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. (30)
11.
Hidden Valley Road : Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker EN
Country: North America / 
United States of America
United States of America
Description:
OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR PEOPLE'S #1 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF GQ's TOP 50 BOOKS OF LITERARY JOURNALISM IN THE 21st CENTURY Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, TIME, Slate, Smithsonian, The New York Post, and Amazon The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease. Don and Mi... continue
12.
High School by Sara Quin, Tegan Quin EN
Country: North America / 
Canada
Canada
Description:
From the iconic musicians Tegan and Sara comes a memoir about high school, detailing their first loves and first songs in a compelling look back at their humble beginnings High School is the revelatory and unique coming-of-age story of Sara and Tegan Quin, identical twins from Calgary, Alberta, who grew up at the height of grunge and rave culture in the nineties, well before they became the celebrated musicians and global LGBTQ icons we know today. While grappling with their identity and sexuality, often alone, they also faced academic meltdown, their parents’ divorce, and the looming pressure... continue
13.
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.
14.
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
15.
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
16.
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.
17.
18.
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
19.
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
20.
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.