How is an autobiography, such as A White House Diary, different from a biography?
autobiography ... story of the author's life
biography ... story of someone else's life, not the author's
auto = "self"
When you write the story of your own life, you write an autobiography; but when you write the story of someone else's life, it's just a plain old biography.
An autobiography, like A White House Diary, is a written account of a person's life, experiences, and events, narrated by the person themselves. It is typically written in the first person and provides insights from the author's own perspective. On the other hand, a biography is a written account of a person's life, experiences, and events, but it is written by someone else, usually an author or historian, who has researched and gathered information about the subject.
To distinguish between an autobiography and a biography, you can consider the following:
1. Authorship: In an autobiography, the author and subject are the same person. In a biography, the author and subject are different individuals.
2. Perspective: In an autobiography, the author provides a firsthand account of their life, thoughts, and experiences. In a biography, the author relies on research, interviews, and other sources to construct a narrative about the subject, interpreting their life from an external perspective.
3. Bias: Autobiographies might be influenced by the author's own biases or personal agenda, as they have direct control over the narrative. Biographies, on the other hand, strive for objectivity and often present a more balanced view, incorporating multiple perspectives.
To understand the differences in more detail, you can read both an autobiography and a biography on the same person and compare how the narrative, the level of detail, and the tone differ.