Popular North American Memoir Books
Find memoir books written by authors from North America for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (53)
21.
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
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23.
In Morocco by Wharton, Edith EN
Country: North America / 
United States of America
United States of America
Description:
First published in 1919, this detailed account of the author's journey through Morocco following World War I shares Wharton's observations on local customs and lifestyles, Moroccan history, cities, and more. Reprint.
24.
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
25.
Country: North America / United States of America
United States of America
Description:
It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation. Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to Forty-second Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max's Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a co... continue
26.
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.
27.
My Brother by Jamaica Kincaid EN
Country: North America / 
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda
Description:
Kincaid's poetic and often shockingly frank account of Devon's life is also the story of their family on the island of Antigua.
28.
Notes on a Foreign Country by Sally Hansen EN
Country: North America / United States of America
United States of America
Description:
'Deeply honest and brave . . . A sincere and intelligent act of self-questioning . . . Hansen is doing something both rare and necessary' - Hisham Matar, New York Times In the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq, Suzy Hansen was enjoying success as a journalist for a New York newspaper. Increasingly, though, the disconnect between the chaos of world events and the response at home took on pressing urgency for her. Seeking to understand the Muslim world that had been reduced to scaremongering headlines, she moved to Istanbul. Hansen arrived in Istanbul with romantic ideas about a ... continue
29.
On The Plain of Snakes by Paul Theroux EN
Country: North America / United States of America
United States of America
Description:
WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO TRAVEL WRITING 2020 The master of contemporary travel writing, Paul Theroux, immerses himself in the beautiful and troubled heart of modern Mexico Nogales is a border town caught between Mexico and the United States of America. A forty-foot steel fence runs through its centre, separating the prosperous US side from the impoverished Mexican side. It is a fascinating site of tension, now more than ever, as the town fills with hopeful border crossers and the deportees who have been caught and brought back. And it is here that Pau... continue
30.
París era una fiesta by Ernest Hemingway ES
Country: North America / United States of America
United States of America
Description:
Leí el inolvidable "París era una fiesta" varias veces, siempre con el mismo interés. Es un testimonio donde este genial escritor plasmó su fe inquebrantable en los hombres que tienen el valor para no claudicar. Los que, en medio de la pobreza y el frío de los inviernos sis calefacción, siguieron escribiendo y viviendo intensamente, dando un lugar a la creación por sobre todas las cosas.
Un testimonio de aquel París que yo conocí como científico del Institut Curie, y que ya no conoceremos más.
-Ernesto Sab... continue