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Autobiographies

Find inspiration for a wide range of the best autobiographies and books about people themselves and their memories. Here are autobiographies about some of the world's most exciting people and how their life story has been. Autobiographies are stories written or told by the person themselves. It is not necessarily famous people who write books about themselves, but also quite ordinary people who have something important at heart to tell. But also if the person has experienced or achieved something unique in life that may be interesting to others. Find the best autobiographies below for your next reading.
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  • Save 14%
    by Frank McCourt
    £9.49

    Frank McCourt's sequel to his Pulitzer Prize winning memoir Angela's Ashes, focussing on the "e;great country"e;, AmericaAngela's Ashes was a publishing phenomenon. Frank McCourt's critically acclaimed, lyrical memoir of his Limerick childhood won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics' Circle Award, the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Los Angeles Times Award amongst others, and rapidly became a word-of-mouth bestseller topping all charts worldwide for over two years. It left readers and critics alike eager to hear more about Frank McCourt's incredible, poignant life.'Tis is the story of Frank's American journey from impoverished immigrant with rotten teeth, infected eyes and no formal education to brilliant raconteur and schoolteacher.

  • Save 14%
    by Frank McCourt
    £9.49

    McCourt's Pulitzer Prize winning look back at his childhood. "e;It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while..."e;"e;When I look back on my childhood, I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.People everywhere brag or whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty; the shiftless loquacious father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying shcoolmasters; the English and the terrible things they did to us for eight hundred long years. Above all we were wet..."e;So begins Frank McCourt's stunning memoir of his childhood in Ireland and America, a recollection of unvarnished truth and no self pity, of grinding poverty and indomitable spirit that will live in the memory long after the tape has ended.Now a major film directed by Alan Parker and starring Robert Carlyle and Emily Watson.

  • Save 27%
    - All the Songs. All the Stories. All the Lyrics.
    by Paul Du Noyer
    £21.99

    This book examines and assesses all of John Lennon's solo work.

  • by Page Fox
    £17.99

    One Thousand Ways to Make $1000 is the book that Warren Buffett's biographers credit with shaping the legendary investor's business acumen and giving him his trademark appreciation of compound interest. After pulling a copy of One Thousand Ways off a library shelf at age eleven and devouring the practical business advice, Buffett declared that he would be a millionaire by the time he was 35. Written in the immediate, conversational style of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, this book is full of inventive ideas on how to make money  through excellent salesmanship, hard work, and resourcefulness. While  some of the ideas may seem quaint today-goat dairying, manufacturing  motor-driven chairs, and renting out billiard tables to local establishments are among the money-making ideas presented- the underlying fundamentals of business explained in these pages remain as solid as they were over seventy years ago. Covering a wide spectrum of topics including investing, marketing, merchandising, sales, customer relations, and raising money for charity, One Thousand Ways to Make $1000 is both a durable, classic business book and a fascinating portrait of determined entrepreneurship in Depression-era America. Everyeffort has been made to reproduce the content exactly as it was originally presented. “I like numbers, it started before I can remember,”” Buffett tells a group of Omaha Central High School students in the film.  A voracious reader his entire life, at age seven he read a book he borrowed from the library, One Thousand Ways to Make $1000, and, inspired by its lessons, began selling Coca-Cola, gum and newspapers.  His father, a salesman who survived the Depression, was elected to Congress when Buffett was 12, moving the family to Washington. Displaced and unhappy, Buffett lost interest in academics, attending the University of Nebraska at his father’s insistence; he was turned down for admission by the Harvard Business School. This rejection was propitious: Buffett discovered that two of his financial idols, Ben Graham and David Dodd, taught at the Columbia Business School; he wrote them a letter and was accepted there. From Graham he learned what he calls the “two rules of investing”: “Rule #1: Never lose money. Rule #2: Never forget Rule #1.”

