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Amazon's 100 Biographies and Memoirs to Read in a Lifetime

About 100 Biographies & Memoirs to Read in a Lifetime
Honestly, it would take many lifetimes to read even a small fraction of the best biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs ever written. So when the Amazon Books editors set out to compile a list of the 100 Biographies and Memoirs to Read in a (Single) Lifetime, we knew up front that we would be making some tough--even contentious--choices. But after the dust settled, we found ourselves with a hundred stories of our greatest artists, seekers, and iconic leaders, as well as a host of other iconoclasts, athletes, and adventurers (and even a non-human or three). Many of these read like great novels; some technically are, their authors shrouding their experiences within the cloak of fiction (but we all know better). Whether you're coming to these books for the first time or revisiting them, we hope you'll find a lifetime's worth of inspiration and discovery.
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A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (Dave Eggers)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
1
Dave Eggers
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Ishmael Beah)
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
2
Ishmael Beah
A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway)
A Moveable Feast
3
Ernest Hemingway
A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson)
A Walk in the Woods
4
Bill Bryson
American Caesar: Douglas Macarthur 1880-1964 (William Manchester)
American Caesar: Douglas Macarthur 1880-1964
5
William Manchester
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House (Jon Meacham)
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
6
Jon Meacham
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin)
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
7
Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
American Sniper (Chris Kyle)
American Sniper
8
Chris Kyle
American Sphinx (Joseph J Ellis)
American Sphinx
9
Joseph J Ellis
Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt)
Angela's Ashes
10
Frank McCourt
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
11
Anne Frank
Autobiography of a Face (Lucy Grealy)
Autobiography of a Face
12
Lucy Grealy
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 (Mark Twain)
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1
13
Mark Twain
Ball Four (Jim Bouton)
Ball Four
14
Jim Bouton
Black Boy (Richard Wright)
Black Boy
15
Richard Wright
Black Like Me (John Howard Griffin)
Black Like Me
16
John Howard Griffin
Born Standing Up (Steve Martin)
Born Standing Up
17
Steve Martin
Born to Run (Christopher Mcdougall)
Born to Run
18
Christopher Mcdougall
Bossypants (Tina Fey)
Bossypants
19
Tina Fey
Cash (Johnny Cash)
Cash
20
Johnny Cash
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (Robert K. Massie)
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
21
Robert K. Massie
Chronicles Volume One (Bob Dylan)
Chronicles Volume One
22
Bob Dylan
Churchill: A Life (Martin Gilbert)
Churchill: A Life
23
Martin Gilbert
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Philip M. Hoose)
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
24
Philip M. Hoose
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
25
De Profundis and Other Prison Writings (Oscar Wilde)
De Profundis and Other Prison Writings
26
Oscar Wilde
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (Alexandra Fuller)
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
27
Alexandra Fuller
Dorothy Parker: What the Fresh Hell Is This? (Marion Meade)
Dorothy Parker: What the Fresh Hell Is This?
28
Marion Meade
Dreams From My Father (Barack Obama)
Dreams From My Father
29
Barack Obama
Drinking: A Love Story
Drinking: A Love Story
30
Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography
Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography
31
E=Mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation (David Bodanis)
E=Mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation
32
David Bodanis
Eat Pray Love (Elizabeth Gilbert)
Eat Pray Love
33
Elizabeth Gilbert
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage (Alfred Lansing)
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
34
Alfred Lansing
Everybody Was So Young (Amanda Vaill)
Everybody Was So Young
35
Amanda Vaill
The Story of My Life (Helen Keller)
The Story of My Life
36
Helen Keller
I Am Malala (Malala Yousafzai)
I Am Malala
37
Malala Yousafzai
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
38
Maya Angelou
Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer)
Into the Wild
39
Jon Krakauer
Just Kids (Patti Smith)
Just Kids
40
Patti Smith
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