The books on this list are some of my own favorite autobiographies. As the great bard once wrote, “Neither a coward nor a blowhard be.” Okay, he didn’t actually write that, but he should have.
And writing a great autobiography means knowing how to treat yourself as a well-rounded character. Libel looms large if you aren’t careful, telling the unvarnished truth may result in multiple lawsuits. Honesty, a requirement for memoirs, may lead to humiliation, as you slip open your dingy raincoat and expose your dirty secrets for the sake of grabbing some attention only to find that readers look at them and laugh. A life that’s been fascinating to you may be dull as dishwater to everyone else.