  • - The Soviet Weightlifting System
    by Gwendolyn Sisto
    £20.99

  • Save 10%
    by Nora Ephron
    £8.99

  • Save 27%
    by Patti Smith
    £21.99

    THE AWARD-WINNING MASTERPIECE THAT DEFINED ROCK'N'ROLL MEMOIR AND CAPTURED AN ERANow richly illustrated with new material and never-before-seen photographs'Sharp, elegiac and finely crafted' SUNDAY TIMES'So honest and pure as to count as true rapture' JOAN DIDION'Tender, harrowing, hilarious' VOGUE'A poetic masterpiece' JOHNNY DEPP Patti's Smith's exquisite prose is generously illustrated in this full-color edition of her classic coming-of-age memoir, Just Kids. New York locations vividly come to life where, as young artists, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe met and fell in love: a first apartment in Brooklyn, Times Square with John and Yoko's iconic billboard, Max's Kansas City, or the gritty fire escape of the Hotel Chelsea. The extraordinary people who passed through their lives are also pictured: Sam Shepard, Harry Smith, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg. Along with never-before-published photographs, drawings, and ephemera, this edition captures a moment in New York when everything was possible. And when two kids seized their destinies as artists and soul mates in this inspired story of love and friendship.

  • Save 15%
    - And Other Conversations
    by Anthony Bourdain
    £10.99

    The New York Times Bestseller The brilliant intellect and candor of Anthony Bourdain is on full display in this collection of interviews from throughout his remarkable career, with an introduction from The New Yorker's Helen Rosner. Anthony Bourdain always downplayed his skills as a chef (many disagreed). But despite his modesty, one thing even he agreed with was that he was a born raconteur-as he makes clear in this collection of sparkling conversations. His wit, passion, and deep intelligence shine through all manner of discussion here, from heart-to-hearts with bloggers, to on-stage talks before massive crowds, to intense interviews with major television programs. Without fail, Bourdain is always blisteringly honest-such as when he talks about his battles with addiction, or when detailing his thoughts on restaurant critics. He regularly dispenses arresting insight about how what's on your plate reveals much of history and politics. And perhaps best of all, the heartfelt empathy he developed travelling the world for his TV shows is always in the fore, as these talks make the "Hemingway of gastronomy," as chef Marco Pierre White called him, live again.

  • Save 24%
    - The Creative Life of Poly Styrene
    by Celeste Bell
    £18.99

    Poly Styrene was many things: a pop star, a punk, a songwriter, a single mother, a woman of colour, a Hare Krishna convert and an artist, but she is best known as the singer of X-Ray Spex. Dayglo! is the definitive statement on Poly Styrene as an artist.

  • Save 20%
    - My Life in Photos & Music
    by Ringo Starr
    £23.99

    Another Day In The Life is introduced and narrated by Ringo Starr, with forewords by legendary movie director David Lynch and rock photographer Henry Diltz. Ringo shows us the world as seen through a Starr's eyes, in more than 500 observational photographs and rare images from the archives, and an original text of nearly 13,000 words.

  • Save 15%
    by Peter Reich
    £10.99

    A Book of Dreams, the inspiration behind Kate Bush's 1985 hit song 'Cloudbusting', and widely regarded as a classic of writing about childhood, is at last available in paperback again.

  • Save 25%
    by Michael R. Bloomberg
    £17.99

    Michael Bloomberg rose from middle-class Medford, Massachusetts to become a pioneer of the computer age, mayor of New York, one of the world's most generous philanthropists, and one of America's most respected--and fearless--voices on gun violence, climate change, public health, and other issues. And it all happened after he got fired at the age of 39.This is his story, told in his own words and in his own candid style.After working his way through college and graduating from Harvard Business School, Bloomberg landed on the bottom rung of a Wall Street firm and worked his way up to partner. But in 1981, he was forced out of the firm. With an idea for computerizing financial data, Bloomberg started his own company. And, since personal computers barely existed, he built his own. Specially designed for Wall Street traders and analysts, the Bloomberg Terminal revolutionized the world of finance. Under Bloomberg's leadership, his company grew rapidly, playing David to the Goliaths of finance and media--and making Bloomberg one of the world's wealthiest men.Bloomberg by Bloomberg offers an intimate look at the creative mind and driven personality behind the Bloomberg brand. He describes in vivid detail his early Wall Street career, both the victories and frustrations, including a personal account of what it was like to be fired and given $10 million on the same day.He combines personal stories with penetrating insights into business and technology, while also offering lessons from his unique approach to management. There is no one in business or politics quite like him--or who has had more success in both areas.

