What would you trust more, in seeking to learn about a person: their biography or their memoir/autobiography?
I would trust an autobiography or memoir than a biography. I believe that the essence of one’s story is truly represented justly by the person who has experienced it first hand. A person’s words about another’s life are never a 100% accurate as the writer of a biography does not feel the emotions and internal conflicts of the subject. The representation is sometimes lost from the subjects point of view to the authors point of view. Sometimes authors write biographies without authorisation from the subject so their facts and accounts might me wrong or misinterpreted. Memoirs or autobiographies are more about thoughts and emotions from the first person’s POV while biographies are more about informing and the authors emotions and believes might cloud his judgement and writing.