What is Autobiography
Merriam-Webster defined autobiography as the life story of a person narrated by that person. That is, Hitler’s Mein Kampf is his autobiography in most senses.
The narrator in some other case might hire a ghostwriter to collaborate on his autobiography. That is, if Hitler were to have hired James Clear for Mein Kampf, that would still be Hitler’s autobiography.
For the most part, autobiographies are about famous individuals. Politicians, high-paid athletes, and others like them all fall in this category.
What is Biography
A biography is also described by Merriam-Webster as usually a history of a person’s life written by someone else. And that is after a lot of research and a strong point of view. A famous example is Hitler’s biography by Ian Kershaw.
Biographies too are about people who, for the most part, are already famous. And it doesn’t matter if the person is alive or dead.
A biography could also be written about a group of people who share similar characteristics. An example of such is the work of Prof. Evans on key individuals in Nazi Germany, compiled in a book called Faces of the Third Reich.
What is Memoir
Memoir is similar to autobiography, but just focuses on a certain period in the life of the author. Most memoirs however could be true or filled with insincere events or self-serving accounts of the individual. One such controversial example is Inside the Third Reich by Albert Speer. He had served as Hitler’s armament minister during the final days of World War II.
