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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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That Month in Tuscany
That Month in Tuscany
by Inglath Cooper
Island Affair
Island Affair
by Priscilla Oliveras
Behold the Dreamers
Behold the Dreamers
by Imbolu Mbue
The Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians
The Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians
by Brian Garfield
The Mermaid and the Minotaur
The Mermaid and the Minotaur
by Dorothy Dinnerstein
My Cousin Vinny
My Cousin Vinny
by Lawrence Kelter
The Magician's Nephew
The Magician's Nephew
by C.S. Lewis
The Night Circus
The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
The Stranger Diaries
The Stranger Diaries
by Elly Griffiths
Down and Out in Paris and London
Down and Out in Paris and London
by George Orwell
Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine?
Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine?
by Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watkins
The Favorite Daughter
The Favorite Daughter
by Kaira Rouda
The Third to Die
The Third to Die
by Allison Brennan
The Glass Castle
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart
Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart
by Alice Walker
Good Girls Lie
Good Girls Lie
by J.T. Ellison
Uggs for Gaza: And Other Stories
Uggs for Gaza: And Other Stories
by Gordon Haber
by J.K. Rowling
The Year of the Flood
The Year of the Flood
by Margaret Atwood
The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie
The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie
by Carla Valentine
The Last Nude
The Last Nude
by Ellis Avery
In the Full Light of the Sun
In the Full Light of the Sun
by Clare Clark
Get Technology
Get Technology
by Gerald Lynch
Shylock's Daughter
Shylock's Daughter
by Erica Jong
The Lonely Polygamist
The Lonely Polygamist
by Brady Udall
Elizabeth Warren: Her Fight. Her Work. Her Life.
Elizabeth Warren: Her Fight. Her Work. Her Life.
by Antonia Felix
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
by Carson McCullers
The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground and Nico
by Joe Harvard
Lucky
Lucky
by Jackie Collins
Baking Imperfect
Baking Imperfect
by Lottie Bedlow
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Run Time
Run Time
by Catherine Ryan Howard
World Travel
World Travel
by Anthony Bourdain
Noor
Noor
by Nnedi Okorafor
The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here
The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here
by Hope Jahren
The Distant Echo
The Distant Echo
by Val McDermid
Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs
Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs
by National Geographic Kids
The Woman Before Wallis
The Woman Before Wallis
by Bryn Turnbull
Kiss My Asterisk
Kiss My Asterisk
by Jenny Baranick
The Battle for Christmas
The Battle for Christmas
by Stephen Nissenbaum
Tender is the Night
Tender is the Night
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Forever Amber
Forever Amber
by Kathleen Winsor
My Life in France
My Life in France
by Julia Child
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
by Gertrude Stein
Unsheltered
Unsheltered
by Barbara Kingsolver
The Circle
The Circle
by Dave Eggers
Exterminate All the Brutes
Exterminate All the Brutes
by Sven Lindqvist
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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.