9 Best-Selling Autobiography Books of All Time
An autobiography is a first-hand account of the author's experiences published by the author, making it fascinating to readers and allowing them to grasp the author's "other," invisible side.
The majority of autobiographies are written by well-known people. They teach us various stories, the writers' personal challenges, and the emotions they experienced, making the autobiographers more human.
In no particular sequence, these are 9 of the finest autobiographies.
Best-Selling Autobiography Books
1. Educated
"Educated" contributed by Tara Westover, #1 International Bestseller, is a stunning new collection about family, loss, and the struggle for a good future.
Tara Westover first entered a school when she was seventeen years old. Instead of regular education, she grew up learning how to make medicine from plants, scavenging in the family junkyard, and assisting her family in their apocalyptic preparations.
She didn't have a birth certificate or medical documents, and she'd never attended school.
Westover's mother was an expert at concocting folk cures for a wide range of illnesses. Tara gradually realized that what her family provided didn't have to be her sole education as she created her own coping strategies.
Her first day of university was also her first day of school ever and she went on to win a prestigious Cambridge fellowship and receive a Ph.D. in intellectual history and political theory.
Westover has managed to convey not just her unrivaled background, but also to make her current circumstances appear not so extraordinary, and resonant for many others.
A delicate, nuanced examination of how any sort of dysfunction may be normalized even inside the most traditional family structure, as well as the harm that such confinement can do.
Tara Westover was born in the state of Idaho in the year 1986. In 2008, she graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA and was granted a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.
This book is available in Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover, and Audiobook formats.
2. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
"Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood", sold one million copies, written by Trevor Noah is a #1 New York Times Bestseller, Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and an NAACP Image Award.
Trevor Noah's remarkable journey from apartheid South Africa to The Daily Show began with a heinous crime: his birth. Trevor was born in a period when marrying a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother was punishable by five years in prison.
Trevor was confined largely indoors for the first years of his existence, constrained by his mother's extraordinary and often ludicrous attempts to hide him from a government that may take him away at any time.
Trevor and his mother set off on a big journey after the end of the oppressive white government in South Africa, living openly and freely and embracing the chances gained through decades of struggle.
The narrative of a naughty small child who develops into a restless young man as he strives to find himself in a world where he was never intended to exist is told in Born a Crime.
It's also the narrative of that young man's connection with his courageous, rebellious, and fiercely devout mother a woman trying to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would eventually endanger her own life.
It's scary, sad, and humorous all at the same time. Not only is this a disturbing story of growing up in apartheid-era South Africa, but it's also a love letter to the author's wonderful mother.
Trevor Noah is Africa's most popular comedian and the host of Comedy Central's Emmy and Peabody Award-winning "The Daily Show."
This book comes under Comedy, Television Performer Biographies, Lawyers & Criminals Humor categories. It can be obtained in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback versions.
3. Here, Right Matters: An American Story
"Here, Right Matters: An American Story" written by Alexander Vindman, instant New York Times Bestseller, tells his own story for the first time.
Right Matters is Vindman's proud, impassioned, and open narrative of his family, career, and pivotal period in his country's history.
Vindman learned about respect for truth throughout his schooling and military duty as an immigrant raised by a father who escaped the Soviet Union in search of a better life for his children.
As this narrative makes clear, Vindman's decision to come out about the July 25th call was never a choice: as a naturalized citizen and member of the armed services, it was his responsibility.
Following his testimony, he would face a barrage of political assaults on his record and allegiance. But the remarkable chorus of support from individuals focused on confirming an everlasting American commitment to integrity was even louder.
Vindman followed the teachings from the individuals and organizations that instilled in him the moral compass and the courage to act decisively in the face of a certain career derailment and public condemnation.
The Vindmans, like so many other American immigrant families, had to start from zero and take significant risks to attain their ambitions.
Right Matter is a cry to arms for those who refuse to let America betray its real character; it is also a tribute to the unsung warriors who keep us secure.
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S. Vindman (Ret.) was the White House's National Security Council's director for European Affairs most recently.
This autobiography resides under Federal Jurisdiction Law, Military Leader Biographies, Memoirs categories. This book can be bought in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback editions.
