The Best Biography And Memoir Books of 2021 (A Year-End List Aggregation)
“What are the best Biography and Memoir books released in 2021?” We looked at 187 of the top Biography and Memoir books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 39 books, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Biography and Memoir” book lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 125+ titles, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Our other Best Of 2021 Articles:
- The Best Art, Photography, And Coffee Table Books
- The Best AudioBooks
- The Best Biography And Memoir Books
- The Best Graphic Novels And Comics
- The Best Cookbooks
- The Best Fiction Books
- The Best Books (All Catergories)
- The Best History Books
- The Best Kids, Children, and Youth Books
- The Best Mystery, Horror, and Thriller Books
- The Best Nonfiction Books
- The Best Poetry Books
- The Best Science And Nature Books
- The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
- The Best Young Adult Books
Previous Years: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
Happy Scrolling!
Top 39 Best Biography and Memoir Books From 2021
39.) A Ghost in the Throat written by Doireann Ni Ghriofa
Lists It Appears On:
- NPR
- NY Times
An Post Irish Book Awards Nonfiction Book of the Year – A Guardian Best Book of 2020 – Shortlisted for the 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize – Longlisted for…
38.) Aftershocks written by Nadia Owusu
Lists It Appears On:
- Goodreads
- NPR
In the tradition of The Glass Castle, this “gorgeous” (The New York Times, Editors’ Choice) and deeply felt memoir from Whiting Award winner Nadia Owu…
37.) Allegorizings written by Jan Morris
Lists It Appears On:
- Telegraph
- Waterstones
Not so long ago, feeling intimations of mortality, Jan Morris embarked on a wholly novel literary enterprise. What began as a series of high-minded le…
36.) Broken Horses: A Memoir written by Brandi Carlile
Lists It Appears On:
- Goodreads
- NPR
The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and six-time Grammy winner opens up about faith, sexuality, parenthood, and a life shaped by mus…
35.) Burning Man written by Frances Wilson
Lists It Appears On:
- The Guardian
- Waterstones
An electrifying, revelatory new biography of D. H. Lawrence, with a focus on his difficult middle years “Never trust the teller,” wrote D. H. Lawrence…
34.) Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South written by Winfred Rembert and Erin I. Kelly
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- NPR
“A compelling and important history that this nation desperately needs to hear.” -Bryan Stevenson, New York Times bestselling author of Just Mercy and…
33.) House of Sticks: A Memoir written by Ly Tran
Lists It Appears On:
- Goodreads
- NPR
This beautifully written “masterclass in memoir” (Elle) recounts a young girl’s journey from war-torn Vietnam to Queens, New York, “showcas[ing] the t…
32.) Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City written by Andrea Elliott
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
“Destined to become one of the classics of the genre” (Newsweek), the riveting, unforgettable story of a girl whose indomitable spirit is tested by ho…
31.) Just as I Am: A Memoir written by Cicely Tyson
Lists It Appears On:
- Goodreads
- NPR
“In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only succeeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history.” -President Barack Obama…
30.) Maybe I Don’t Belong Here written by David Harewood, David Olusoga
Lists It Appears On:
- The Guardian
- Waterstones
…
29.) Mike Nichols: A Life written by Mark Harris
Lists It Appears On:
- Booklist
- NPR
An ! A magnificent biography of one of the most protean creative forces in American entertainment history, a life of dazzling highs and vertiginous pl…
28.) My Mess Is a Bit of a Life written by Georgia Pritchett
Lists It Appears On:
- Telegraph
- Waterstones
“Georgia Pritchett is a singularly hilarious person. Her book is a delightful and perfect reflection of her. Its tenderness sneaks up on you and reall…
27.) Names for Light: A Family History written by Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint
Lists It Appears On:
- Kirkus 2
- NPR
Winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, a lyrical meditation on family, place, and inheritance Names for Light traverses time and memory to wei…
26.) On Juneteenth written by Annette Gordon-Reed
Lists It Appears On:
- NPR
- NY Times
Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed’s On Juneteenth provides a historian…
25.) Patricia Highsmith: Her Diaries and Notebooks written by Patricia Highsmith
Lists It Appears On:
- Telegraph
- Waterstones
Relegated to the genre of mystery during her lifetime, Patricia Highsmith is now recognized as one of “our greatest modernist writers” (Gore Vidal). B…
