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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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Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence Durrell
by Ian S. MacNiven
I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends
I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends
by Courtney Robertson, Deb Baer
The Truth About Trump
The Truth About Trump
by Michael D'Antonio
Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour
Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour
by Marti Rulli, Dennis Davern
Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
by Susan Goldman Rubin
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Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr
by Ruth Barton
Comet's Tale
Comet's Tale
by Steven Wolf, Steven D. Wolf, Lynette Padwa
Sunny Jim
Sunny Jim
by Jimmy Breslin
The Spice Necklace
The Spice Necklace
by Ann Vanderhoof
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The Incredible Voyage
The Incredible Voyage
by Tristan Jones
MLK: An American Legacy
MLK: An American Legacy
by David J. Garrow
Mortal Games
Mortal Games
by Fred Waitzkin
A Thirst for Blood
A Thirst for Blood
by Lt. Ray Biondi, Walt Hecox
In the Shadow of the Bridge
In the Shadow of the Bridge
by Joseph Caldwell
Blue Thirst
Blue Thirst
by Lawrence Durrell
Iced In
Iced In
by Chris Turney
Goodbye Vietnam
Goodbye Vietnam
by William Broyles
The Nixon Tapes: 1971–1972
The Nixon Tapes: 1971–1972
by Douglas Brinkley, Luke A. Nichter
Alex
Alex
by Frank Deford
Heist
Heist
by Howard Sounes
TrumpNation
TrumpNation
by Timothy L. O'Brien
In Search of Bisco
In Search of Bisco
by Erskine Caldwell
Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History
Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History
by Adam Nicolson
The Sasquatch at Home
The Sasquatch at Home
by Eden Robinson
Looking for Anne of Green Gables
Looking for Anne of Green Gables
by Irene Gammel
They Have Their Exits
They Have Their Exits
by Airey Neave
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Spartacus
Spartacus
by Aldo Schiavone, Jeremy Carden
Selected Letters of Martha Gellhorn
Selected Letters of Martha Gellhorn
by Martha Gellhorn, Caroline Moorehead
Words and Worlds
Words and Worlds
by Alison Lurie
Amazonia
Amazonia
by James Marcus
The Mother of the Brontes
The Mother of the Brontes
by Sharon Wright
Born to Shine
Born to Shine
by Ashley LeMieux
Barefoot to Avalon
Barefoot to Avalon
by David Payne
Good Blonde & Others
Good Blonde & Others
by Jack Kerouac
Jackie as Editor
Jackie as Editor
by Greg Lawrence
My Kitchen Wars
My Kitchen Wars
by Betty Fussell
Shade It Black
Shade It Black
by Jess Goodell, John Hearn
Welcome to the Silver Factory
Welcome to the Silver Factory
by Catherine O'Sullivan Shorr
Had She But Known
Had She But Known
by Charlotte MacLeod
My Vegetable Love
My Vegetable Love
by Carl H. Klaus
A Book of Silence
A Book of Silence
by Sara Maitland
The Boy at the Gate
The Boy at the Gate
by Danny Ellis
Not for Everyday Use
Not for Everyday Use
by Elizabeth Nunez
How Midsummer Night
How Midsummer Night
by Janet Somerville
You and I, as Mothers
You and I, as Mothers
by Laura Prepon
The Pattern in the Carpet
The Pattern in the Carpet
by Margaret Drabble
Dragonslippers
Dragonslippers
by Rosalind B. Penfold
Let It Bang
Let It Bang
by RJ Young
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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.