100 Best Biographies: Name That Author! (1)

[C] Anne Frank | Frank’s wartime diary captures her teenage hopes and fears while hiding in an Amsterdam attic, contrasting with Wiesel’s concentration‑camp chronicle and ten Boom’s Dutch resistance tale.

[D] Elie Wiesel | Wiesel’s spare prose describes the horrors of Auschwitz and Buchenwald through a teenager’s eyes; Levi and Frankl offer different philosophical reflections and Frank wrote from hiding.

[D] Malala Yousafzai | The Pakistani activist recounts defying Taliban threats to advocate girls’ education and surviving an assassination attempt, unlike Obama’s or Clinton’s U.S. political memoirs.

[C] Jeannette Walls | Walls reveals her itinerant upbringing with charismatic but irresponsible parents in the American West, while Karr and Burroughs portray other dysfunctional families.

[A] Laura Hillenbrand | Hillenbrand recounts Olympian Louis Zamperini’s plane crash, forty‑seven days adrift and brutal captivity as a Japanese POW; Krakauer and Millard tell unrelated tales.

[C] Maya Angelou | Angelou’s lyrical memoir charts her childhood in segregated Arkansas and the awakening of her voice, whereas Keller writes about overcoming disability and Malala about activism.

[D] Rebecca Skloot | Skloot uncovers the story of a poor Black woman whose cancer cells spawned the HeLa line, raising ethical questions; Hillenbrand and Isaacson profile athletes and inventors.

[A] Vernon Davis | The Pro Bowl tight end reflects on his path from inner‑city Washington, D.C., to NFL champion and philanthropist, unlike Young’s quarterback memoir or Pearlman’s biographies.

[A] Walter Isaacson | Isaacson’s authorized biography draws on interviews with Apple’s visionary co‑founder and those he alienated, while Gray writes about athletes and McCullough about presidents.

[D] Corrie ten Boom | Ten Boom chronicles her family’s efforts to hide Jews in their Dutch home and her imprisonment in Ravensbrück concentration camp, distinct from Frank’s diary and Frankl’s psychology.

[B] Frank McCourt | McCourt recalls an impoverished Irish childhood filled with hunger, humor and a hard‑drinking father, whereas Karr and Walls recount U.S. family crises and McBride his mother’s life.

[B] Jonathan Hernández | Hernandez explores the troubled life of NFL star Aaron Hernandez, blending brotherly love and regret; Pearlman and O’Connor profile different sports icons.

[A] Tim Butcher | Butcher retraces Gavrilo Princip’s Sarajevo journey and the nationalist fervor that sparked World War I, unlike Goodwin’s and Roberts’s presidential biographies.

[A] Malcolm X | Collaborating with Alex Haley, Malcolm X recounts his transformation from hustler to minister and human‑rights activist; Mandela and Douglass fight different oppressions.

[C] Marjane Satrapi | Satrapi’s black‑and‑white panels depict growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, a distinct perspective from Spiegelman’s mouse‑drawn Holocaust story and Chang’s family saga.

[D] Andy Martino | Martino reveals how general manager Brian Cashman blended analytics and scouting to sustain Yankee dominance, unlike Pearlman’s player profiles or Pluto’s team histories.

[A] Bill Walsh | Walsh codifies lessons learned as 49ers head coach—planning, creativity and standards—while Young writes from the quarterback’s perspective and Gray interviews sports stars.

[B] Cheryl Strayed | Strayed’s solo 1,100‑mile trek becomes a journey of grief and self‑reliance, whereas Bryson’s Appalachian hike is comedic and Krakauer covers Everest.

[C] Steve Young | Young discusses his strict Mormon upbringing, battles with anxiety and eventual Hall‑of‑Fame career, while Walsh and Pearlman examine coaching and other athletes.

[C] Jeff Pearlman | Pearlman explores how Bo Jackson’s jaw‑dropping feats and Nike marketing turned him into a legend; Brown and Hillenbrand chronicle rowing and racehorses.

[D] Al Michaels | Michaels recounts decades of calling memorable games—from the “Miracle on Ice” to Monday Night Football—while Gray interviews GOATs and Pearlman writes biographies.

[A] Jon Krakauer | Krakauer investigates the enigmatic Chris McCandless, who abandoned society for Alaskan wilderness and died of starvation; Bryson and Brown tackle other adventures.

[C] Tim Tebow | The Heisman Trophy winner shares stories of faith, family and football from Florida to the NFL, while Young and Michaels offer other gridiron viewpoints.

[B] Jon Krakauer | Krakauer investigates NFL safety Pat Tillman’s decision to enlist after 9/11 and the friendly‑fire cover‑up that followed, unlike Pearlman’s and O’Connor’s profiles of different figures.

[D] Ian O’Connor | O’Connor draws on interviews to reveal Bill Belichick’s obsessive work ethic and complex personality; Walsh offers his own philosophy and Pearlman writes about players.

[B] Keith Dunnavant | Dunnavant portrays Joe Montana’s rise from overlooked college QB to four‑time Super Bowl champion; Walsh coached him and Young eventually replaced him.

[B] John Eisenberg | Eisenberg explains how early owners like Halas, Mara, Rooney, Marshall and Bell built the NFL, while Pluto, O’Connor and Martino tackle other aspects of the game.

[A] Jerry Rice | The Hall‑of‑Fame receiver combines personal anecdotes with a century‑long history of pro football; Pearlman, Pluto and Young focus on specific players or teams.

[B] Terry Pluto | Pluto celebrates the Browns’ last NFL title led by Jim Brown before the Super Bowl era, whereas O’Connor and Pearlman chronicle other legends.

[B] Chris Heeb | Heeb honors Coach Richard “Sugar Bear” Dixon’s impact on generations of students, contrasting with Walsh’s pro playbook and Pearlman’s Bo Jackson biography.