August’s Best New Biographies and Memoirs

It’s Not Yet Dark, by Simon Fitzmaurice
Doctor gave filmmaker Fitzmaurice four years to live following an ALS diagnosis in 2008. By 2010, he was at death’s door, and given little hope, but nevertheless chose to take extraordinary measures to stay alive. In the years since, he’s fathered twins and continued to work as a documentarian. Fitzmaurice talks candidly about his daily struggles, but also about the family that sustains him in a life that’s radically different from the one he’d planned for.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J. D. Vance
Vance has accomplished something extraordinary with this complex and insightful memoir, now in paperback, in which he discusses his own family history, going deep below the surface to uncover truths that speak to the state of American culture in the 21st century. He tells a story of upward mobility, and of the grandparents who left extreme poverty in Kentucky’s Appalachia to build a middle-class family. On the surface, it’s a triumphant story of one generation doing better than the last, but Vance digs deeper to examine the legacies of poverty and want, including abuse and alcoholism, and the ways in which the family has never truly escaped its past.

Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor, by Bruce Campbell, Craig Sanborn, and John Hodgman
Over a long and varied career, Bruce Campbell has somehow managed to craft an A-list career out of a variety of B-movie credits, largely by willing to have a laugh at his own expense. It’s been 15 years since his last memoir, and the intervening decade-and-a-half has seen him take on roles in some of the biggest blockbusters of the era (Spider-Man, for example) and develop an enviable social media presence. The new book promises plenty of pictures alongside Bruce’s trademark self-deprecating humor.

The Bettencourt Affair: The World’s Richest Woman and the Scandal That Rocked Paris, by Tom Sancton
Though little discussed in the United States, there’s no juicier story than that of the later years of Liliane Bettencourt. Currently 94, the L’Oréal heiress is literally the richest woman in the world, and has been all over the French news for more than a decade. She became the benefactor to a photographer to the tune of well over a billion dollars, leading to an estrangement with her children. The ensuing scandal has allegedly involved secret tapes, Swiss bank accounts, and envelopes full of cash handed off to France’s highest-profile politicians. It’s a family drama at its heart, but that means something a bit different when the family’s worth $40 billion.

Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America, by John Lewis
There are few Americans with a more impressive lives and careers than Congressman John Lewis. In this memoir, Lewis discusses his experiences during the Civil Rights Movement as a means of offering guidance to anyone who wants to change the world, or even just to live to a higher standard. Now in paperback, the award-winning book includes a new introduction that brings his story up to date and into our present political moment.

Stronger, by Jeff Bauman with Bret Witter
In 2013, Jeff Bauman became the face of the Boston Marathon bombing when pictures of him in a wheelchair went around the world. Bauman was not only at the center of the explosion of the first bomb, he also got a look at the bomber, and set off a manhunt when he awoke in the hospital to tell what he saw. Bauman’s memoir tells of the investigation and of his experiences that day as it follows the journey of his rehabilitation. Bauman will be played by Jake Gyllenhaal in the forthcoming movie based on the book.

Stanton: Lincoln’s War Secretary, by Walter Stahr
Digging deeply into still-relevant American history, Stahr takes on the life of Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War under Lincoln during the American Civil War. He was a prickly, complicated figure who was nevertheless seen by Lincoln as entirely indispensable in managing resources, movements, and soldiers. The secretary was often seen as ruthless in his treatment of those resistant to the idea of war, but was also lauded for his genius as he took the reins of government, briefly, during the crisis around Lincoln’s assassination. Stahr’s previous work was an award-winning biography of Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, so we’re looking forward to this new consideration of a major figure of the era.

Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War, by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
This dual memoir is a story of war, to a point, but it’s largely a story of aftermath and recovery. Brennan, a U.S. Marine, and Finbarr, a conflict photographer, became friends during their shared experiences in the field, and returned home together when Brennan was injured by a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan. The alternating narrative tells of the horrors of war, and also of the challenges faced when returning home. Both of the men remain haunted by the things that they saw and did, but also have learned to find a measure of peace in their friendship.
Whose story are you most looking forward to?