Popular European Memoir Books
Find memoir books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (85)
61.
The Description of the World by Marco Polo EN
ItalyDescription:
Composed in a prison cell in 1298 by Venetian merchant Marco Polo and Arthurian romance writer Rustichello of Pisa, The Description of the World relates Polo's experiences in Asia and at the court of Qubilai, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. In addition to a new translation based on the Franco-Italian "F" manuscript of Polo's text, this edition includes genealogies of the Mongol rulers and nine maps of Polo's journey, as well as thorough annotation and an extensive bibliography.
62.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly : A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby EN
FranceDescription:
A triumphant memoir by the former editor-in-chief of French Elle that reveals an indomitable spirit and celebrates the liberating power of consciousness. In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, the father of two young children, a 44-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brainstem. After 20 days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a body which had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see and, by blinking it, to... continue
63.
The First and the Last by Adolf Galland EN
GermanyDescription:
"Adolf "Dolfo" Joseph Ferdinand Gallnd (1912-1996) was a German Luftwaffe General and one of the greatest flying aces of World War II. He flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western and the defence of the Reich fronts. He survived being shot down four times and was credited with an astonishing 104 aerial victories, all of them against the Western Allies. He is a legend of aerial combat, and this is his heroic story."--Back cover.
64.
65.
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, Elizabeth Sherrill, John Sherrill EN
Country: Europe / 
Netherlands
Netherlands
Description:
Corrie ten Boom was a woman admired the world over for her courage, her forgiveness, and her memorable faith. In World War II, she and her family risked their lives to help Jews escape the Nazis, and their reward was a trip to Hitler's concentration camps. But she survived and was released--as a result of a clerical error--and now shares the story of how faith triumphs over evil. For thirty-five years Corrie's dramatic life story, full of timeless virtues, has prepared readers to face their own futures with faith, relying on God's love to overcome, heal, and restore. Now releasing in a thirty-... continue
66.
The Last Jew of Treblinka by Chil Rajchman EN
PolandDescription:
Quickly becoming a cornerstone of Holocaust historiography--a devastatingly stark memoir from one of the lone survivors of Treblinka.
67.
The Nazis Knew My Name : A Remarkable Story of Survival and Courage in Auschwitz by Magda Hellinger, Maya Lee EN
SlovakiaDescription:
The extraordinarily moving memoir by Australian Slovakian Holocaust survivor Magda Hellinger, who saved an untold number of lives at Auschwitz through everyday acts of courage, kindness and ingenuity. In March 1942, twenty-five-year-old kindergarten teacher Magda Hellinger and nearly a thousand other young Slovakian women were deported to Poland on the second transportation of Jewish people sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The women were told they'd be working at a shoe factory. At Auschwitz the SS soon discovered that by putting Jewish prisoners in charge of the day-to-day running of... continue
68.
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn EN
Country: Europe / 
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
In one devastating week, Raynor and her husband Moth lost their home of 20 years, just as a terminal diagnosis took away their future together. With nowhere else to go, they decided to walk the South West Coast Path- a 630-mile sea-swept trail from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. This ancient, wind-battered landscape strips them of every comfort they had previously known. With very little money for food or shelter, Raynor and Moth carry everything on their backs and wild camp on beaches and clifftops. But slowly, with every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, the w... continue
69.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals : Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost EN
Country: Europe / Netherlands
Netherlands
Description:
At the age of twenty-six, Maarten Troost—who had been pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life by racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs—decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati. He was restless and lacked direction, and the idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the earth was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better. The Sex Lives of Cannibals tells the hilarious story of what happens when Troost discovers that Tarawa is not the island paradise he... continue
70.
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria A. Trapp EN
AustriaDescription:
With nearly 1,500 Broadway performances, six Tony Awards, more than three million albums sold, and five Academy Awards, The Sound of Music, based on the lives of Maria, the baron, and their singing children, is as familiar to most of us as our own family history. But much about the real-life woman and her family was left untold. Here, Baroness Maria Augusta Trapp tells in her own beautiful, simple words the extraordinary story of her romance with the baron, their escape from Nazi-occupied Austria, and their life in America. Now with photographs from the original edition.