Hand-Picked List of the Best Books

We’ve identified some of the best books for memoir writing, editing, and oral histories. These books are all available from Amazon.com.

Memoir Writing

Balzer, Paula. Writing & Selling Your Memoir: How to Craft Your Life Story So That Somebody Else Will Actually Want to Read It. July 9, 2011.

Barrington, Judith. Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art, Second Edition. Portland, Ore.: The Eighth Mountain Press (February 1, 2002)

DeBartolo Carmack, Sharon, and Katherine Scott Sturdevant, Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History. Betterway Books; 1st edition (August 2000)

DeBartolo Carmack, Sharon, You Can Write Your Family History. March 20, 2009.

Goldberg, Natalie. Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir. Free Press (March 10, 2009)

Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. Shambhala; 1 Expanded edition (March 30, 2010)

Kempthorne, Charley. For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History. Portsmouth, N.H.: Boynton Cook Publishers, Heineman. 1996.

Kramer, Mark, and Wendy Call. Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. January 30, 2007.

Ledoux, Denis. The Photo Scribe: A Writing Guide: How to Write the Stories behind Your Photographs. Lisbon Falls, Maine: Soleil Press, April 1, 2008.

Ledoux, Denis. Turning Memories Into Memoirs, A Handbook for Writing Lifestories. Lisbon Falls, Maine: Soleil Press, Sept. 20, 2005.

Myers, Linda. The Power of Memoir: How to Write Your Healing Story. January 26, 2010.

Polking, Kirk. Writing Family Histories and Memoirs . Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 1995.

Rainer, Tristine. Your Life as Story: Writing the New Autobiography. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1997.

Roorbach, Bill. Writing Life Stories: How to Make Memories into Memoirs, Ideas into Essays and Life into Literature. Writer’s Digest Books; 2 edition. July 1, 2008.

Rosenbluth, Vera. Keeping Family Stories Alive: Discovering & Recording the Stories & Reflections of A Lifetime (2nd ed). Vancouver, B.C.: Hartley & Marks Publishers, Inc., 1997.

Rosenbluth, Vera. Classic Scrapbooking: The Art and Craft of Creating a Book of Memories. Point Roberts, Washington: Hartley & Marks Publishers, Inc., 1998.

Silverman, Sue William.  Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir. University of Georgia Press (June 1, 2009).

Smith, Marion Roach. The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Grand Central Publishing; Original edition (June 9, 2011)

Zinsser, William, editor. Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., Revised edition May 1998.

Writing and Editing

Associated Press, The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. Basic Books; Forty-fifth Edition edition (July 26, 2011)

Cappon, Rene J.  Associated Press Guide to Newswriting: The Resource for Professional Journalists. Peterson’s; 3 edition (1999)

Cappon, Rene Jack. The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation. Basic Books (January 7, 2003).

The Chicago Manual of Style, University Of Chicago Press; 16 edition (August 1, 2010)

Clark, Roy Peter.  Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. Little, Brown and Company (January 10, 2008)

Kessler, Lauren. When Words Collide: A Media Writer’s Guide to Grammar and Style. Wadsworth Pub Co; 6th edition (April 2003)

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor; 1 edition (September 1, 1995)

Strunk, William, Jr. and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th edition. Longman. January 15, 2000. Free online at Bartleby.com

Zinsser, William. On Writing Well, 30th  Anniversary: The Classic Guide to Writing Non-Fiction. New York: Harper Perennial; 30 Anv edition (May 9, 2006)

Interviewing

Brady, John. The Craft of Interviewing. New York: Vintage Books, 1977.

Grobel, Lawrence. The Art of the Interview: Lessons from a Master of the Craft. Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (August 31, 2004)

Metzler, Ken. Creative Interviewing: The Writer’s Guide to Gathering Information by Asking Questions (3rd Edition). Hard to find but a great book on interviewing.

Sedorkin, Gail. Interviewing: A Guide for Journalists and Writers. Allen & Unwin; Second Edition, Second edition edition (September 1, 2011)

Do-It-Yourself Books

Borg, Mary and Joyce Turley. Writing Your Life: An Easy to Follow Guide to Writing an Autobiography. Fort Collins, Colo.: Cottonwood Press, 1989.

Campbell, Jennifer.  Start & Run a Personal History Business: Get Paid to Research Family Ancestry and Write Memoirs. Self-Counsel Press; Pap/Cdr edition (February 24, 2012)

Carl, David, and Marshal Marshall, Book of Myself: A Do-It- Yourself Autobiography in 201 Questions. Hyperion; Revised edition (January 9, 2007)

Daniel, Lois. How to Write Your Own Life Story: The Classic Guide for the Nonprofessional Writer. Chicago Review Press; Fourth Edition, Fourth edition edition (August 1, 1997)

Foltz, Sharon. Passing Your Heritage On: A Guide to Writing Your Family Stories. Rainbow Ridge Publications (May 28, 1998). Updated 2008.

