The practice of writing biographies and autobiographies has a long history in both Western and Arabic civilizations. Historians have been challenged by the subjectivity of personal memoirs since the days of chronicling the Romans. Commenting on the task facing historians of England, Benjamin Disraeli wrote: “Generally speaking, all the great events have been distorted, most of the important causes concealed, some of the principal characters never appear, and all who figure are so misunderstood and misrepresented that the result is a complete mystification.” Yet, given the lack of archival resources, the recollections gathered in memoirs of all types can help bring the past to life in remarkable ways. As one eminent historian put it:

Elie Kedourie's seminal study about Arab political memoirs in the 1970s stated: “That they apologize, or palliate or embellish or suppress, in no way diminishes the value of what they write.” From ancient times, those engaged in political life recorded their deeds and accomplishments in personal memoirs. The motivation for “presenting one's life” was seen as an “act of thanking God and for others to emulate.” As Judith Tucker observes about the role of biographies in the Middle East:

Some modern historians in the Arab world looked to memoirs as an important research tool. One Egyptian scholar who examined memoirs of Egyptian politicians over a period of ninety years argues that they constitute an integral part of researching the country's political history. He rejects the notion that “non-objective” sources such as recollections, diaries, and memoirs are less valuable than “objective” sources such as archives, party manifestos, laws and regulations. Political memoirs fall within the comprehensive camp of historiography.