politics,” both deep investigations into the nature of human flourishing on the individual, familial and societal levels. Finally, his “Rhetoric” and “Poetics” examine the finished products of human productivity, including what makes for a convincing argument and how a well-wrought tragedy can instill cathartic fear and pity.

The Organon

“The Organon” (Latin for “instrument”) is a series of Aristotle’s works on logic (what he himself would call analytics) put together around 40 B.C. by Andronicus of Rhodes and his followers. The set of six books includes “Categories,” “On Interpretation,” “Prior Analytics,” “Posterior Analytics,” “Topics,” and “On Sophistical Refutations.” The Organon contains Aristotle’s worth on syllogisms (from the Greek syllogismos , or “conclusions”), a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two assumed premises. For example, all men are mortal, all Greeks are men, therefore all Greeks are mortal.

Metaphysics

Aristotle’s “Metaphysics,” written quite literally after his “Physics,” studies the nature of existence. He called metaphysics the “first philosophy,” or “wisdom.” His primary area of focus was “being qua being,” which examined what can be said about being based on what it is, not because of any particular qualities it may have. In “Metaphysics,” Aristotle also muses on causation, form, matter and even a logic-based argument for the existence of God.

To Aristotle, rhetoric is “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” He identified three main methods of rhetoric: ethos (ethics), pathos (emotional) and logos (logic). He also broke rhetoric into types of speeches: epideictic (ceremonial), forensic (judicial) and deliberative (where the audience is required to reach a verdict). His groundbreaking work in this field earned him the nickname “the father of rhetoric.”

Aristotle’s “Poetics” was composed around 330 B.C. and is the earliest extant work of dramatic theory. It is often interpreted as a rebuttal to his teacher Plato’s argument that poetry is morally suspect and should therefore be expunged from a perfect society. Aristotle takes a different approach, analyzing the purpose of poetry. He argues that creative endeavors like poetry and theater provides catharsis, or the beneficial purging of emotions through art. 

Aristotle's Death and Legacy

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., anti-Macedonian sentiment again forced Aristotle to flee Athens. He died a little north of the city in 322, of a digestive complaint. He asked to be buried next to his wife, who had died some years before. In his last years he had a relationship with his slave Herpyllis, who bore him Nicomachus, the son for whom his great ethical treatise is named.

Aristotle’s favored students took over the Lyceum, but within a few decades the school’s influence had faded in comparison to the rival Academy. For several generations Aristotle’s works were all but forgotten. The historian Strabo says they were stored for centuries in a moldy cellar in Asia Minor before their rediscovery in the first century B.C., though it is unlikely that these were the only copies.

In 30 B.C. Andronicus of Rhodes grouped and edited Aristotle’s remaining works in what became the basis for all later editions. After the fall of Rome, Aristotle was still read in Byzantium and became well-known in the Islamic world, where thinkers like Avicenna (970-1037), Averroes (1126-1204) and the Jewish scholar Maimonodes (1134-1204) revitalized Aritotle’s logical and scientific precepts.

Aristotle in the Middle Ages and Beyond

In the 13th century, Aristotle was reintroduced to the West through the work of Albertus Magnus and especially Thomas Aquinas, whose brilliant synthesis of Aristotelian and Christian thought provided a bedrock for late medieval Catholic philosophy, theology and science.

Aristotle’s universal influence waned somewhat during the Renaissance and Reformation , as religious and scientific reformers questioned the way the Catholic Church had subsumed his precepts. Scientists like Galileo and Copernicus disproved his geocentric model of the solar system, while anatomists such as William Harvey dismantled many of his biological theories. However, even today, Aristotle’s work remains a significant starting point for any argument in the fields of logic, aesthetics, political theory and ethics.

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The Vandals from The Bikeriders Are Based on a Real Motorcycle Club

The movie, starring Tom Hardy and Austin Butler, takes inspiration from a 1968 photobook documenting the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

Now in theaters, The Bikeriders— starring Tom Hardy , Austin Butler , Jodie Comer, and Mike Faist—tells the story of the Chicago Vandals, a fictionalized version of the Outlaws and some of their actual members. Inspired by Lyon’s acclaimed 1968 photobook of the same name, the movie examines the Vandals and their transition from a haven for outcasted bikers to something more sinister.

Similar to their onscreen counterparts, the influence and reputation of the Outlaws have changed dramatically since their inception.

The Outlaws originated almost 90 years ago

While The Bikeriders documents the founding and rise of the fictional Vandals starting in the 1960s, the Outlaws’ true story began three decades earlier. According to its official website , the club started as the McCook Outlaws Motorcycle Club in 1935. Riders formed the group outside of Matilda’s Bar in McCook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. After years of limited inactivity during World War II, the organization held its first major rally at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 1946.

