World best autobiography
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The best memoirs of all time, as chosen by our readers
A memoir can be a lot of things: a journey through someone's life, an insight into their mindset at a particular time, a comfort to someone experiencing similar things, an inspiration for those seeking something more.
Memoirs are both intimate and all-encompassing; in telling their own story, the author is often speaking to a vast audience.
We asked Penguin readers on Twitter to tell us about their favourite memoir, and let's just say that our to-read piles have grown exponentially in a short period of time. We were inundated with recommendations, encompassing everything from reflections on war, grief, sexuality and religion, to insider accounts of Hollywood life, political conspiracy, even philosophical sporting legends.
Here, we’ve rounded up the most popular picks. Whether you’re looking for light hearted escapism or hard-hitting journalism, there’s something to suit every taste.
We say: A lumino
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Fierce Attachments
“I remember only the women,” Vivian Gornick writes near the start of her memoir of growing up in the Bronx tenements in the 1940s, surrounded by the blunt, brawling, yearning women of the neighborhood, chief among them her indomitable mother. “I absorbed them as I would chloroform on a cloth laid against my face. It has taken me 30 years to understand how much of them I understood.”
When Gornick’s father died suddenly, she looked in the coffin for so long that she had to be pulled away. That fearlessness suffuses this book; she stares unflinchingly at all that is hidden, difficult, strange, unresolvable in herself and others — at loneliness, sexual malice and the devouring, claustral closeness of mothers and daughters. The book is propelled by Gornick’s attempts to extricate herself from the stifling sorrow of her home — first through sex and marriage, but later, and more reliably, through the life of the mind, the “glamorous company” of ideas. It’s a portrait o
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50 Best Autobiographies of All Time
Autobiographies allow us to experience other people’s lives from their own perspectives.
It can be really powerful to see the ways other people describe their own lives, especially when those people are inspiring figures or well-known celebrities.
So, what are some great autobiographies you can read?
This article will give you 50 fantastic autobiographies to add to your reading list across several categories: sports, politics, science, and more.
Top New Autobiography Books
Let’s start our list with recent releases. Here are some great autobiographies that were published within the past fem years.
1. A Promised nation by Barack Obama (2020)
In this powerful autobiography, President Barack Obama takes us on the journey that led to his presidency. He describes his time in the White House and how he handled issues like the global financial crisis and Operation Neptune’s Spear.
2. All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King (2021)
Billie Je