4. Open Book
"Open Book" contributed by Jessica Simpson is the #1 New York Times Bestseller that reveals for the first time her inner self and most intimate struggles.
Jessica wouldn't be able to be completely honest with her readers unless she was completely honest with herself first.
Now, America's Sweetheart, a preacher's daughter, pop sensation, and billionaire fashion takes readers on a fascinating journey, analyzing a life that gifted her with the compassion to assist others but also burdened her with an almost unbearable urge to please.
Jessica Simpson uses her voice, heart, soul, and wit to discuss topics she's never shared before in Open Book.
She became one of the most talked-about women in the world, whether for her music and fashion, her marital woes, or as a living blonde joke, thanks to her voice. Jessica is now the one who is being spoken about, rather than the one who is being talked about.
Her book offers the lessons she's learned and depicts the actual lady behind all the pop-culture clichés, including "chicken or fish," "Daisy Duke," "football jinx," "mom jeans," "sexual napalm," and more.
Open Book is a chance to laugh and weep with a dear friend, one who will motivate you to live your best, most honest life now that she has finally begun to live hers.
Simpson's book is chock-full of personal and professional highlights for fans to enjoy. An eye-opening look at one of Hollywood's most famous stars' struggle to unmake himself.
Jessica Simpson is a bestselling author, musician, actor, businesswoman, philanthropist, and producer.
This book falls under Actor & Entertainer Biographies, Women's Biographies, Music genres. This book is available in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback forms.
5. American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
"American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History" written by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, and Jim DeFelice is the New Times Bestselling biography of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle.
Chris Kyle, a US Navy SEAL, has the most career sniper kills in US military history from 1999 to 2009. During the Iraq War, his fellow Americans dubbed him "The Legend," while the enemy dubbed him al-Shaitan ("the devil") and put a bounty on his death.
Kyle, who was murdered in 2013, writes honestly about the war including the loss of two close SEAL teammates, and his wife, Taya, speaks candidly about the pressures of war on their family, as well as on Chris, in affecting first-person passages throughout.
Kyle's superb account of his amazing combat experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time, gripping and unforgettable.
One guy has climbed beyond our ranks in the exclusive group of warriors and established himself as a one-of-a-kind figure. Chris Kyle is the individual in question. Chris, a skilled sharpshooter, has seen and done things that will be remembered for years.
Chief Chris Kyle of SEAL Team 3 (1974–2013) received two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, and several additional awards. He became the chief teacher for training Naval Special Warfare sniper teams after four combat tours in Iraq.
This book comes under Iraq War Biographies, Iraq War History, Memoirs genres. You can buy this book in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback forms.
6. Just as I Am: A Memoir
"Just as I Am: A Memoir" written by Cicely Tyson recounts her extreme career as an actress and the importance of faith.
"My reality is that I am exactly who I am. It's just me, simple and unadorned, without the glitz and glam. On these pages, I am Cicely, the legendary actress who has graced the stage and film for almost six decades.
However, I am also the church girl who used to be quiet. I was the adolescent who found comfort in the lines of the old hymn that this book is titled after. I am a mother and a daughter, as well as a sister and a friend.
I am a human nature watcher and a dreamer of bold fantasies. I am a lady who has suffered as much as she has loved, a child of God who has been divinely directed by his hand.
And now, at the age of ninety, I am a lady who, at long last, has something worthwhile to say." –Cicely
This book is Ms. Tyson's rich gift to each of us: her life, expressed in her own words, just as she is. She says things that are normally muttered between close friends in the low light of a back bedroom, things that aren't frequently said out loud.
And she relates her narrative in the way that only a black woman can: with her heels off and her voice flowing, moving between agony and joy.
Acting is the skill of exposing oneself, of revealing one's emotions in front of others. Ms. Tyson is as enlightening on these pages as she is on stage.
Ms. Cicely Tyson is an actress, speaker, and activist who is widely regarded as one of the most talented women in American theatre and movies.
Her work has received critical and commercial acclaim for more than sixty years, from her Broadway debut in The Blacks in 1961 through the Emmy-nominated HBO film A Lesson Before Dying in 1999.