  • by Dylan Stance
    £9.99

  • Save 17%
    - The Inside Story of Arsenal Under Wenger
    by John Cross
    £9.99

    The inside story of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, a revealing portrait of the man and his methods that have transformed the North London club, now fully revised and updated to the end of his Arsenal career.

  • Save 15%
    - Jim Jones and Peoples Temple
    by Jeff Guinn
    £10.99

    Synopsis coming soon.......

  • - The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
    by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
    £12.49

    After his martyrdom at the hands of the Gestapo in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer continued his witness in the hearts of Christians around the world. His Letters and Papers from Prison became a prized testimony to Christian faith and courage, read by thousands. Now in Life Together we have Pastor Bonhoeffer's experience of Christian community. This story of a unique fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years reads like one of Paul's letters. It gives practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in families and groups. The role of personal prayer, worship in common, everyday work, and Christian service is treated in simple, almost biblical, words. Life Together is bread for all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship.

  • Save 15%
    - The Noble Art of Leaving Things Undone
    by Lin Yutang
    £10.99

    The noble art of leaving things undone is approached in a wry and witty tone in this reissue of Lin Yutang's influential psychology classic, emphasising revering inaction as much as action and finding the humour wherever possible.

  • Save 11%
     
    £7.99

    Have you ever kept a diary? This is the diary of a young girl growing up in sixties America - an honest account of teenage life. This book was first published several decades ago as the shocking real diary of a young woman.

  • by Clifford Whittingham Beers
    £12.49

  • Save 24%
    - A Biography
    by Tom Wright
    £18.99

    A historical biography, which will appeal to believer and non-believer alike, of the life and thought of St Paul.

  • Save 10%
    - The Seal Team Operative And The Mission That Changed The World
    by Robert O'Neill
    £8.99

    A stirringly evocative, thought-provoking, and often jaw-dropping account of SEAL Team Operator Robert O'Neill's awe-inspiring four-hundred-mission career.

  • Save 20%
    by John Seymour
    £11.99

    John Seymour's book about his, and his family's, life on the land in Suffolk; an optimistic and pragmatic vision of a different sort of life and the precursor to his best-selling Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency.

  • Save 20%
    by Peter Fiell & Charlotte
    £11.99

    William Morris was a polymath designer, writer, artist, and socialist activist, associated with England's Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as well as Arts and Crafts movement. His prolific design work included tiles, embroidery, tapestries, wallpaper, and carpets and championed handcraftsmanship, natural dyes, "art for all", and beautiful patterns of...

  • Save 15%
    - Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2017
    by Jonathan Eig
    £10.99

    The first truly definitive biography of Muhammad Ali, the most iconic and significant sporting figure of the twentieth century

  • Save 15%
    - The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
    by Irin Carmon
    £10.99

    New York Times BestsellerFeatured in the critically acclaimed documentary RBG"It was beyond my wildest imagination that I would one day become the 'Notorious RBG."

  • Save 15%
    - Bernard Hinault and the Fall and Rise of French Cycling
    by William Fotheringham
    £10.99

    He is a five-time winner of the Tour de France and the only man to have won each of the Grand Tours on more than one occasion. Three decades on from his retirement, Hinault remains the last French winner of the Tour de France.

  • Save 10%
    - Times Like His: Foo Fighters, Nirvana and Other Misadventures
    by Martin James
    £8.99

    Dave Grohl: Times Like His is the fully updated edition of the bestselling biography on one of modern rock's most influential figures, drawing on interviews with key figures in the Grohl story to create an intimate, insightful portrait of the man himself.