24.) Pessoa written by Richard Zenith
Lists It Appears On:
- Kirkus
- Waterstones
Nearly a century after his wrenching death, the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) remains one of our most enigmatic writers. Believing he co…
23.) Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness written by Kristen Radtke
Lists It Appears On:
- Kirkus 2
- NPR
From the acclaimed author of Imagine Wanting Only This–a timely and moving meditation on isolation and longing, both as individuals and as a society …
22.) The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race written by Walter Isaacson
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a “compelling” (The Washington Post) account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennife…
21.) The Copenhagen Trilogy written by Tove Ditlevsen
Lists It Appears On:
- NPR
- NY Times
Called a masterpiece by The New York Times, the acclaimed trilogy from Tove Ditlevsen, a pioneer in the field of genre-bending confessional writing To…
20.) The Madness of Grief written by Reverend Richard Coles
Lists It Appears On:
- Telegraph
- Waterstones
…
19.) The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music written by Dave Grohl
Lists It Appears On:
- Booktopia
- NY Post
The #1 So, I’ve written a book.Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities (It’s a piece of cake! Just do…
18.) The Young H.G. Wells written by Claire Tomalin
Lists It Appears On:
- Kirkus
- Waterstones
Tomalin’s The Young H.G. Wells is hard to beat, being friendly, astute and a pleasure to read.” –Michael Dirda, Washington Post “Claire Tomalin’s sho…
17.) Three Girls From Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood written by Dawn Turner
Lists It Appears On:
- Library Journal
- NY Times
A “beautiful, tragic, and inspiring” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) memoir about three Black girls from the storied Bronzeville section of Chicag…
16.) Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement written by Tarana Burke
Lists It Appears On:
- Goodreads
- Library Journal
Searing. Powerful. Needed. –Oprah “Sometimes a single story can change the world. Unbound is one of those stories. Tarana’s words are a testimony to…
15.) Will written by Will Smith
Lists It Appears On:
- Booktopia
- NY Post
“The best memoir I’ve ever read.” -Oprah Winfrey One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about…
14.) Yearbook written by Seth Rogen
Lists It Appears On:
- NPR
- NY Post
#2 * – “Rogen’s candid collection of sidesplitting essays . . . thrives at both explaining and encapsulating a generational comedic voice.”–The Washi…
13.) 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows written by Ai Weiwei
Lists It Appears On:
- Kirkus 2
- The Guardian
- Waterstones
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE – In Ai Weiwei’s widely anticipated memoir, “one of the most important artists working in the world today” (Financial T…
12.) Orwell’s Roses written by Rebecca Solnit
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Telegraph
- Waterstones
“An exhilarating romp through Orwell’s life and times and also through the life and times of roses.” –Margaret Atwood “A captivating account of Orwel…
11.) Poet Warrior written by Joy Harjo
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Library Journal
- NPR
Joy Harjo, the first Native American to serve as U.S. poet laureate, invites us to travel along the heartaches, losses, and humble realizations of her…
10.) Real Estate written by Deborah Levy
Lists It Appears On:
- NPR
- Telegraph
- Waterstones
An NPR Best Book of the Year A Washington Post Best Book of the Year A Millions Most Anticipated Book of 2021 A USA Today Book Not to Miss Real Estate…
9.) The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym written by Paula Byrne
Lists It Appears On:
- Telegraph
- The Guardian
- Waterstones
…
8.) The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation written by Anna Malaika Tubbs
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Booklist
- NPR
Tubbs’ connection to these women is palpable on the page — as both a mother and a scholar of the impact Black motherhood has had on America. Through …
7.) Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted written by Suleika Jaouad
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Goodreads
- Library Journal
- NY Times
A searing, deeply moving memoir of illness and recovery that traces one young woman’s journey from diagnosis to remission to re-entry into “normal” li…
6.) Punch Me Up to the Gods written by Brian Broome
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Kirkus 2
- Library Journal
- NY Times
WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR – A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ PICK – A TODAY SUMMER READING LIST PICK – AN ENTERTAI…
