18 books like The making of an American

What to read after The making of an American — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath · 1948 · ★ 4.5 · 272p · ≈ 9h · Challenging The Bell Jar is the only novel written by American poet Sylvia Plath. It is an intensely realistic and emotional record of a successful and talented young woman's descent into madness. Shares: Community pick

My Life, My Love, My Legacy Coretta Scott King · 2017 · ★ 4.0 · 368p · ≈ 12h · Moderate The life story of Coretta Scott King—wife of Martin Luther King Jr., founder of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center), and singular twentieth-century American civil and human rights activist—as told fully for the first time, toward the end of her life, to Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds. Born in 1927 to daringly enterprising parents in the Deep South, Coretta… Shares: Social reformers, Biography & Memoir

Life in the sick-room Harriet Martineau · 1844 · 204p · ≈ 6h · Challenging "Believing herself to be suffering from incurable condition, Harriet Martineau wrote Life in the Sick-Room in 1844. In this work, which is both memoir and treatise, Martineau seeks to educate the healthy and ill alike on the spiritual and psychological dimensions of chronic suffering. Covering such topics are "Sympathy to the Invalid," "Temper," and "Becoming Inured," the work occupies a crucial… Shares: Social reformers, Biography & Memoir

20 Years at Hull House Jane Addams · 1910 · 481p · ≈ 16h · Challenging Jane Addams's narrative of life in an immigrant urban neighborhood provides students with an introduction to the issues of the Progressive era and the tenets of social activism. This new teaching edition reduces Addams's original text by about 35 percent, trimming illustrative detail to focus on the ideological underpinnings of the original work. The author sketches a brief biographical portrait… Shares: Social conditions, Biography & Memoir

The Library of American Biography Jared Sparks · 1846 · 402p · ≈ 13h · Challenging This book itself comprises and also is a collection of letters by varied political and social personalities in reference with the American Revolution. These letters are also concerned with the foreign relations of United States during the whole revolution. Also, it reflects the political framing in the United States. Shares: Biography & Memoir

A history of autobiography in antiquity Georg Misch · 1950 · 364p · ≈ 12h · Moderate This is Volume IV of 9 historical works from the International Library of Sociology. This is part one of two looking at the history of the autobiography. Appearing in isolation as they do, autobiographies demand for their description and appreciation, a comprehensive view of the development of the human mind. This volume covers the conception and the origin of autobiography, looking at ancient… Shares: Biography & Memoir

Mr. Nice Howard Marks · 1996 · 468p · ≈ 15h · Moderate This candid crime memoir by Britain's most famous drug baron is "frequently hilarious, occasionally sad, and often surreal" (GQ).   During the mid-1980s Howard Marks had 43 aliases, 89 phone lines, and owned 25 companies throughout the world. From local bars to recording studios to offshore banks—all of his "businesses" were in fact money laundering vehicles serving his one true business:… Shares: Biography & Memoir

Autobiography Anderson L Staff · 2001 · 166p · ≈ 5h · Moderate Saint Augustine of Hippo wrote ''Confessions'', the first Western autobiography ever written, around AD 400. Portrait by Philippe de Champaigne, 17th century.]] Shares: Biography & Memoir

Two Sisters Gore Vidal · 1970 · ★ 4.0 · 236p · ≈ 7h · Moderate Originally published in 1970 this fairly short novel (174 pages) contains, according to the blurb on the dust jacket of the first edition, “Gore Vidal’s singular speculations on love, sex, death, literature and politics.” Shares: Biography & Memoir

Missing Persons Mary Evans · 1998 · 176p · ≈ 5h · Moderate Auto/biography is currently one of the most popular literary genres, widely supposed to illuminate the study of the individual and his or her personal circumstances. Missing Persons suggests that auto/biography is, in fact, based on fictions, both about the person and about what it is possible to know about any one individual. Organised into chapters which consider particular kinds of… Shares: Biography & Memoir

Marse Henry : An Autobiography Henry Watterson · 1919 · 325p · ≈ 10h · Challenging "Marse Henry: An Autobiography" is a fascinating memoir by Henry Watterson, a prominent American journalist, and editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal. The book details Watterson's life from his birth in Kentucky in 1840 to his rise as a prominent political figure and newspaper editor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Watterson's memoir is full of vivid anecdotes and colorful… Shares: Biography & Memoir

Money to Burn William D. Cohan · 689p · ≈ 22h · Moderate INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the bestselling author of House of Cards and Power Failure comes the sweeping tale of a powerful and controversial financial empire, set against the turbulent backdrop of a rapidly changing Wall Street.On March 22, 2021, Leon Black, the brilliant and fearsome billionaire founder of investment firm Apollo Global Management, resigned. For more than three… Shares: Biography & Memoir

No More Tears Gardiner Harris · 2025 · ★ 4.4 · 464p · ≈ 15h · Moderate NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An explosive, deeply reported exposé of Johnson & Johnson, one of America’s oldest and most trusted pharmaceutical companies—from an award-winning investigative journalist“A damning portrait.”—Associated Press“A page-turning drama that raises life-or-death questions about the world’s largest healthcare conglomerate.”—Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of King:… Shares: Biography & Memoir

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense Lawrence G. McDonald & Patrick Robinson A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers is a 2009 non-fiction book written by Lawrence G. McDonald and Patrick Robinson which chronicles the events surrounding the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in the context of the 2008 financial crisis and the subprime mortgage crisis. The work is divided into a prologue, an epilogue, and twelve chapters. Shares: Biography & Memoir

The Infinity Machine Sebastian Mallaby · 2026 · ★ 4.8 An Instant New York Times Bestseller • One of NPR's Best Books of the Year • Nominated for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year From one of our leading chroniclers of the intersection of innovation and capitalism, a landmark reckoning—based on unprecedented access—with one of the world’s most brilliant and driven tech visionaries, and his game-changing companyEven by the standard of a… Shares: Biography & Memoir

For the Love of Restaurants Adam Weisblatt · 170p · ≈ 5h · Moderate A playful, soup-to-nuts guide to creating a restaurant, and a love letter to those who make the struggle palatable, the resilience possible, and the journey more fun—restaurant people.There is no secret ingredient to opening a successful restaurant—in this business everything matters.It’s one thing to work in an established restaurant and a whole other beautiful challenge to turn an empty room… Shares: Biography & Memoir

Raving Fans Ken Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles & Harvey Mackay Written in the parable style of The One Minute Manager, Raving Fans uses a brilliantly simple and charming story to teach how to define a vision, learn what a customer really wants, institute effective systems, and make Raving Fan Service a constant feature--not just another program of the month.America is in the midst of a service crisis that has left a wake of disillusioned customers… Shares: Biography & Memoir

Restaurant Prosperity Formula™ David Scott Peters Drawing on his decades of experience as a restaurateur, David Scott Peters offers this specific, hands-on guidebook for independent restaurant owners. Focusing on the operational and cultural aspects of running a restaurant, Peters offers a system―the Restaurant Prosperity Formula™―that allows these businesses to not only survive but thrive in one of the world’s most competitive industries. In… Shares: Biography & Memoir

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