From Personal Loss to Public Legacy: 6 Biography & Memoir Picks
If you’re fascinated by people who changed their fields, this list delivers. These stories trace creativity, conflict, and influence behind iconic lives.
Avi Lanir: The Courage and Capture of an Israeli Fighter Pilot
by Yael Yannay
Release Date: November 17, 2025
Nineteen-year-old Mary Ann Patten and her husband, Joshua, were young and ambitious. Both from New England seafaring families, they had already completed their first clipper-ship voyage around the world with Joshua as captain. If they could win the race to San Francisco that year, their dream of building a farm and a family might be within reach.
Buy on AmazonIn the Arena
by David S. Brown
Release Date: December 2, 2025
Theodore Roosevelt was one of America’s most fascinating presidents—a complex man both publicly and privately. In this sweeping biography, historian David S. Brown takes us on an electrifying journey through Theodore Roosevelt’s life—from his privileged New York upbringing to his transformative presidency that reshaped America’s role on the global stage.
Buy on AmazonRedemption (Joe Dillard Series)
by Scott Pratt
Release Date: December 16, 2025
A lawyer’s fall from grace paved the way for an author’s rise to unimaginable success. In December of 2005, Scott Pratt was marched to a jail cell after being charged with suborning perjury. Within two years, he had written a legal thriller that was a finalist for the top mystery novel worldwide.
Buy on AmazonDenver the (not so) Great
by B. E. Baker
Release Date: December 1, 2025
A compelling story of one family’s determination to save their grumpy old horse against all odds. The Baker family bought Denver as a family horse, and he took care of their children for several years as well as he could. So when, in a freak trailer accident, Denver injured himself badly, the family was upset.
Buy on AmazonPower Soak: Invention, Obsession, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Sound
by Brendan Borrell
Release Date: December 9, 2025
For fans of The Social Network and Moneyball, Power Soak tells the true story of an MIT engineer who helped shape the sound of arena rock and took on the most powerful man in the music business.
Buy on AmazonThe Yellow Finch, a Black Bikini, and a Rat Called Hernandez
by Wendy Fredell
Release Date: December 13, 2025
You can die making love, playing tennis, shoveling snow, mowing the lawn—or walking through Arrivals at an airport, like my husband, Lars. The morning of the day he died, I dreamed that my family and I were standing at a bed where he lay with his eyes closed. It was June 28, 2002.
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