5.) Taste: My Life Through Food written by Stanley Tucci
Lists It Appears On:
- Booktopia
- Goodreads
- NPR
- NY Post
From award-winning actor and food obsessive Stanley Tucci comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen. Stanley Tucci grew…
4.) Seeing Ghosts written by Kat Chow
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Goodreads
- NPR
- NY Times
NAMED ONE OF BARNES AND NOBLE’S BEST BOOKS OF 2021 For readers of Helen Macdonald and Elizabeth Alexander, an intimate and haunting portrait of grief …
3.) Somebody’s Daughter written by Ashley C. Ford
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Goodreads
- Library Journal
- NPR
- NY Times
“This is a book people will be talking about forever.” –Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed “Ford’s wrenchingly brilliant…
2.) Beautiful Country written by Qian Julie Wang
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Goodreads
- NPR
- NY Times
- The Guardian
- Waterstones
A TODAY SHOW #READWITHJENNA BOOK CLUB PICK! – The moving story of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world–an inca…
1.) Crying in H Mart written by Michelle Zauner
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Goodreads
- Library Journal
- NPR
- NY Times
- Waterstones
A Best Book of 2021: Entertainment Weekly, Good Morning America, Wall Street Journal, and more From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and…
The 125+ Additional Best Biography and Memoir Books Released In 2021
40) ¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons – List: Goodreads
41) A BRAVE AND CUNNING PRINCE – James Horn List: Kirkus
42) A Carnival of Snackery – David Sedaris List: Waterstones
43) A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance – Hanif Abdurraqib List: NPR
44) A QUANTUM LIFE – Hakeem Oluseyi List: Kirkus 2
45) A Singing Army: Zilphia Horton and the Highlander Folk School – Kim Ruehl List: NPR
46) A Stinging Delight – List: Telegraph
47) All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business – List: NY Post
48) All In – Billie Jean King List: NY Post
49) All That She Carried – Tiya Miles List: NPR
50) All the Young Men – List: The Guardian
51) American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption – Gabrielle Glaser List: NPR
52) An Extra Pair of Hands – Kate Mosse List: Waterstones
53) APP KID – Michael Sayman List: Kirkus 2
54) AS YOU WERE – David Tromblay List: Kirkus 2
55) Beautiful Things: A Memoir – List: Goodreads
56) Better to Have Gone: Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville – Akash Kapur List: NY Times
57) Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice – Yusef Salaam List: NPR
58) Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds – List: The Guardian
59) Brat: An ’80s Story – List: Goodreads
60) Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas – List: Goodreads
61) Broken (in the Best Possible Way) – Jenny Lawson List: Amazon
62) Brown Baby – Nikesh Shukla List: Waterstones
63) Certain and Impossible Events – Candace Jane Opper List: NPR
64) Channon: The Diaries, volumes one and two – List: Telegraph
65) Churchill & Son – Josh Ireland List: Telegraph
66) Churchill’s Shadow: The Life and Afterlife of Winston Churchill – Geoffrey Wheatcroft List: Amazon
67) Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race – List: Booklist
68) Consent – Vanessa Springora List: Waterstones
69) Curb – Divya Victor List: NPR
70) Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? – Seamas O’Reilly List: Waterstones
71) Emotional Female – Yumiko Kadota List: Booktopia
72) Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty – Patrick Radden Keefe List: Amazon
73) Ethel Rosenberg – Anne Sebba List: Waterstones
74) Everything I Have Is Yours: A Marriage – Eleanor Henderson List: NY Times
75) Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II – Daniel James Brown List: NPR
76) Finding Freedom – Erin French List: Goodreads
77) FLOATING IN A MOST PECULIAR WAY – Louis Chude-Sokei List: Kirkus 2
78) Fox and I – Catherine Raven List: Barnes & Noble
79) Francis Bacon – Mark Stevens, Annalyn Swan List: Waterstones
80) Free: Coming of Age at the End of History – Lea Ypi List: Waterstones
81) From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial That Galvanized the Asian American Movement – Paula Yoo List: NPR
82) Fry’s Ties – Stephen Fry List: Waterstones
83) Gentrifier: A Memoir – Anne Elizabeth Moore List: NPR
84) Girlhood – Melissa Febos List: NPR
85) Going There – List: NY Post
86) Heavy Light – Horatio Clare List: Waterstones
87) Hope Not Fear – Hassan Akkad List: Waterstones
88) I Came as a Shadow: An Autobiography – John Thompson with Jesse Washington List: NY Times
89) I LIVE A LIFE LIKE YOURS – Jan Grue List: Kirkus 2
90) I Never Promised You a Rose Garden – Mannie Murphy List: NPR
91) In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain – Tom Vitale List: Amazon
92) It Wasn’t Meant to Be Like This – List: Booktopia
93) Journey to the Edge of Reason: The Life of Kurt Gödel – Stephen Budiansky List: Booklist
94) KING OF THE BLUES – Daniel de Visé List: Kirkus
95) Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of an American Troubadour – Rickie Lee Jones List: NPR
96) Letters to Camondo – Edmund De Waal List: Waterstones
97) Life Support – List: Telegraph
98) Malice in Wonderland – Hugo Vickers List: Waterstones
99) Manifesto – Bernardine Evaristo List: Waterstones
100) Many Different Kinds of Love – Michael Rosen List: Waterstones
101) Miss Dior – Justine Picardie List: Waterstones
102) My Begging Chart – Keiler Roberts List: NPR
103) My Body – Emily Ratajkowski List: Waterstones
104) My Broken Language: A Memoir – Quiara Alegría Hudes List: NPR
105) My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future – Indra Nooyi List: Amazon
106) My Remarkable Journey – List: Library Journal
107) My Year Of Living Vulnerably – List: Booktopia
108) Napoleon: a Life in Gardens and Shadows – Ruth Scurr List: Telegraph
109) New Yorkers – Craig Taylor List: Waterstones
110) Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued – Peter Sis List: NPR
111) Night Bus – Zuo Ma, translated by Orion Martin List: NPR
112) Night Rooms: Essays – Gina Nutt List: NPR
113) Nina: A Story of Nina Simone – Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Christian Robinson List: NPR
114) Nonbinary: A Memoir – Genesis P-Orridge List: NPR
115) Notes on Grief – List: Goodreads
116) Now Beacon, Now Sea: A Son’s Memoir – Christopher Sorrentino List: NY Times
117) NUESTRA AMÉRICA – Claudio Lomnitz List: Kirkus 2
118) Odd Boy Out – Gyles Brandreth List: Waterstones
119) Of This Our Country – HarperCollins Publishers List: Waterstones
120) Oh, What a Lovely Century – Roderic Fenwick Owen List: Waterstones
121) Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11 – List: NY Post
122) Pastoral Song: A Farmer’s Journey – James Rebanks List: NPR
123) Philip – Gyles Brandreth List: Waterstones
124) Playlist for the Apocalypse – Rita Dove List: NPR
125) Pop Song: Adventures in Art and Intimacy – Larissa Pham List: NPR
126) Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families – Nicole Lynn Lewis List: NPR
127) Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created “Sunday in the Park With George – James Lapine List: NPR
128) Putting the Rabbit in the Hat – List: The Guardian
129) Radiant: The Dancer, the Scientist, and a Friendship Forged in Light – List: Booklist
130) Redeeming Justice: From Defendant to Defender, My Fight for Equity on Both Sides of a Broken System – Jarrett Adams List: Amazon
131) Scientist: E. O. Wilson: A Life in Nature – Richard Rhodes List: Barnes & Noble
132) Shackleton – Ranulph Fiennes List: Waterstones
133) Shaking the Gates of Hell: A Search for Family and Truth in the Wake of the Civil Rights Revolution – John Archibald List: NPR
134) SMALLTIME – Russell Shorto List: Kirkus 2
135) Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be: Essays – Nichole Perkins List: NPR
136) Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir – Elizabeth Miki Brina List: NPR
137) Stronger: Courage, Hope, and Humor in My Life with John McCain – List: NY Post
138) Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR – Lisa Napoli List: Booklist
139) Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer – Rax King List: NPR
140) Tastes Like War – Grace M. Cho List: NPR
141) The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (with recipes) – Kate Lebo List: NPR
142) The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family – Lauren Ace, Jenny Lovlie List: NY Post
143) The Case of the Married Woman – Antonia Fraser List: Telegraph
144) The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X – List: Booklist
145) The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine – List: Booklist
146) The Duchess Countess – Catherine Ostler List: Telegraph
147) THE EDUCATION OF CORPORAL JOHN MUSGRAVE – John Musgrave List: Kirkus 2
148) THE EMPATHY DIARIES – Sherry Turkle List: Kirkus 2
149) The Game – Sean Kelly List: Booktopia
150) The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain – Eugene Yelchin List: NPR
151) The Isolation Artist: Scandal, Deception, and the Last Days of Robert Indiana – Bob Keyes List: NPR
152) The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease – Daisy Hernández List: NPR
153) The Loneliest Americans – Jay Caspian Kang List: NPR
154) The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches from a Skateboard Life – Kyle Beachy List: NPR
155) The Mother Wound – List: Booktopia
156) The Natural Mother of the Child: A Memoir of Nonbinary Parenthood – Krys Malcom Belc List: NPR
157) The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting – