Find Autobiographies
Leverage the power of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) to find precisely what you need. Search our discovery service and WorldCat by subject to find autobiographies (i.e., primary sources) and secondary criticisms.
Genre Headings:
- Autobiographies and Biographies are used as genre headings to identify, respectively, autobiographies (primary) and biographies (secondary). See, for example, these Hispanic American biographies.
- Autobiographical is a modifier (e.g., Autobiographical fiction but also Autobiographical memory).
Subject Headings:
- Autobiography is used as the main heading to find criticisms (i.e., secondary sources) about autobiographies.
- Biography, diaries, memoirs, and personal memoirs are used as subdivisions to find primary sources (see below). "Biography" here can identify both autobiographies (primary) and biographies (secondary).
- Similar in concept is personal narratives, another subdivision that identifies eyewitness accounts of wars and other historical events (e.g., World War, 1939-1945 — Personal narratives). Additional subdivisions include correspondence, interviews, letters, manuscripts, oratory, and speeches. All reveal primary sources.
- Terms not used in LCSH but worth searching for as keywords are life story(ies), life narrative(s), life writing (particularly useful), and testimony(ies).
Examples:
- Autobiographies AND "Mexican American*" NOT juvenile [primary]
- Hispanic American authors—Biography [primary/secondary/tertiary]
- Hispanic American women—Biography [primary/secondary/tertiary]
Note: Select the "Books, Media & More" radio button and then re-execute your search to include online journal articles in your results set. Remember to search WorldCat by subject to retrieve more books!
In English:
Children of the Land by Call Number: PS3608.E76845 Z47 2020ISBN: 9780062825599Publication Date: 2020-01-28
Confessions of a Berlitz-Tape Chicana by Call Number: PS3563.A733 2005ISBN: 0806137223Publication Date: 2005-11-01
Illegal: Reflections of an Undocumented Immigrant by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 9780252096181Publication Date: 2014-02-15
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches From the Border by Call Number: JV6565 .C37 2019ISBN: 9780735217737Publication Date: 2019-02-05
My Boy Will Die of Sorrow by Call Number: HQ536 .O38 2022ISBN: 9780306847288Publication Date: 2022-07-12
A Place in el Paso: A Mexican-American Childhood by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780585323022Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Retablos: Stories From a Life Lived Along the Border by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780872867888Publication Date: 2018
Tired, Hungry, and Standing in One Place for Twelve Hours: Essential Cop Essays by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781680031430Publication Date: 2018-04-27
An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up From My American Dream by Call Number: E901.1.C38 A3 2018ISBN: 9780316252164Publication Date: 2018-10-16
In Spanish:
Cuando Era Puertorriqueña by ISBN: 0679756779Publication Date: 1994-10-18Santiago (b1948) reflects on her childhood in Puerto Rico and subsequent move to New York City at the age of 13. Spanish translation of When I Was Puerto Rican (1993).
La Distancia Entre Nosotros by ISBN: 9789877473445Publication Date: 2018-05-15"When her parents cross the border illegally in search of the American dream, Reyna and her siblings are forced to live with their grandmother until her family can once again be united. Things do not go as planned and Reyna must prepare herself to go to the U.S. and live with a man who has captivated her imagination for years: her absentee father. This memoir shows what it is like to try and assimilate to a new culture, new language, and new family dynamic" (book jacket). Originally published in English as The Distance Between Us (2012). Grande was born in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico (1975). She immigrated to the U.S. in 1985.
Solito by ISBN: 9781644736593Publication Date: 2022-10-11In this autobiography/memoir, Zamora recounts a childhood journey of migration from El Salvador through Guatemala and Mexico to eventually reunite with his parents in California. Spanish translation by José García Escobar (2022).
In English:
The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780585187846Publication Date: 1997-01-01See immediately below for a description.
In Spanish:
Cajas de Carton: Relatos de la Vida Peregrina de un Niño Campesino by Call Number: PS3560.I55 C5718 2000ISBN: 0395955815Publication Date: 1999-08-13Short stories aimed at a young adult audience. Treats the challenges faced by immigrant labor including language barriers and poverty. Spanish translation of Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child (1997). Jiménez was born in San Pedro, Tlaquepaque, Mexico. He migrated as a young child to the United States and became a naturalized citizen in 1965.
El Libro de los Abrazos: Imágenes y Palabras by Call Number: PQ8520.17.A4 L5 1991ISBN: 9682315883Publication Date: 1991Galeano (1940-2015) was a Uruguayan author, journalist, and activist. "A committed democratic socialist, Galeano was also an impassioned critic of global industrialization and a champion for the cause of the oppressed workers and political activists of Latin America. His work blends historical and personal anecdote, legend, aphorisms, fiction, and fantasy to explore the Latin American soul and to call for an end to the exploitation of Latin America's resources, both human and natural" (Contemporary Authors).
Autobiography in Black and Brown: Ethnic Identity In Richard Wright and Richard Rodriguez by Call Number: PS3545.R815 Z6635 2014ISBN: 9780826355270Publication Date: 2014-10-30
Light in the Dark- Luz en lo Oscuro: Rewriting Identity, Spirituality, Reality by Call Number: Internet Archvie E-BOOKISBN: 9780822360094Publication Date: 2015-09-30
Shared Selves: Latinx Memoir and Ethical Alternatives to Humanism by Call Number: PS153.H56 B67 2019ISBN: 9780252084621Publication Date: 2019-09-13
The Trouble with Sauling Around: Conversion In Ethnic American Autobiography, 1965-2002 by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 9781609380649Publication Date: 2011-08-01
See the Poetry libguide for additional works of poetry by Hispanic American authors.
¿De Veras? Young Voices from the National Hispanic Cultural Center by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 9780826343598Publication Date: 2008-04-16
Looking Out, Looking In: Anthology of Latino Poetry by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781611925197Publication Date: 2013-05-31
Rant. Chant. Chisme. by Call Number: PS3615.R8215 A6 2015ISBN: 9781609404444Publication Date: 2015-09-30
Life Writing in Databases
- Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940Gitenstein Library database