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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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Blue Night
Blue Night
by Simone Buchholz
The Seat Filler
The Seat Filler
by Sariah Wilson
A Family Affair
A Family Affair
by Robyn Carr
Bird By Bird
Bird By Bird
by Anne Lamott
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6 Books by Writers on Writing 
Carbide
Carbide
by Andriy Lyubka
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5 Books to Read About Ukraine
The Power of the Dog
The Power of the Dog
by Thomas Savage
All the Wrong Moves
All the Wrong Moves
by Sasha Chapin
Plumes
Plumes
by Georgia Douglas Johnson
The Silence of the Girls
The Silence of the Girls
by Pat Barker
El Festival de las Calaveras/The Festival of Bones
El Festival de las Calaveras/The Festival of Bones
by Luis San Vincente
Silencing the Past
Silencing the Past
by Michel-Rolph Trouillot
Unlikely Animals
Unlikely Animals
by Annie Hartnett
The Woman in Cabin 10
The Woman in Cabin 10
by Ruth Ware
Holes
Holes
by Louis Sachar
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8 Books Like The Outsiders
Tell Me an Ending
Tell Me an Ending
by Jo Harkin
The Nine Cloud Dream
The Nine Cloud Dream
by Kim Man-Jung
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The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
by Mark Twain, Charles Dudley Warner
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8 Books Set During the Gilded Age
Forever My Hero
Forever My Hero
by Sharon Sala
The President's Daughter
The President's Daughter
by Ellen Emerson White
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
by Ann Petry
Magic Lessons
Magic Lessons
by Alice Hoffman
How to Be an Antiracist
How to Be an Antiracist
by Ibram X. Kendi
American Lynching
American Lynching
by Ashraf H.A. Rushdy
The Boleyn King
The Boleyn King
by Laura Andersen
The Hummingbird Dagger
The Hummingbird Dagger
by Cindy Anstey
The Plotters
The Plotters
by Un-Su Kim
I'll Be Gone in the Dark
I'll Be Gone in the Dark
by Michelle McNamara
The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl
The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl
by Tess Holliday
Forgotten Secrets
Forgotten Secrets
by Robin Perini
Fire and Fury
Fire and Fury
by Michael Wolff
The Witness Series: Books 1-4
The Witness Series: Books 1-4
by Rebecca Forster
Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre
by Stephen King
Jalan Jalan: A Novel of Indonesia
Jalan Jalan: A Novel of Indonesia
by Michael Stoner
War Against the Mafia
War Against the Mafia
by Don Pendleton
An Orchestra of Minorities
An Orchestra of Minorities
by Chigozie Obioma
A Study in Charlotte
A Study in Charlotte
by Brittany Cavallaro
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8 Mystery Books for Teens
The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules
by John Irving
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8 Books Like The Prince of Tides
The Lost Girls of Willowbrook
The Lost Girls of Willowbrook
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
The Hangman
The Hangman
by Louise Penny
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7 Hi Lo Books for Adults
The Unbound Prometheus
The Unbound Prometheus
by David S. Landes
Nine Perfect Strangers
Nine Perfect Strangers
by Liane Moriarty
The Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
The Second Mrs. Astor
The Second Mrs. Astor
by Shana Abe
Ayesha at Last
Ayesha at Last
by Uzma Jajaluddin
Lord of Scoundrels
Lord of Scoundrels
by Loretta Chase
Celtic Moon Signs
Celtic Moon Signs
by Helena Paterson
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living
by Louise Miller
Vermilion
Vermilion
by Molly Tanzer
Showing 651-700 of 1062 results

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.