Memoir: A History

"From Saint Augustine's Confessions to Augusten Burroughs's Running with Scissors, from Julius Caesar to Ulysses Grant, from Mark Twain to David Sedaris, the art of memoir has had a fascinating life, and deserves its own biography. Cultural and literary critic Ben Yagoda traces the memoir from its birth in early Christian writings and Roman generals' journals all the way to the present, in which. during a year's time, we saw memoirs from and about dogs, rock stars, bad dads, good dads, alternadads, waitresses, drug addicts, George Foreman, Iranian women, and a slew of other illustrious and interesting persons (and animals)." In a time when memoir seems ubiquitous and is still highly controversial, Yagoda tackles memoir and autobiography in all forms and iterations. He discusses the fraudulent memoir and provides many examples from the past - and he considers the ramifications and consequences of these books. Spanning decades and nations, styles and subjects, Yagoda analyzes the hallmark memoirs of the Western tradition - Benjamin Franklin, Edward Gibbon, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Henry Adams, Gertrude Stein, and others. And he describes historical subgenres such as memoirs of being taken captive by Native Americans; slave narratives; and a surprising number of instances in which one had to pay not to be included in a courtesan's memoirs.

From a critically acclaimed cultural and literary critic, a definitive history and analysis of the memoir.

From Saint Augustine's Confessions to Augusten Burroughs's Running with Scissors, from Julius Caesar to Ulysses Grant, from Mark Twain to David Sedaris, the art of memoir has had a fascinating life, and deserves its own biography. Cultural and literary critic Ben Yagoda traces the memoir from its birth in early Christian writings and Roman generals' journals all the way up to the banner year of 2007, which saw memoirs from and about dogs, rock stars, bad dads, good dads, alternadads, waitresses, George Foreman, Iranian women, and a slew of other illustrious persons (and animals). In a time when memoir seems ubiquitous and is still highly controversial, Yagoda tackles the autobiography and memoir in all its forms and iterations. He discusses the fraudulent memoir and provides many examples from the past-and addresses the ramifications and consequences of these books. Spanning decades and nations, styles and subjects, he analyzes the hallmark memoirs of the Western tradition-Rousseau, Ben Franklin, Henry Adams, Gertrude Stein, Edward Gibbon, among others. Yagoda also describes historical trends, such as Native American captive memoirs, slave narratives, courtier dramas (where one had to pay to NOT be included in a courtesan's memoir). Throughout, the idea of memory and truth, how we remember and how well we remember lives, is intimately explored.

Yagoda's elegant examination of memoir is at once a history of literature and taste, and an absorbing glimpse into what humans find interesting-one another.

The Washington Post - Jonathan Yardley

…excellent…Beginning with Julius Caesar's Commentaries…and The Confessions of Saint Augustine, [Yagoda] brings in example after example…[he] touches just about all the bases, some more lightly than others

Ben Yagoda is a journalism professor in the English department at the University of Delaware. He is the author of Will Rogers: A Biography; When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It; The Sound on the Page; The Art of Fact; and About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made. His articles have appeared in Slate, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times Book Review, Stop Smiling, and other publications. Yagoda lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with his wife and two daughters.