According to Time , the war was a major catalyst for the rise of motorcycle culture in the United States. The resulting military surplus made bikes affordable, and returning veterans sought an adventurous escape from the boredom of civilian life. This led to the formation of other clubs, including the Hells Angels—the Outlaws’ chief rival—in Fontana, California, in 1948.

Meanwhile, the Outlaws continued attracting riders from throughout the Windy City and moved their headquarters from McCook in 1950 to become the Chicago Outlaws. Around this time, the club adopted its signature skull logo on shirts and jackets; the crossed pistons were added four years later.

By 1964, the Outlaws had incorporated chapters from Milwaukee and Louisville, Kentucky—and caught the interest of a young rider named Danny Lyon.

Lyon became an Outlaws member to create his book

Lyon was a first-year history student at the University of Chicago in 1959 when a classmate introduced him to motorcycle culture. The owner of a Triumph TR6 bike, he would soon combine this new passion with his budding journalistic skills.

But first, Lyon left Chicago in 1962 to document the Civil Rights Movement . He served as an official photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and befriended key figures like John Lewis and Julian Bond.

One year later, he embarked on his motorcycle project that would become The Bikeriders. Although Lyon said he received a very clean-cut transformation in the new film—Faist, who portrays his fictional stand-in “Danny,” doesn’t ride a motorcycle onscreen—the photographer became a full-fledged Outlaws member by 1965. A self-described “pothead” in the primarily beer-drinking club, he documented his fellow riders through photography and analog tape recordings.

Published in 1968, The Bikeriders book received acclaim and reportedly inspired the 1969 movie Easy Rider starring Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, and Jack Nicholson . However, Lyon left the group and the biker lifestyle following its release. “I loved my work and loved what I was doing, but it was a subject to me,” Lyon told A Rabbit’s Foot , “so when I thought I had what I needed, I knew it was time to move on, and I did.”

Real recordings from Lyon are used in the movie

The Bikeriders movie draws heavily from Lyon’s source material, including using “verbatim imitations” of his audio recordings, according to Bleak Beauty . Lyon spoke with Outlaws members Cal, Zipco, and Cockroach, who all appear in the new movie. The re-creation treatment is especially true of Comer’s character, Kathy—modeled after the real-life Kathy Bauer—whose interviews form the narrative structure of the plot surrounding the fictional Vandals.

In 1966, the 25-year-old Bauer offered a glimpse into the Outlaws’ tight-knit nature by describing her first meeting with a rider named Benny (played by Butler). She explained in detail how the group, including leader Johnny Davis (Hardy), tricked Bauer into taking a ride on Benny’s motorcycle. “He takes off, he goes through the stoplights and everything so that I wouldn’t jump off,” Bauer told Lyon . “And I wouldn’t have jumped off anyway because I was scared s—less; I’d never been on a motorcycle in all my life.

“Johnny was real nice to me. He says, ‘Don’t worry, I’m the president of this club, and I wouldn’t let nothing happen to you. They’re only having fun, and this one guy wanted to go out with you,’” Bauer said. The unusual courtship worked as Bauer and Benny later married. Their relationship is featured prominently in the movie.

But while this cordiality is illustrated through the Outlaws’ onscreen stand-ins, the club has been linked to much more antagonistic activity in the decades since.

The Outlaws of today are pretty different from the movie

The Outlaws have spread far beyond their Chicago hub in the decades since, with the organization now boasting chapters across at least 26 states and reaching countries like France, Ireland, Japan, and Russia. According to the Chicago Reader , the Outlaws were estimated to have more than 1,500 members by 2014.

However, the club has developed a treacherous reputation. As of November 2023, the U.S. Justice Department classifies the Outlaws as one of 300 “outlaw motorcycle gangs,” or OMGs. These are described as “highly structured criminal organizations whose members engage in criminal activities such as violent crime, weapons trafficking, and drug trafficking.”

Much of this stems from the group’s ongoing feud with the Hells Angels. The Chicago Sun-Times has reported the two factions waged a violent turf war in the city during the 1990s—including a series of bombings, shootings, and stabbings—before reaching an uneasy truce. According to TwinCities.com , the Outlaws reportedly use the coded acronym ADIOS, which stands for “Angels die in Outlaw states.”

In a November 2016 interview with the Sun-Times , a former Outlaws member named Peter James said the Hells Angels’ presence in the Chicago area has grown more influential and could ignite more conflict. However, he suggested modern Outlaws have shifted away from crime and violence. “The times have changed. Somehow, there’s no testosterone out there,” James said. “It used to be the boss’ word was law. He says, ‘Ride off the cliff,’ and guys would ride off a cliff. The quality of the members has gone down.”

In any case, most riders have maintained that the club merely embraces an alternative lifestyle and isn’t an organized crime syndicate.

