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The Best Biographies and Memoirs

For some readers, real life is much more compelling than fiction, and real people are far more interesting than any character an author could dream up. If you're one of those readers, then biographies, autobiographies and memoirs are for you. 

The types of true stories are endless—there are romantic memoirs and tragic memoirs. There are short, essay-length memoirs that give you just a taste of an author’s writing. Perhaps you’re interested in a travel memoir that will make you feel as though you’ve walked the same steps as the writer, or you’re an American history buff looking for a bucket list of biographies on every American president. You could read a first-hand account from a former slave who became a dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln, or immerse yourself in Ruth Gruber’s own account of how she helped 1000 refugees find asylum. 

From biographies of politicians, business leaders, artists and celebrities, to memoirs that tell unforgettable true stories with unflinching honesty, these are the books that let you fully step into someone else's shoes.

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A Country Year
A Country Year
by Sue Hubbell, Liddy Hubbell
Fred & Rose
Fred & Rose
by Howard Sounes
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Bob Dylan—All the Songs
Bob Dylan—All the Songs
by Philippe Margotin, Jean-Michel Guesdon
The Armchair James Beard
The Armchair James Beard
by James Beard, John Ferrone
Why We Can't Sleep
Why We Can't Sleep
by Ada Calhoun
Say It Louder!
Say It Louder!
by Tiffany Cross, Michael Eric Dyson
Driving Miss Norma
Driving Miss Norma
by Tim Bauerschmidt, Ramie Liddle
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great
by Philip Freeman
H Is for Hawk
H Is for Hawk
by Helen Macdonald
My Family and Other Animals
My Family and Other Animals
by Gerald Durrell
The Apprentice
The Apprentice
by Jacques Pepin
The Lord God Made Them All
The Lord God Made Them All
by James Herriot
Nam Sense
Nam Sense
by Arthur Wiknik Jr.
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Crown & Sceptre
Crown & Sceptre
by Tracy Borman
Fastest Things on Wings
Fastest Things on Wings
by Terry Masear
Washington
Washington
by James Thomas Flexner
A Book of Bees
A Book of Bees
by Sue Hubbell, Sam Potthoff
This Close to Happy
This Close to Happy
by Daphne Merkin
The Water Is Wide
The Water Is Wide
by Pat Conroy
The Story of My Life
The Story of My Life
by Helen Keller
Kick Kennedy
Kick Kennedy
by Barbara Leaming
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All the Gallant Men
All the Gallant Men
by Donald Stratton, Ken Gire
Marine!
Marine!
by Burke Davis
Closing Time
Closing Time
by Lacey Fosburgh
The Dog Who Came to Stay
The Dog Who Came to Stay
by Hal Borland
The Garden of the Gods
The Garden of the Gods
by Gerald Durrell
A Wing and a Prayer
A Wing and a Prayer
by Harry H. Crosby
Margaret Fuller
Margaret Fuller
by Megan Marshall
The Book of Saints
The Book of Saints
by Weldon Owen
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Walden
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau
African Samurai
African Samurai
by Thomas Lockley, Geoffrey Girard
Are You My Mother?
Are You My Mother?
by Alison Bechdel
The Final Curtsey
The Final Curtsey
by Margaret Rhodes
The Collapse of the Third Republic
The Collapse of the Third Republic
by William L. Shirer
Life on the Mississippi
Life on the Mississippi
by Mark Twain
As Always, Julia
As Always, Julia
by Joan Reardon
All Creatures Great and Small & All Things Bright and Beautiful
All Creatures Great and Small & All Things Bright and Beautiful
by James Herriot
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
by Ulysses S. Grant
The Perfect Mile
The Perfect Mile
by Neal Bascomb
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War
by George Crile
Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest
by Christina Crawford
The Last Madam
The Last Madam
by Chris Wiltz
The Hidden White House
The Hidden White House
by Robert Klara
Life at the Dakota
Life at the Dakota
by Stephen Birmingham
The Diary of Anais Nin, 1931–1934
The Diary of Anais Nin, 1931–1934
by Anais Nin, Gunther Stuhlmann
The Great Reformer
The Great Reformer
by Austen Ivereigh
Ada Blackjack
Ada Blackjack
by Jennifer Niven
The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames
The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames
by Justine Cowan
Capote
Capote
by Gerald Clarke
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
by Helen Castor
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Every list has different criteria, but the most sold autobiographies that rank on all of them are Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and InheritanceThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

A memoir is a narrative written in the author’s perspective that details an important part of their life or a personal observation. While autobiographies are detailed accounts of a person’s life from beginning to end, memoirs are more narrative in tone and don’t have such a rigid structure, nor do they need to talk about a person’s entire life.