Greene, Bob, and D.G. Fulford. To Our Children’s Children: Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come. Doubleday (February 1, 1993)

Greene, Bob. To Our Children’s Children Journal of Family Memories.  Doubleday (October 20, 1998)

Spence, Linda. Legacy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Personal History. Swallow Press; 1 edition (November 1, 1997)

History

Boyer, Paul S. The Oxford History of the United States. Oxford University Press, USA (July 4, 2001).

Commager, Henry Steele. Pocket History of the United States. Pocket Books; 9th Revised edition (August 1, 1992). An old one but good one.

Joyce, Robert D. Astonishing Century. Santa Ana, Calif.: Hawthorne House, 1999.

Kirk, Ruth, and Carmela Alexander. Exploring Washington’s Past: A Road Guide to History. Univ of Washington Pr; Revised edition (October 1995)

Schweikart, Larry, and Michael Allen. A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to the War on Terror. Sentinel Trade; Reprint edition (February 27, 2007) History from the conservative persective.

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States: 1492 to Present. Harper Perennial Modern Classics (August 2, 2005). History from a socialist’s perspective.

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States (P.S.). Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Dlx Rep edition (November 2, 2010)

Ethical Wills

Riemer, Jack and Nathaniel Stampfer. So That Your Values Live On—Ethical Wills and How to Prepare Them. LongHill Partners, Inc. (March 2, 2009)

Baines, Barry K. Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper. Second Edition. Da Capo Press; 2nd edition (April 4, 2006)

Baines, Barry K. The Ethical Will Resource Kit. Josaba Ltd (April 22, 1998)

Baines, Barry K. The Ethical Will Writing Guide Workbook. Josaba Ltd. (February 7, 2001)

Freed, Rachael, Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies: Passing Your Beliefs and Blessings to Future Generations: Creating Your Own Spiritual-Ethical Will. Fairview Press (August 27, 2003)

Oral History

Angrosino, Michael V. Exploring Oral History: A Window on the Past. Waveland Pr Inc; 1st edition (April 25, 2008)

Baum, Willa K. Transcribing and Editing Oral History. American Association for State and Local History, 1400 8th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203, 1977 – Revised 1991.

Dunaway, David K. And Willa K. Baum, eds. Oral History: An Interdisciplinary Anthology, 2nd ed. Altamira Press; Second Edition edition (September 18, 1996)

Hart, Cynthia, and Lisa Samson. The Oral History Workshop: Collect and Celebrate the Life Stories of Your Family and Friends. Workman Publishing Company; Original edition (November 26, 2009)

Hoopes, James. Oral History: An Introduction for Students . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1979.

Nuenschwander, John N., Ph.D., J.D. A Guide to Oral History and the Law. Oxford University Press, USA (September 28, 2009)

Perks, Robert, and Alistair Thomson. The Oral History Reader.  Routledge; 2 edition (May 30, 2006)

Portelli, Alessandro. The Death of Luigi Trastulli and Other Stories: Form and Meaning in Oral History. Albany: SUNY Press, 1991.

Ritchie, Donald A. Doing Oral History. New York: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (August 7, 2003)

Schneider, William. So They Understand: Cultural Issues in Oral History. Utah State University Press; 1 edition (November 8, 2002)

Schorzman, Terri A. A Practical Introduction to Videohistory: The Smithsonian Institution and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Experiment. Melbourne, Fla.: Krieger Publishing Co., 1993.

Thompson, Paul. The Voice of the Past: Oral History. 2nd ed. (May 2000) NewYork: Oxford University Press.

Yow, Valerie Raleigh. Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Altamira Press; 2nd edition edition (April 7, 2005)

Great Memoirs

Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson. Broadway (October 8, 2002)

Burch, Jennings Michael. They Cage the Animals at Night. Signet; Reprint edition (October 1, 1985)

DeMuth, Mary E. Thin Places: A Memoir. Zondervan (January 5, 2010)

Flynn, Laura M. Swallow the Ocean: A Memoir. Counterpoint; First Trade Paper Edition edition (February 1, 2009)

Kimmel, Haven. A Girl. A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana. Broadway; Today Show Book Club edition (September 3, 2002)

McCourt, Frank. Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir. New York: Scribner; 1St Edition edition (May 25, 1999)

Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle: A Memoir. Scribner; 1 edition (January 9, 2006)

Walls, Jeannette. Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel. Scribner; Reprint edition (September 7, 2010)

Westover, Tara. Educated. Random House. 2018.

Wiesel, Elie. Night. Bantam Books; (March 1, 1982)