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the best autobiographies and memoirs

The autobiographies and memoirs most often recommended by notable readers in our index. Captures the genre that consistently appears across founder, executive, and writer reading lists.

60 books, ranked by how many of the 4,800 notable readers in our index have publicly recommended each one.

  1. Man's Search for Meaning
    91 people

    Man's Search for Meaning

    Viktor E. Frankl · 2006

    91 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  2. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
    52 people

    Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

    Phil Knight · 2016

    52 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  3. Steve Jobs
    29 people

    Steve Jobs

    Walter Isaacson · 2011

    29 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  4. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
    28 people

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

    Ashlee Vance · 2015

    28 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  5. When Breath Becomes Air
    26 people

    When Breath Becomes Air

    Paul Kalanithi · 2016

    26 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  6. How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
    25 people

    How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence

    Michael Pollan · 2018

    25 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  7. The Autobiography of Malcolm X
    24 people

    The Autobiography of Malcolm X

    Malcolm X and assisted by Alex Haley, Laurence Fishburne · 2015

    24 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  8. “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character
    24 people

    “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character

    Richard P. Feynman · 2018

    24 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  9. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (2000-10-03)
    23 people

    On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (2000-10-03)

    Stephen King · 2002

    23 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  10. Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition): Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
    21 people

    Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition): Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

    Ed Catmull · 2014

    21 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  11. Educated: A Memoir
    21 people

    Educated: A Memoir

    Tara Westover · 2018

    21 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  12. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic
    21 people

    Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic

    Alfred Lansing · 1999

    21 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  13. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win (New Edition)
    20 people

    Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win (New Edition)

    Jocko Willink · 2015

    20 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  14. Between the World and Me
    19 people

    Between the World and Me

    Ta-Nehisi Coates · 2015

    19 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  15. Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice
    19 people

    Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice

    Bill Browder · 2015

    19 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  16. Leonardo da Vinci
    18 people

    Leonardo da Vinci

    Walter Isaacson · 2017

    18 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  17. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
    18 people

    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

    Robert M. Pirsig · 2006

    18 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  18. The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
    18 people

    The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

    Robert Iger · 2019

    18 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  19. Bird by Bird
    18 people

    Bird by Bird

    Anne Lamott · 1995

    18 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  20. Sam Walton: Made in America
    17 people

    Sam Walton: Made in America

    Sam Walton · 1993

    17 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  21. Becoming
    17 people

    Becoming

    Michelle Obama · 2018

    17 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  22. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
    17 people

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    Maya Angelou (READ: Maya Angelou’s Recommended Reads · 1993

    17 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  23. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
    16 people

    Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

    Walter Isaacson · 2004

    16 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  24. Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
    16 people

    Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

    Yvon Chouinard · 2006

    16 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  25. Just Kids
    16 people

    Just Kids

    Patti Smith · 2010

    16 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  26. The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds
    16 people

    The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds

    Michael Lewis · 2017

    16 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  27. The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
    15 people

    The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

    Ben Macintyre · 2018

    15 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  28. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
    15 people

    Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

    Steve Martin · 2007

    15 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  29. Einstein: His Life and Universe
    15 people

    Einstein: His Life and Universe

    Walter Isaacson · 2007

    15 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  30. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
    15 people

    Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

    Bryan Stevenson · 2014

    15 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  31. Open
    15 people

    Open

    Andre Agassi · 2009

    15 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  32. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
    15 people

    Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

    Ron Chernow · 2004

    15 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  33. The Power Broker
    15 people

    The Power Broker

    Robert A. Caro · 1975

    15 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  34. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
    14 people

    Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

    Sheryl Sandberg · 2013

    14 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  35. The Year of Magical Thinking
    14 people

    The Year of Magical Thinking

    Joan Didion · 2007

    14 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  36. Greenlights
    14 people

    Greenlights

    Matthew McConaughey · 2020

    14 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  37. Maybe You Should Talk To Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
    14 people

    Maybe You Should Talk To Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

    Lori Gottlieb · 2019

    14 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  38. Can't Hurt Me
    14 people

    Can't Hurt Me

    David Goggins · 2018

    14 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  39. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
    14 people

    The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

    Brad Stone · 2013

    14 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  40. She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement
    13 people

    She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement

    Jodi Kantor · 2019

    13 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  41. The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
    13 people

    The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

    Alice Schroeder · 2008

    13 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  42. Walden
    13 people

    Walden

    Henry David Thoreau · 2004

    13 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  43. Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
    12 people

    Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

    Roxane Gay · 2017

    12 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  44. The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
    11 people

    The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World

    Melinda French Gates · 2019

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  45. Autobiography of a Yogi
    11 people

    Autobiography of a Yogi

    Paramahansa Yogananda · 2000

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  46. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
    11 people

    The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    Benjamin Franklin · 2004

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  47. The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution
    11 people

    The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution

    Gregory Zuckerman · 2019

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  48. Mountains Beyond Mountains
    11 people

    Mountains Beyond Mountains

    Tracy Kidder · 2004

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  49. Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
    11 people

    Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

    David Kushner · 2004

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  50. Billion Dollar Whale
    11 people

    Billion Dollar Whale

    Tom Wright & Bradley Hope · 2018

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  51. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
    11 people

    Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

    Trevor Noah · 2016

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  52. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
    11 people

    Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

    Jack Weatherford · 2018

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  53. Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD
    11 people

    Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD

    Jason Kander · 2022

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  54. H is for Hawk
    10 people

    H is for Hawk

    Helen Macdonald · 2014

    10 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  55. The Fish That Ate the Whale
    10 people

    The Fish That Ate the Whale

    Rich Cohen · 2012

    10 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  56. The Art of Learning
    10 people

    The Art of Learning

    Josh Waitzkin · 2007

    10 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  57. One Up On Wall Street
    10 people

    One Up On Wall Street

    Peter Lynch · 2000

    10 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  58. The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley
    10 people

    The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley

    Jimmy Soni · 2022

    10 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  59. Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue
    10 people

    Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue

    Ryan Holiday · 2018

    10 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  60. The Fire Next Time (Modern Library)
    9 people

    The Fire Next Time (Modern Library)

    James Baldwin · 1993

    9 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop

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Methodology: each book is ranked by the number of recommenders in our index who have publicly endorsed it. Curated topics use a hand-picked book list; year-stamped pages query our index by publication year. More on methodology →