Popular Asian Biography Books
Find biography books written by authors from Asia for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (60)
51.
The Tears of My Soul by Hyŏn-hŭi Kim EN
Country: Asia / 
North Korea
North Korea
Description:
Kim Hyun Hee was trained by the North Korean Army to be one of the deadliest espionage agents on the face of the Earth. This is the true story of her terrorist acts and her lifelong repentance.
52.
Tomorrow I'm Dead : How a Seventeen-year-old Killing Field Survivor Became the Cambodian Freedom Army's Greatest Soldier by Bun Yom EN
CambodiaDescription:
In 1975, US troops had withdrawn from Cambodia, leaving the people defenseless against Pol Pot’s army, the Khmer Rouge. As the army took over Cambodia, thousands of innocent people were ordered out of their homes. In April 1975, fourteen-year-old Bun Yom was forced at gunpoint, along with his family, to march toward the steaming jungle. After a soldier separated Yom from his family, he had no idea he would not see them again for nine years. In his account of his involuntary journey from a normal childhood to enslavement in conditions so inhumane it seemed only death could free him, Yom shares ... continue
53.
Vent en rafales : récit by Taslima Nasreen FR
Country: Asia / 
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Description:
Avant d'être condamnée à mort par les fondamentalistes de son pays et d'incarner le combat des femmes du sous-continent indien, Taslima Nasreen a été une petite fille précoce, une adolescente passionnée de littérature et de musique, une jeune femme follement amoureuse. Aujourd'hui au seuil de la quarantaine, elle évoque, à travers ces scènes - souvent délirantes pour un esprit occidental - de la vie bangladaise, les événements qui ont marqué sa jeunesse. Dont une éducation menée d'une main de fer par un père qui entend imposer, littéralement à la matraque, des idées prétendument " modernes ", ... continue
54.
Walking Since Daybreak by Modris Eksteins EN
LatviaDescription:
Part history, part autobiography, Eksteins relates the tragic story of the Baltic nations before, during, and after World War II through personal stories from his family. Photos and map.
55.
Wave by Sonali Daraniyagala FR
Sri LankaDescription:
The book opens and we are inside the wave: thirty feet high, moving at twenty-five mph, racing two miles inland. And from there into the depths of the author's despair: how to live now that her life has been undone? Sonali Deraniyagala tells her story - the loss of her two boys, her husband, and her parents - without artifice or sentimentality. In the stark language of unfathomable sorrow, anger, and guilt: she struggles through the first months following the tragedy -- someone always at her side to prevent her from harming herself, her whole being furiously clenched against the reality she ca... continue
56.
We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib EN
PakistanDescription:
Triumphant and uplifting - a queer Muslim memoir about forgiveness and freedom. 'Revolutionary' Mona Eltahawy * 'Exquisite, powerful and urgent' Stacey May Fowles * 'I fell in love with this book' Shani Mootoo A memoir of hope, faith and love, Samra Habib's story starts with growing up as part of a threatened minority sect in Pakistan, and follows her arrival in Canada as a refugee, before escaping an arranged marriage at sixteen. When she realized she was queer, it was yet another way she felt like an outsider. So begins a journey that takes her to the far reaches of the globe to uncover a tr... continue
57.
We Were Dreamers : An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu EN
ChinaDescription:
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The star of Marvel’s first Asian superhero film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, tells his own origin story of being a Chinese immigrant, his battles with cultural stereotypes and his own identity, becoming a TV star, and landing the role of a lifetime. In this honest, inspiring and relatable memoir, newly-minted superhero Simu Liu chronicles his family's journey from China to the bright lights of Hollywood with razor-sharp wit and humor. Simu's parents left him in the care of his grandparents, then brought him to Canada when he was four. Life as a ... continue
58.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami EN
JapanDescription:
'Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional' A compelling mediation on the power of running and a fascinating insight into the life of this internationally bestselling writer. A perfect reading companion for runners. In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing. Equal parts travelogue, training log and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month... continue
59.
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places : A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace by Le Ly Hayslip, Jay Wurts EN
VietnamDescription:
Le Ly recounts her childhood in Ky La and her return to Vietnam in 1986 to search for the family she had left behind.
60.
You've Changed : Fake Accents, Feminism, and Other Comedies from Myanmar by Pyae Moe Thet War EN
MyanmarDescription:
In this electric debut essay collection, a Myanmar millennial playfully challenges us to examine the knots and complications of immigration status, eating habits, Western feminism in an Asian home, and more, guiding us toward an expansive idea of what it means to be a Myanmar woman today What does it mean to be a Myanmar person—a baker, swimmer, writer and woman—on your own terms rather than those of the colonizer? These irreverent yet vulnerable essays ask that question by tracing the journey of a woman who spent her young adulthood in the US and UK before returning to her hometown of Yangon,... continue