Hans Ostrom
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES: A LIST I'VE COMPILED OVER THE YEARS, WITH HELP FROM MANY FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES
Acosta, Oscar Zeta, Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo. [Acosta was a Chicano attorney and allegedly the inspiration for Hunter Thompson's "Dr. Gonzo".]
Adams, Henry, The Education of Henry Adams [19th century American intellectual]
Addams, Jane, Twenty Years at Hull House [early 20th century]
Amrouche, Fadhma, My Life Story: An Autobiography of a Berber Woman [Algeria]
Amundsen, Roald, My Life As An Explorer [he explored the South Pole, among other places]
Angelou, Maya, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Augustine, Confessions
Baker, Russell, Growing Up [contemporary columnist, humorist]
Baldwin, James, The Fire Next Time [a book-length essay from the 1960s that includes much autobiography; considered one of the best extended essays written in the 20th century]
Barnum, P.T. Struggles and Triumphs ["laaaa-dies and gentlemen"]
Basho, Matuso, The Narrow Road To the Deep North [17th century Japanese poet; master of haiku; this book is part mediation, part poetry collection, part travelogue, part autobiography]
Beauvoir, Simone de, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter [French intellectual]
Beck, Gad. An Underground Life: Memoirs of a Gay Jew in Nazi Berlin. 1999.
Benchley, Belle Jennings, My Life In A Man-Made Jungle [anthropologist]
Bergman, Ingmar, The Magic Lantern [Swedish film-maker; his important films include The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and Fanny and Alexander--see these films if you haven't already]
Bergman, Ingrid, My Life [Swedish actress; films include Casablanca and the original Intermezzo]
Berzon, Betty. Surviving Madness: A Therapist's Own Story. 2002.
Black, Jack, You Can't Win. 1926 and reprinted. [The life of a criminal and wild-west figure circa 1906. This is alleged to be William Burroughs's favorite book, but it's also become well known in its own right]
Black Hawk, Autobiography [19th century; Sauk warrior]
Blum, Louise A. You're Not from Around Here, Are You?: A Lesbian in Small-Town America. 1999.
Bok, Edward, The Americanization of Edward Bok [2Oth century]
Boswell, James: see entry for Johnson, Samuel
Bradford, William, Of Plymouth Plantation (American colonial]
Brainerd, David, The Diary and Life of David Brainerd [American colonial]
Brown, Elaine, A Taste of Power [1960s activist; much of the book concerns being a woman in the Black Panthers party]
Brownson, Orestes, The Convert [member of the American Transcendentalist group; became a Roman Catholic]
Buffalo Bill, An Autobiography of Buffalo Bill [American cowboy and showperson]
Burroughs, Stephen, Memoirs ["a thourough rascal," reports a colleague; "a sort of anti- Ben-Franklin]
Butler, Samuel, The Way of All Flesh [19th-century British writer, author of Erehwon]
Call, Nathan. Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America. 2001.
Caputo, Philip, A Rumor of War [experiences in the Viet Nam "conflict"]
Carroll, Jim, The Basketball Diaries [a heroine addict in New York City]
Cartwright, Peter, Autobiography [19th century American Methodist circuit rider]
Cary, Lorene, Black Ice [experiences of a young African-American woman in a mostly white, prestigious East-Coast prep school]
Cash, Johnny, Cash [well-written, forthright, interesting book by an American musician with musical "roots" in folk, country, bluegrass, and "rock-a-billy" genres]
Chagall, Mark, My Life [modern painter]
Chaplin, Charlie, My Autobiography [trivia question: what non-acting Academy Award did Chaplin win, and for what?]
Cheren, Mel. My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep on Dancin'. 2000.[Stonewall;
disco in New York City in the 1970s, etc,] Cobb, Ty, My Life In Baseball [considered by some to be one of the
best--and meanest-- professional baseball players ever] Cofer, Judith Ortiz, Silent Dancing: A Remembrance of a Puerto Rican
Chidhood [contemporary] Crockett, David, Narrative [of the life of...]--[he was born on a
mountain-top in Tennessee] Dinesen, Isaak, Out of Africa Dostoyevsky, Fyodor (the spelling varies), Notes From the Undergound Downey, (Major) William, Hunting For Gold [participant in the
California Gold Rush] Duncan, Isadora, My Life [the famous modern dancer; died a bizarre
death indeed] Equiano, Olaudah, The Life of Olaudah Equiano [an African who was
enslaved in colonial America] Finney, Charles G., Memoirs [19th century revivalist] Frank, Anne, The Diary of Anne Frank [still considered one of the most
important Holocaust narratives] Franklin, Benjamin, Autobiography ["a penny saved is a penny
earned," etc.] French, Albert, Patches of Fire Fussell, Paul, Doing Battle [20th century; also read his The Great
War and Modern Memory] Gandhi, Mahatma, Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth
[Indian non- violent political activist; philospher; also see Richard
Attenborough's film, Gandhi, if you haven't already] Giovanni, Nikki, Gemini [20th century American poet--also read her
Racism 101] Goldman, William, Adventures in the Screen Trade [considered one of
the best books about the absurd world of Hollywood; includes the famous axiom
that, in Hollywood, the one basic rule is "no one knows anything];
Goldman's screenplays include Marathon Man and Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid] Grant. U.S., Personal Memoirs Graves, Robert, Goodbye To All That [British poet and mythologist;
this autobiography is considered to be one of the most important commentaries on
the Great War (World War I)] Graziano, Rocky, Somebody Up There Likes Me [American prize-fighter] Hammarsjköld, Dag, Markings [a famous book but also a very cryptic,
"interior" autobiography--not, as they say, a real page-turner;
Swedish; the first Secretary General of the United Nations] Harper, Tommie F., From the Plough to the Pulpit: A Spiritual
Autobiography. 2000. [Harper is a native of Georgia and became a
Christian minister.] Hemingway, Ernest, A Moveable Feast [tough-guy American novelist in
Paris; clean, well- lighted cafes, The Lost Generation, etc.] Hongo, Garrett, Volcano [contemporary poet, native of Hawaii, teaches
now at U. of Oregon] Hornbacher, Marya, Wasted [recent book by young Minnesota woman;
part--by no means all--of the story concerns eating disorders] Horrigan, Patrick E. Widescreen Dreams: Growing Up Gay at the Movies.
2000. Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki, Farewell To Manzanar [concerns, in part,
internment of Japanese Americans during World War II] Hughes, Langston, The Big Sea or I Wonder As I Wander [American
poet, short-story writer; key member of the early 20th century Harlem
Renaissance] Humphrey, Doris, An Artist First Hurston, Zorah Neale, Dust Tracks In The Road [member of the Harlem
Renaissance; short-story writer, novelist, and anthropologist] Isherwood, Christopher, Lions and Shadows [ 20th century British
writer] Jacobs, Harriet, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Johnson, James Weldon, The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man Johnson, Samuel and James Boswell, A Journey To the Western Islands of
Scotland (J) and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (B).
Concerning MIlton's Paradise Lost, Johnson once wrote,
"No one wished it longer."] Kaminsky, Max, My Life In Jazz Karr, Mary, Liar's Club Kazin, Alfred, A Walker In The City [contemporary American; native of
New York City] King, B.B. Blues All Around Me Kingston, Maxine Hong, The Woman Warrior: Memories of a Childhood Among
Ghosts Kirkland, Caroline, A New Home--Who'll Follow [New York City woman who
moves to the frontier] Laake, Deborah, Secret Ceremonies [concerns, in part, the status of
women in the Mormon Church; published in 1993] Lame Deer, John Fire, Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions [with Richard
Erdoes] Larcom, Lucy, New England Girlhood [19th century textile worker] Leakey, Mary D. Olduvai Gorge: My Search For Early Man [anthropologist] Lee, Li-Young, The Winged Seed
[Lee is a celebrated poet] Lessing, Doris, A Small Personal Choice [important 20th century
British/South African novelist] Levi, Primo, Survival at Auschwitz and/or The Reawakening Lipchitz, Jacques, My Life In Sculpture Lourde, Audra, The Cancer Journals [contemporary American poet and
feminist thinker; died of cancer] Maclean, Norman, A River Runs Through It [fly-fishing, not to mention
coming-of-age, in Montana] Mah, Adeline Yen, Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted
Daughter. 2000. Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X [arguably one of the most
important American autobiographies in the 20th century] Malraux, Andre, Anitmemoirs [French intellectual] Mankiller, Wilma, Mankiller [contemporary; member of the Sioux tribe] Monette, Paul. Becoming a Man and Last Watch of the Night:
Essays Too Personal and Otherwise. 1992 and 1994. [Autobiographies
about growing up gay in the United States, suffering from AIDS, political
issues, and much else.] Manzano, Juan Francisco, The Autobiography of a Slave Marre, Diana, A Dyke Like Me [former member of the faculty at the
Univ. of Puget Sound; the book was just published (1997)] Massine, Leonide, My Life In Ballet Matthieson, Peter, Nine-Headed Dragon River [contemporary; nature
writer] McCarthy, Mary, Memories of a Catholic Girlhood [famous New York
intellectual; attended Annie Wright Academy in Tacoma] Mernissi, Fatima, Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood
[highly recommended] Miller, Henry, My Life and Times [20th century American author;
dovetails nicely with some civil liberties issues we've read about this
term--many of Miller's books were banned for being "obscene," though
now they're considered classics of sorts (Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of
Capricorn, Sexus; also see the film, Henry and June.] Mishima, Yukio, Sun and Steel [20th century Japanese writer and
right-wing political activist] Momaday, N. Scott, The Way To Rainy Mountain [contemporary; Native
American] Moody, Anne, Coming of Age in Mississippi Moore, Gerald, Am I Too Loud: A Musical Autobiography. Mowat, Farley, Born Naked [Canadian nature-writer; wrote Never Cry
Wolf, which was later turned into a movie] Muir, John, The Story of My Boyhood and Youth [American
conservationist, nature writer, hiker] Murray, Pauli, An Autobiography of a Black Activist Myrdal, Jan, Confessions of a Disloyal European [20th century Swedish
sociologist] Nearing, Helen and Scott, Living the Good Life or Continuing the
Good Life or Leaving the Good Life Niebuhr, Reinhold, Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic [20th
century; his ideas influenced M.L. King, Jr., among others] Pirsig, Robert, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
[A philosophical autobiography.] Riddle, Dean. Out in the Garden: Growing a Beautiful Life. 2002.
