Biographies and Autobiographies

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This page contains references to biographies and autobiographies.

Paris Underground, by Etta Shiber

A fascinating account of two women who operated a cell of the French Underground during WW II.  Told by the one who survived, soon after she returned to America.

Too Close to the Falls, by Catherine Gildiner

Called a memoir by the author, this autobiographical sketch is one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time.  It’s a recount of the author’s impressions as a small child growing up in the mid-1950’s in Lewiston, NY, near Niagara Falls.  Her adventures in school, and riding with the deliveryman for her father’s pharmacy, and of her mother, who didn’t cook and ate out for every meal, are simply hilarious.

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Seabiscuit, An American Legend, by Laura Hillenbrand

This is my favorite biography of all time, and it’s the biography of a horse.  My mother, who was born in 1929, still remembers the radio account of the big race between Sea Biscuit and War Admiral on November 1, 1938, a national event. The biography is meticulously researched and gives a wonderful insight into the racing community of the times and the unlikely collaboration of an owner, a trainer, a jockey and the greatest horse of all time.

All My Patients are Under the Bed, by Dr. Louis J. Camuti

An autobiographical tale by the late Dr. Camuti, a veterinarian who practiced in New York City. At some point during his career, he decided to focus on cats and to make house calls. His stories of his patients and owners are very funny.

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Ava’s Man, by Rick Bragg

Rick Bragg is a natural storyteller and his books are hard to put down.  This is the story of his grandfather, Charlie Bundrum, a roofer, brawler and moonshiner, who liked his “likker”, and loved his family.  It’s the story of his life and struggles during the Depression and how he kept his family fed and left an indelible imprint on all who knew him.

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Chosen by a Horse, by Susan Richards

A sweet, autobiographical account of a woman’s relationship with a horse and what the horse taught her about gentleness and love. I don’t know what it was about this book that kept me interested, but I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.

A Treasury of Royal Scandals, by Michael Farquhar

A very funny book that takes a look at the quirks and foibles of history’s rulers of the past.  Some of my favorite chapter titles: “Until Divorce or Decapitation Do Us Part”, “How to Make a Bloody Mary”, “Swimming in a Shallow Gene Pool”, “Drool Britannia”, and “Will the Real Pope Please Rise?”.  You get the picture.