This book comes under Black & African American Biographies, Actor & Entertainer Biographies, Memoirs categories. You can get this book in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback versions.
7. Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen has been working on his autobiography in solitude for the past seven years.
The result is a biography that Rolling Stone describes as "a unique, endlessly thrilling, last-chance-power-drive of a memoir," with the same honesty, comedy, and inventiveness as his songs.
He recalls growing up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, surrounded by poetry, danger, and darkness that drove his imagination, building up to "The Big Bang," watching Elvis Presley's debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.
He eloquently describes his unwavering desire to be a musician, his early days as the king of Asbury Park's bar bands, and the development of the E Street Band.
He also reveals the narrative of the personal hardships that inspired his finest work for the first time, with disarming sincerity.
A performer has rarely told his own narrative with such power and sweep. Bruce Springsteen's autobiography, like many of his songs, is written with the lyricism of a unique artist and the wisdom of a guy who has thought carefully about his experiences.
Born to Run is much more than a renowned rock star's biography. It is both a fascinating tale of Springsteen's long sprint to the top and a lesson that the one thing you can't run away from is yourself.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the New Jersey Hall of Fame have all inducted Bruce Springsteen. He has won twenty Grammy Awards, as well as the Academy Award and the Kennedy Center Honors.
The book falls under Rock Band Biographies, Rich & Famous Biographies, Memoirs genres. This book can be bought in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback forms.
8. When Breath Becomes Air (Thorndike Press Large Print Popular and Narrative Nonfiction Series)
"When Breath Becomes Air" written by Paul Kalanithi, #1 New York Times bestseller, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, is an inspiring memoir that finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon.
Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at the age of 36, just days before finishing a decade of training as a neurosurgeon. He was a doctor treating the dying one day and a patient fighting for his life the next.
In the face of mortality, what makes life worthwhile? What do you do when the future no longer serves as a stepping stone toward your life's objectives and instead flattens out into an endless present?
What does it mean to have a kid, to raise a new life as the old one dies? In this very affecting, finely observed memoir, Kalanithi wrestles with some of these concerns.
The too-young Dr. Kalanithi's book is rattling, devastating, and ultimately beautiful, proving that the dying has the most to teach us about life.
Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon who also dabbled in writing. He grew raised in Kingman, Arizona, and earned a BA and MA in English literature, as well as a BA in human biology, from Stanford University.
This book resides under Surgery, Consciousness & Thought, General Surgery categories. This book can be bought in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback versions.
9. Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel
"Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel" contributed by Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times Bestseller, is a gripping novel about the rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their wonderful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup.
Daisy is a young woman growing up in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, sneaking into Sunset Strip clubs, sleeping with rock stars, and fantasizing about singing at the Whisky a Go-Go.
Although the sex and drugs are exciting, she prefers rock 'n' roll. By the age of twenty, her voice is becoming known, and she possesses the type of reckless beauty that drives people insane.
The Six, led by the gloomy Billy Dunne, are also gaining traction. Billy's fiancée Camila finds out she's pregnant on the eve of their first tour, and under the strain of approaching motherhood and stardom, he goes a bit crazy on the road.
Daisy and Billy meet when a producer discovers that pairing them together is the secret to explosive success. What happens next will go down in history as legendary.
This gripping and memorable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the 1970s, chronicles the building of that mythology.
With Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid elevates her writing to a new level, beautifully capturing a place and time in a completely distinct style.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted are among Taylor Jenkins Reid's works.
This book comes under Literary Sagas, Women's Sagas, Saga Fiction genres. You can buy this book in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, and Paperback versions.
A excellent biography isn't merely a rundown of events that occurred in someone's life. Rather, it should weave a tale and weave a narrative in the same manner that a novel does. Happy Reading!
Best Robert Ludlum Books
Best Young Adult Books
Best RK Narayan Books
Best Elin Hilderbrand Books
Best Neil Gaiman Books
Best Inspirational Books
Best "Who Would Win" Books
Best Dog Man Books
Best Nature Lovers Books
Best Historical Fiction Books
previous8 Best Historical Fiction Books You Must Read
next9 Best Dark Romance Books You Must Read