Books like Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
12 books with a reading profile close to Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance. Balanced in tone; an easy read.
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1
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
by Guy Delisle
history, memoir
Guy Delisle spent two months in Pyongyang overseeing an animation project at a state-run studio.
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2
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
history, memoir
Jon Krakauer chronicles the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, during which eight climbers died in a single storm.
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3
Black Like Me
history, memoir
In 1959, white journalist John Howard Griffin underwent medical treatments, including skin-darkening medication and ultraviolet light exposure, to pass as a Black man in the segregated American South.
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4
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
history, memoir
Caitlin Doughty documents her visits to several countries to observe how diverse cultures handle their dead.
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5
Half Broke Horses
history, memoir
Jeannette Walls reconstructs the life of her maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, in this oral history styled as a novel.
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6
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
history, memoir
In June 2005, Marcus Luttrell and three fellow Navy SEALs deployed into the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan for Operation Red Wings.
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7
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
by Trevor Noah
history, memoir
In this memoir, Trevor Noah recounts his upbringing in South Africa under apartheid and the subsequent transition to democracy.
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8
They Called Us Enemy
by George Takei
history, memoir
George Takei’s graphic memoir recounts his childhood years spent inside American concentration camps following Executive Order 9066.
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9
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10
Permanent Record
memoir, narrative
Edward Snowden details his transition from a committed CIA and NSA technologist to a whistleblower who exposed the United States government’s system of mass digital surveillance.
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11
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
by Ruth Reichl
memoir, narrative
In this memoir, Ruth Reichl details her tenure as the restaurant critic for the New York Times, where she utilized elaborate costumes and personas to avoid detection by staff.
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12
Refugee
by Alan Gratz
history, narrative
Three children, in three different decades, are forced to flee their homes.
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