See The Bikeriders in Theaters Now

Director Jeff Nichols has said The Bikeriders isn’t meant to be a documentary of the Chicago Outlaws, nor to show disrespect toward the club in any way. He simply hopes to give viewers a sense of the time and societal conditions that allowed the group to thrive.

“When you’re looking at these guys, if you want to, you can simply dismiss them, but if you watch the film, you start to see how their brains work, and hopefully you start to identify with them a little bit,” he told A Rabbit’s Foot . “Not feeling like you belong, that’s something that everybody feels. It should be a unifying trait.”

The movie cruised into theaters on Friday and stars Tom Hardy as Johnny, Austin Butler as Benny, Jodie Comer as Kathy, and Mike Faist as Danny.

Get Tickets

Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.

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How to live happily past 100, according to 7 of the world's oldest people

• Today's centenarians grew up in a different world but their longevity advice is still relevant. 
• Seven centenarians shared their tips for living a long, happy life. 
• Their tips for living past 100 include keeping busy, doing things in moderation, and having hobbies.

Today's centenarians grew up in the 1910s and 1920s, when the world was a very different place.

The Jim Crow laws were still in place, World War II hadn't happened yet, and indoor toilets were a luxury.

But they have plenty of wisdom about making the most of life that's still relevant, particularly as younger people have a much higher chance of living to 100 than previous generations.

A healthy 30-year-old woman today has up to a 22% chance of living to 100, according to the Stanford Center on Longevity. In contrast, a woman born in 1920 had around a 2% chance of living to 100, according to actuary Mary Pat Campbell .

Business Insider has spoken to multiple 100+ year-olds , and while their longevity can likely be partly explained by genetics and luck, lifestyle factors can also play a huge role in healthy aging.

These centenarians all have different backgrounds but tend to give similar advice for living longer.

Many centenarians believe that eating a diet rich in healthy, non-processed foods is key to a long life.

For instance, since they grew up before the popularization of ultra-processed foods and ready meals, both Jack Van Nordheim, a 100-year-old social media influencer who lives in Southern California, and 114-year-old Texan Elizabeth Francis, who is the oldest living American , eat mostly home-cooked meals made from whole foods.

Van Nordheim ate plenty of fresh chicken because his family had a ranch, and Francis used to cook with collard greens, mustard greens, carrots, and okra she grew in her own backyard.

Centenarians in the world's Blue Zones , where people live to over 100 more often than in other populations, also tend to eat plenty of vegetables and whole foods.

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One 2022 study suggested that switching from the "typical" Western diet to an optimal one — which consisted of whole grains, legumes, fish, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and limited red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, and refined grains — could add up to 10 years to people's life expectancies in the US.

Have a hobby

Not only did Van Nordheim grow up around animals, he also made them his life's passion, owning a monkey at one point and continuing to birdwatch today.

British 106-year-old Katie MacRae, meanwhile started gardening when she was 12 or 13, and has kept up the hobby for almost a century.

A 2023 meta-analysis on 93,263 adults aged over 65 found links between engaging in hobbies, higher life expectancy, and an increase in self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction.

Stay active

A hobby with physical elements can be particularly beneficial. MacRae and 102-year-old Janet Gibbs, who lives in Australia, both play bowls at their care homes. Gibbs played golf until she was 86 . And every morning, 100-year-old Joyce Preston , who's based in the UK, does gentle exercises such as yoga, and loves going for walks.

Staying active into older age is great for longevity, and research shows that even short bursts of vigorous activity could extend your lifespan .

Spend time with friends and family

Von Nordheim is really close with his nephew, who takes care of him; Francis lives with her daughter; Gibbs has a friend who is a sprightly 92 who she thinks keeps her young; and Preston is kept busy by lots of friends.

These close relationships may have helped centenarians beat the odds to some extent. Research shows strong associations between having good social relationships and increased longevity.

Practice moderation

John Tinniswood, from the UK — who is currently the oldest living man at 111 years old — and Japanese Kane Taneka — who was the second oldest person in recorded history when he died at 119 in 2022 — both do everything in moderation.

Yumi Yamamoto, the Japan research president for LongeviQuest, an organization that validates the ages of the world's oldest people, previously told BI that Tanaka's habit of never doing anything to excess is common among Japanese supercentenarians .

Find a sense of purpose

Many centenarians don't stop working until late in life , and even when they do, they tend to keep busy.

Francis does housework, MacRae is on committees at her care homes, Gibbs listens to audiobooks, and Van Nordheim is a social media star, writes books, and birdwatches.

Keeping your brain working and maintaining a sense of purpose is thought to be important for longevity. A 2019 study found a link between a higher sense of purpose and a lower risk of death, while a 2022 review of studies suggested that busier adults have better cognition and delayed onset of dementia.

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