Best Nonfiction of 2012: Memoir

by Damien Echols

Essential reading for anyone interested in justice or memoir. Full review >

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by Kurt Vonnegut & edited by Dan Wakefield

Vonnegut’s most human of hearts beats on every page. Full review >

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by Robert Macfarlane

A breathtaking study of “walking as enabling sight and thought rather than encouraging retreat and escape.” Full review >

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by Ellen Forney illustrated by Ellen Forney

Forney’s story should resonate with those grappling with similar issues, while her artistry should appeal to a wide... Full review >

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by Caitlin Moran

Rapturously irreverent, this book should kick-start plenty of useful discussions. Full review >

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by Cheryl Strayed

A candid, inspiring narrative of the author’s brutal physical and psychological journey through a wilderness of despair to a... Full review >

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by Salman Rushdie

Aspects of a spy novel, a writer’s autobiography and a victim’s affidavit pulsing with resentment and fear combine to reveal... Full review >

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by Rachel Cusk

Bold, gripping, original and occasionally darkly funny. Full review >

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by Claude Lanzmann & translated by Frank Wynne

“I am neither indifferent to, nor weary of, this world; had I a hundred lives, I know I would not tire of it,” he writes.... Full review >

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by Paul Auster

A consummate professional explores the attic of his life, converting rumination to art. Full review >

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by Christopher Hitchens

Certainly, Hitchens died too soon. May this moving little visit to his hospital room not be the last word from him. Full review >

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by Alison Bechdel illustrated by Alison Bechdel

Subtitled “A Comic Drama,” the narrative provides even fewer laughs than its predecessor but deeper introspection. Full review >

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by Anthony Shadid

A complicated, elegiac, beautiful attempt to reconcile the physical bayt (home) and the spiritual. Full review >

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by Sonia Faleiro

Gritty, gripping and often heartbreaking—an impressive piece of narrative nonfiction. Full review >

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by Gabrielle Bell illustrated by Gabrielle Bell

Playfully drawn and provocatively written, the memoir reinforces Bell's standing among the first rank of the genre’s artists. Full review >

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by Neil Barofsky

A courageous, insightful book that offers no cause for optimism. Full review >

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