memoir verses autobiography

[BobSmith]

I’ve just finished the memoir Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures by Bob Wittman. In it, he is careful to point on that it is “only a memoir” and “not an autobiography”, but then goes on to say that, other than changing a few names to protect FBI agents, every effort was made to ensure its veracity by “reviewing transcripts, tapes, videos, new interviews with witnesses”, etc. What is this distinction between memoir and autobiography? Is he undoing its “memoir-ness” by going on to say that it’s basically a work of non-fiction?

Then, how is this different than the memoir A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, which contained “a number of facts [that] have been altered and incidents [that were] embellished” (source)? Could he have just called it a memoir up-front and skirted the controversy? Isn't this type of writing implicitly a memoir unless "autobiography" is explicitly stated?

 

[JohnParis]

An autobiography is an account of a person's life written by that person.

A memoir is a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.

I could not write an autobiography of my friend Marie François, but I could write a memoir about her years as a film star.

 

[BobSmith]

An autobiography is an account of a person's life written by that person.

A memoir is a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.

But in both of these cases, the work was written by the individual involved, in the first person. With this in mind, how do memoir and autobiography differ? Are autobiographies held to higher standard?

 

[JohnParis]

"But in both of these cases, the work was written by the individual involved..." Not necessarily.

In the case of an autobiography, the only person on the face of this earth that can write one is the person who is the subject of the autobiography. No one else. Marie François wrote the autobiography of her life in 1995.
However, Marie François could also have written her memoirs (an autobiography or a written account of one's memory of certain events or people). I believe that the key words here are"....account of one's memory of certain events or people." An autobiography would normally cover an entire life and would be more complete. It may contain the contents of her memoirs - or it may not.
In response to your statement above to which I reply not necessarily, I say this because I - or anyone else - could also write a memoir of Marie François, but neither I nor anyone else could write her autobiography.

 

[BobSmith]

I see, so the difference lies in the breadth of content, as well as the authorship, not the measure/perception of verisimilitude.

Thanks!

 

[Barb_D]

Here's another example. Agatha Christie wrote a very entertaining book about her time in the Middle East, where he husband was working as an archaeologist. I would call that a memoir. Her own knowledge and memories, and perhaps a review of correspondence, notes, or records helped shape it. She also wrote a complete autobiography, from childhood on.

 

[tedtmc]

You mean archeologist, Barb?

 

[Rover_KE]

In the case of an autobiography, the only person on the face of this earth that can write one is the person who is the subject of the autobiography. No one else.

It's worth pointing out, though, that many so-called autobiographies are actually written by ghostwriters*, when the subject lacks the writing skills to tell his/her own life story.

* ghostwriter
▶noun
a person employed to write material for another person, who is the named author.

(WordReference Dictionary)

Rover

 

[JohnParis]

Unfortunately, Rover, you're quite correct. :-(
Perhaps I should have said that the only person who can legally or morally (without properly crediting an editor or coauthor) write an autobiography is the subject himself.
Many authors hire ghostwriters to write in their name, without giving them proper credit (just money). This shabby behavior has increased recently, particularly among scientific publications. The problem has become so endemic that professional associations have been created to act as watch dogs and alert the scientific community when duplicity has occurred. The problem is particularly troublesome within the pharmaceutical industry where ghostwriters are employed to write entire manuscripts based upon crude results of a clinical trial or epidemiological analysis. New guidelines dictate that stated authors must be real authors, but this requirement is blatantly ignored and any busy researcher can buy himself a perfectly well written manuscript from any number of "healthcare consultants." The practice is despicable, technically illegal and just plain smarmy. Yet, people will do anything for a price (around €8,000 per article; €12,000 if you need it within 2 weeks).
Ghost writing exists; I just hope my daughter doesn't marry one.

 

[5jj]

I know people who make a lot of money writing MA theses for others.:-(

 

[JohnParis]

You mean archeologist, Barb?

Definition for archaeology - Oxford Dictionaries Online (World English)

Archaeology (BrE) - Archeology (AmE).
Both are correct and thoroughly understandable.

 

[riquecohen]

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs.
Source: Wikipedia.