  • Save 21%
    - The Transcendent Wisdom of Neem Karoli Baba Told Through the Stories of the Westerners Whose Lives He Transformed
    by Parvati Markus
    £14.99

    A celebration of one of the most influential spiritual leaders of our time: Neem Karoli Baba, the enlightened guru who inspired a generation of seekers?including Ram Dass, Daniel Goleman, and Larry Brilliant?on life-altering journeys that helped change the world.In 1967, Ram Dass returned to the West from India and spread the teachings of his mysterious guru, Neem Karoli Baba, better known as Maharajji. Ram Dass's words about Maharajji's life-affirming wisdom resonated with a youth culture that had grown disillusioned with the violence, civil discord, and crude materialism of modern civilization. Hundreds of Westerners traveled to India and experienced Maharajji's extraordinary presence directly until his death in 1973. His simple directives?love everyone, feed everyone, and remember God?opened their hearts and awakened their souls.What these followers brought back to the West has since changed the landscape of everyday life. Meditation is now mainstream; yoga studios are in every town; and mindfulness is practiced in elementary schools and board-rooms everywhere, from Silicon Valley to Capitol Hill. A stirring piece of history, Love Everyone brings these stories to life, sharing for the first time the inspiring tales of the men and women who followed the siren call of the East to the foothills of the Himalayas, then returned to forever reshape the world.A compelling and inspiring tribute to Maharajji from the Western men and women who knew him best, Love Everyone is a profound teaching on the power of love, as lasting and transformative as the truth, wisdom, and bliss of Maharajji.

  • Save 15%
    by Lutz Pfannenstiel
    £10.99

    The incredible story of German goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel - the most interesting footballer you've never heard of. A massive bestseller in Germany, this astonishing, fascinating and at times hilarious book relates a football career in which Lutz travelled the world, played for 23 teams on five continents and lived life to the absolute full.

  • Save 17%
    by Sandra Kalniete
    £14.99

    God is said to have given humans freedom. Yet in the story of Genesis God is a punishing father-figure. Why have humans portrayed him like this? Here, a contemporary writer called Adam imagines God behaving as a good father should, seeing it is time for his children to leave home. Adam writes an account of this, and the story of his own child Sophie and his relationship with her. The scene moves from London to New York to Israel to Iran to Iraq. And might not God as well as Adam have a wife to take up the cause if things go wrong?

Autobiographies and their knowledge

Autobiographies are books that most often deal with the author himself. It is about people who have been through wild and eventful moments. Usually we have to dive far down, or at least know each other well, before we tell very personal stories. After all, it is not something we would tell a stranger in everyday life, so personal, are these autobiographies. It is excellent to be able to learn from each other so that the experiences and traumatic times we go through are not in vain. Of course, this is also something we can learn from, but autobiographies give you the knowledge you need to avoid the mistakes they end up making. In addition, it also contains stories about people they have been close to and how those relationships have changed. It is not always about learning in autobiographies, it can also be about understanding the human being behind. We are all incredibly complex people and that is evident in autobiographies. Autobiographies are books that take us very close to human nature, it gives us details that we would not otherwise get in a normal conversation.

The experiences and moments we all have, are where autobiographies shine about the mentality, such as the highest athletes have. These are books written both for the author's own sake but also the reader's. It is about quid pro quo, a two-sided coin that benefits one's own recovery (the author) and the reader. When we write down our thoughts, we quickly get rid of everything that keeps us down. That weight can be incredibly heavy and can therefore be very healthy to get rid of once in a while. A positive is that you know someone can read it, and get a whole lot of information from it, and perhaps learn what they should and should not do in certain situations. Take, for example, ‘Mamba Mentality’ a book about the late Kobe Bryant, it is said that his mentality was invincible and completely bulletproof. Something that we all strive to achieve, and that is exactly what autobiographies are all about. The innermost thoughts in a man. Autobiographies can also give you insight into your favorite celebrity life, understand them and see what makes them the person they are. We are all interesting and unique in our own way, through experiences and the knowledge or skills we possess.

Many of the books also consist of well-known quotes from many different people through political stories and the celebrity world.

Elon Musk has written an autobiography back in 2016, which deals with the giant tech companies he has managed to create. Including PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla and SolarCity. It is a deep look into how he has managed to do this and what it required from his own life. It is said that we have to sacrifice a lot to reach a high position in life. Great autobiography, which is a great place to start if you are into this topic.

As mentioned, autobiographies are a great tool for learning from others, and many of the stories are written by people who have had a tough upbringing. It is to their own advantage to understand how they have done it and what it requires of them. Try and dive into some of our autobiographies today!

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