Popular Asian Biography Books

Find biography books written by authors from Asia for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (89)

11.

Afghanistan, Where God Only Comes to Weep by Siba Shakib EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Iran flag Iran
Description:
One woman’s harrowing story about life under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Shirin-Gol was just a young girl when her village was levelled by the Russians in 1979. When the men in her family joined the resistance, she fled with the other women and children to Kabul, and so began a life of day-to-day struggle in her war-torn country. A life that included a Pakistani refugee camp, a forced marriage to pay off her brother’s gambling debts, selling her body and begging for money to feed her growing family, an attempted suicide and an unsuccessful attempt to leave Afghanistan for Iran after the... continue


13.

Armerian Golgotha by Grigoris Balakian EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Armenia flag Armenia
Description:
On April 24, 1915, Grigoris Balakian was arrested along with some 250 other leaders of Constantinople’s Armenian community. It was the beginning of the Ottoman Empire’s systematic attempt to eliminate the Armenian people from Turkey—a campaign that continued through World War I and the fall of the empire. Over the next four years, Balakian would bear witness to a seemingly endless caravan of blood, surviving to recount his miraculous escape and expose the atrocities that led to over a million deaths. Armenian Golgotha is Balakian’s devastating eyewitness account—a haunting reminder of the firs... continue

14.

Banker To The Poor : Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus EN

Rating: 4 (17 votes)
Country: Asia / Bangladesh flag Bangladesh
Description:
The inspirational story of how Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus invented microcredit, founded the Grameen Bank, and transformed the fortunes of millions of poor people around the world. Muhammad Yunus was a professor of economics in Bangladesh, who realized that the most impoverished members of his community were systematically neglected by the banking system -- no one would loan them any money. Yunus conceived of a new form of banking -- microcredit -- that would offer very small loans to the poorest people without collateral, and teach them how to manage and use their loans to create succes... continue

15.

Beyond Storms and Stars - a Memoir by Noeleen Heyzer EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Singapore flag Singapore
Description:
Very inspiring story about personal developement and achievements regarding gender equality

16.

Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour, David Hazard EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Palestine flag Palestine
Description:
The unforgettable story of Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Christian with deep love for both Jews and Arabs. The birth of the modern Jewish nation is set against ancient and modern history.

17.

burned alive by Souad EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Palestine flag Palestine
Description:
Souad here relates how she survived an attempted 'honour killing' in her West Bank village for having had premarital sex. She calls for an end to the code of silence that allows this practice to continue in certain Islamic societies.

18.

Butterfly : From Refugee to Olympian, My Story of Rescue, Hope and Triumph by Yusra Mardini EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Syria flag Syria
Description:
"Being a refugee is not a choice. Our choice is to die at home or risk death trying to escape." - Yusra MardiniYusra Mardini fled her native Syria to the Turkish coast in 2015 and boarded a small dinghy full of refugees bound for Greece. When the small and overcrowded boat's engine cut out, it began to sink. Yusra, her sister and two others took to the water, pushing the boat for three and a half hours in open water until they eventually landed on Lesbos, saving the lives of the passengers aboard. This is the story of that remarkable woman, whose journey started in a war-torn suburb of Damascu... continue

19.

China Cry : The Nora Lam Story by Nora Lam, Richard H. Schneider EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / China flag China
Description:
Tells the true story of the love, courage, and struggles of one woman, Nora Lam, whose Christian faith led her to make the ultimate choice between life and death

20.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah EN

Rating: 4.5 (29 votes)
Country: Asia / China flag China
Description:
Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair.