Most Popular Biography & Memoir Books

The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank's Heartfelt Testament Amidst Darkness

by Anne Frank

Anne Frank's diary reveals the extraordinary spirit of a girl determined to find hope and humanity while confined in an Amsterdam attic during the Holocaust.

More about this pick

Anne Frank's diary reveals the extraordinary spirit of a girl determined to find hope and humanity while confined in an Amsterdam attic during the Holocaust.

The Diary of a Young Girl

by Anne Frank

Two years in hiding couldn't silence Anne Frank's curiosity about life, love, and literature—her diary transforms claustrophobia into testament of resilience.

More about this pick

Two years in hiding couldn't silence Anne Frank's curiosity about life, love, and literature—her diary transforms claustrophobia into testament of resilience.

Educated

by Tara Westover

Tara Westover's memoir chronicles her escape from a family that rejected formal education, medicine, and eventually her entirely.

More about this pick

Tara Westover's memoir chronicles her escape from a family that rejected formal education, medicine, and eventually her entirely.

Eat, Pray, Love

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Following her devastating divorce, Gilbert embarks on a year-long quest for pleasure in Italy, prayer in India, and love in Bali.

More about this pick

Following her devastating divorce, Gilbert embarks on a year-long quest for pleasure in Italy, prayer in India, and love in Bali.

The Glass Castle

by Jeannette Walls

Walls recounts growing up with nomadic parents whose inspiring dreams and devastating addictions created a childhood of both wonder and profound neglect.

More about this pick

Walls recounts growing up with nomadic parents whose inspiring dreams and devastating addictions created a childhood of both wonder and profound neglect.

Night

The Night Trilogy • Book 1

by Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel, François Mauriac

Steve Jobs

by Walter Isaacson

Built from over forty interviews with Jobs himself, Isaacson reveals the Apple founder's contradictions: visionary innovator and ruthless perfectionist who transformed multiple industries.

More about this pick

Built from over forty interviews with Jobs himself, Isaacson reveals the Apple founder's contradictions: visionary innovator and ruthless perfectionist who transformed multiple industries.

Becoming

by Michelle Obama

Obama traces her evolution from a working-class Chicago girl to Princeton student to First Lady, examining how each role shaped her sense of purpose.

More about this pick

Obama traces her evolution from a working-class Chicago girl to Princeton student to First Lady, examining how each role shaped her sense of purpose.

Bossypants

by Tina Fey

From middle school gym class trauma to creating Liz Lemon, Fey dissects her path through comedy's boys' club with self-deprecating wit and sharp industry observations.

More about this pick

From middle school gym class trauma to creating Liz Lemon, Fey dissects her path through comedy's boys' club with self-deprecating wit and sharp industry observations.

Unbroken

by Laura Hillenbrand

Olympic runner Louis Zamperini survives 47 days adrift in the Pacific, then faces torture in Japanese POW camps. Hillenbrand documents an almost unbelievable true story of human endurance and the power of forgiveness.

More about this pick

Olympic runner Louis Zamperini survives 47 days adrift in the Pacific, then faces torture in Japanese POW camps. Hillenbrand documents an almost unbelievable true story of human endurance and the power of forgiveness.

Man's Search for Meaning

by Viktor E. Frankl, Harold S. Kushner, William J. Winslade, Isle Lasch

Born a Crime

by Trevor Noah

Mixed-race Trevor Noah tells stories of his childhood in apartheid South Africa, where his birth was literally criminal. Hilarious and heartbreaking memoir about his remarkable mother's influence.

More about this pick

Mixed-race Trevor Noah tells stories of his childhood in apartheid South Africa, where his birth was literally criminal. Hilarious and heartbreaking memoir about his remarkable mother's influence.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

Angela's Ashes

Frank McCourt • Book 1

by Frank McCourt

McCourt transforms devastating poverty in 1930s Ireland into darkly funny storytelling, finding humor amid his father's drinking and his family's constant struggle for survival.

More about this pick

McCourt transforms devastating poverty in 1930s Ireland into darkly funny storytelling, finding humor amid his father's drinking and his family's constant struggle for survival.

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot

by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb

Yousafzai chronicles her fight for girls' education in Taliban-controlled Pakistan, from childhood activism through the shooting that nearly killed her at fifteen.

More about this pick

Yousafzai chronicles her fight for girls' education in Taliban-controlled Pakistan, from childhood activism through the shooting that nearly killed her at fifteen.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou's Autobiography • Book 1

by Maya Angelou

Growing up Black in Depression-era Arkansas, Angelou survives rape, racism, and muteness to discover that words can be weapons against oppression. Her lyrical prose transforms trauma into transcendent art.

More about this pick

Growing up Black in Depression-era Arkansas, Angelou survives rape, racism, and muteness to discover that words can be weapons against oppression. Her lyrical prose transforms trauma into transcendent art.

The Woman in Me

by Britney Spears

A collection pairing Britney Spears' explosive conservatorship memoir with Robert Lacey's deep dive into British royal scandals. Two very different examinations of power, control, and public versus private lives.

More about this pick

A collection pairing Britney Spears' explosive conservatorship memoir with Robert Lacey's deep dive into British royal scandals. Two very different examinations of power, control, and public versus private lives.

The Woman in Me

The Crown • Book 1

by Britney Spears, Robert Lacey

A collection pairing Britney Spears' explosive conservatorship memoir with Robert Lacey's deep dive into British royal scandals. Two very different examinations of power, control, and public versus private lives.

More about this pick

A collection pairing Britney Spears' explosive conservatorship memoir with Robert Lacey's deep dive into British royal scandals. Two very different examinations of power, control, and public versus private lives.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

by Jon Krakauer

Krakauer climbed Everest for a magazine story and watched eight people die in a storm, including experienced guides who made fatal decisions in the death zone. His investigation reads like a high-altitude detective story.

More about this pick

Krakauer climbed Everest for a magazine story and watched eight people die in a storm, including experienced guides who made fatal decisions in the death zone. His investigation reads like a high-altitude detective story.

Yes Please

by Amy Poehler

Comedy icon Amy Poehler reflects on her journey from improv stages to SNL to Parks and Recreation, mixing career advice with personal confessions about motherhood and divorce. Her humor never hides the hard work behind the laughs.

More about this pick

Comedy icon Amy Poehler reflects on her journey from improv stages to SNL to Parks and Recreation, mixing career advice with personal confessions about motherhood and divorce. Her humor never hides the hard work behind the laughs.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

by Mindy Kaling

From chubby kid to comedy writer, Kaling dissects friendship anxiety, body image, and the entertainment industry with sharp wit. Her neuroses about social inclusion feel universally relatable.

More about this pick

From chubby kid to comedy writer, Kaling dissects friendship anxiety, body image, and the entertainment industry with sharp wit. Her neuroses about social inclusion feel universally relatable.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

by Ashlee Vance

Behind the headlines lies a volatile genius whose near-bankruptcies at Tesla and SpaceX reveal how close we came to losing both companies entirely.

More about this pick

Behind the headlines lies a volatile genius whose near-bankruptcies at Tesla and SpaceX reveal how close we came to losing both companies entirely.

Spare

by Prince Harry

From walking behind his mother's coffin to his explosive exit from royal life, Harry's memoir reveals the personal cost of being born 'the spare.'

More about this pick

From walking behind his mother's coffin to his explosive exit from royal life, Harry's memoir reveals the personal cost of being born 'the spare.'

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

by Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow

Between Friends fame and multiple rehab stints, Matthew Perry nearly died from his addictions—this is his brutally honest account of comedy, pills, and survival.

More about this pick

Between Friends fame and multiple rehab stints, Matthew Perry nearly died from his addictions—this is his brutally honest account of comedy, pills, and survival.

John Adams

by David McCullough

McCullough resurrects America's most irascible Founding Father, tracing Adams from ambitious young lawyer to embattled president who kept the nation out of unnecessary war. The biography reveals how Adams' fierce independence both frustrated allies and preserved democracy.

More about this pick

McCullough resurrects America's most irascible Founding Father, tracing Adams from ambitious young lawyer to embattled president who kept the nation out of unnecessary war. The biography reveals how Adams' fierce independence both frustrated allies and preserved democracy.