[The joys and mysteries of keeping a garden; perspectives on being gay] Robinson, Harriet, Loom and Spindle [19th century textile worker,
American] Rodriguez, Richard, Days of Obligation [contemporary; Hispanic
American] Rodriguez, Richard, Hunger of Memory [ditto--this is the earlier book] Rousseau, Jean Jacques, Confessions Russell, Bill, Second Wind [former professional basketball player;
center for the University of San Francisco team and later the Boston Celtics, he
transformed the game] Salas, Floyd, Buffalo Nickel [contemporary, Native American] Samuel, Lois. A Glow in the Dark. 2001. [Samuel is a native of Jamaica
and a fashion model.] Scott, Barbara, The Violet Shyness of Their Eyes [contemporary travel
writer] Spender, Stephen, World Within World [important 20th century British
poet and essayist] Standing Bear, Luther, My People, The Sioux or My Indian Boyhood Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, Eighty Years and More[19th century American] Stefansson, Vilhajalmur, My Life With The Eskimo [early 20th century
Swedish anthropologist--and you thought you didn't especially like your first
name!] Steffens, Lincoln, Autobiography [20th century American] Stegner, Wallace, Crossing To Safety [20th century American writer;
American West] Steinbeck, John, Travels With Charley [20th century novelist, author
of The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, Cannery Row, Tortilla
Flat, etc.; this book is part travelogue, part autobiography] Storandt, William. Outbound: Finding a Man, Sailing an Ocean.
1999.[A book in the Living Out (Gay and Lesbian Autobiographies) Series, edited
by Joan Larkin and David Bergman.] Stravinsky, Igor, Autobiography. Strindberg, August, Inferno and From an Occult Diary (usually
published together, as in the Penguin Classics series) [late 19th-/early 20th
century Swedish dramatist and poet; the books are not exactly what you'd call
"upbeat," alas] Thoreau, Henry David, Walden Toth, Susan Allen, Blooming or Ivy Days [books about
coming-of-age in a small American Midwestern town] Updike, John, Self-Consciousness [contemporary American novelist] Vaca, Cabeza da, Castaway [from American colonial period] Walker, Rebecca. Black, White, and Jewish. 2001. Washington, Booker T., Up From Slavery Wasserman, Jakob, My Life as German and Jew Wells, H.G., An Experiment in Autobiography [British writer of classic
science fiction, including The Time Machine] White, Mel. Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America.
1995. White, Patrick, Flaws in the Glass [20th century novelist] White, William Allen, Autobiography [American; 20th century;
newspaperman in the Midwest] Wiesel, Elie, Night [important Holocaust writer; a survivor of
Auschwitz] Winterson, Jeannette, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit [autobiography of
British novelist & feminist lesbian essayist] Wong, William, Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America. 2001. Wordsworth, Dorothy, Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth [British Romantic
poet William Wordsworth was her brother] Wordsworth, William, The Prelude [not to be confused with Orientation
Week; if an epic- length autobiographical poem in blank verse is the sort of
thing you like, then this is the book for you] Wright, Frank Lloyd, An Autobiography [probably the one American
architect with whom almost everyone is familiar Yunus, M., Banker to the Poor: The Autobiography of M.Yunus. [Yunus
started an international micro-loan program to help individuals in impoverished
nations.]