Popular North American Biography Books
Find biography books written by authors from North America for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (27)
11.
I Am Farmer: Growing an Environmental Movement in Cameroon by Baptiste & Miranda Paul EN
Country: North America / 
St. Lucia
St. Lucia
Description:
Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Discover the true story of how environmentalist Farmer Tantoh is transforming the landscape in his home country of Cameroon. When Tantoh Nforba was a child, his fellow students mocked him for his interest in gardening. Today he's an environmental hero, bringing clean water and bountiful gardens to the central African nation of Cameroon. Authors Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul share Farmer Tantoh's inspiring story.
12.
I, Rigoberta Menchu : An Indian Woman in Guatemala by Rigoberta Menchu EN
Country: North America / 
Guatemala
Guatemala
Description:
A Nobel Peace Prize winner reflects on poverty, injustice, and the struggles of Mayan communities in Guatemala, offering “a fascinating and moving description of the culture of an entire people” (The Times) Now a global bestseller, the remarkable life of Rigoberta Menchú, a Guatemalan peasant woman, reflects on the experiences common to many Indian communities in Latin America. Menchú suffered gross injustice and hardship in her early life: her brother, father and mother were murdered by the Guatemalan military. She learned Spanish and turned to catechistic work as an expression of political r... continue
13.
Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer EN
Country: North America / 
United States of America
United States of America
Description:
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned th... continue
14.
Knitting the Fog by Claudia D. Hernández EN
Country: North America / Guatemala
Guatemala
Description:
A young Guatemalan immigrant's adolescence is shaped by her journey to the US, as she grapples with Chapina tradition and American culture.
15.
Maid : Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land EN
Country: North America / United States of America
United States of America
Description:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Evicted meets Nickel and Dimed in Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. Includes a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich. At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephani... continue
16.
Mountains Beyond Mountains : The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder EN
Country: North America / United States of America
United States of America
Description:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 20th Anniversary Edition, with a new foreword by the author • “[A] masterpiece . . . an astonishing book that will leave you questioning your own life and political views.”—USA Today “If any one person can be given credit for transforming the medical establishment’s thinking about health care for the destitute, it is Paul Farmer. . . . [Mountains Beyond Mountains] inspires, discomforts, and provokes.”—The New York Times (Best Books of the Year) In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of m... continue
17.
Riff : The Shake Keane Story by Philip Nanton EN
Country: North America / 
St Vincent
St Vincent
Description:
Riff explores the turbulent life of the musician and poet Shake Keane who migrated from St Vincent to London in the 1950s where became a significant figure on the free form jazz scene and innovative poet. He returned home before moving to New York City. This biography reveals the many features of this trend-setting but troubled Caribbean icon.
18.
Run Towards the Danger : Confrontations with a Body of Memory by Sarah Polley EN
Country: North America / 
Canada
Canada
Description:
*A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice* These are the most dangerous stories of my life. The ones I have avoided, the ones I haven’t told, the ones that have kept me awake on countless nights. As these stories found echoes in my adult life, and then went another, better way than they did in childhood, they became lighter and easier to carry. In this extraordinary book, Sarah Polley explores what it is to live in one’s body, in a constant state of becoming, learning, and changing. Each of these six essays captures a piece of Polley’s life as she remembers it, while at the same time exami... continue
19.
The Book of Rosy : A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border by Rosayra Pablo Cruz, Julie Schwietert Collazo EN
Country: North America / Guatemala
Guatemala
Description:
A searing tale of the human lives behind the Trump administration-made immigration crisis, written by two remarkable mothers--a Central American woman whose children were taken from her by the United States government at the southern border, and the American who helped reunite the family--and offers a timely and urgent look at a migrant experience, family separation and reunification, and the power of individuals banding together to overcome even the cruelest and most unjust circumstances. When Rosayra Pablo Cruz made the wrenching decision to seek asylum in America with two of her children, f... continue
20.
The Closer by Mariano Rivera and Wayne Coffey EN
Country: North America / 
Panama
Panama
Description:
Mariano Rivera never dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. He didn't grow up collecting baseball cards, playing Little League, or cheering on his home team at the World Series. He had never heard of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, or Mickey Mantle. One day, that all changed. From a childhood playing pickup games in Panama to an epic career with the New York Yankees, Mariano's rise to greatness has been anything but ordinary. He's the guy on the mound who doesn't hear the crowd, just the sound of the ump calling, Strike! The teammate you can rely on, even when the bases are loaded in... continue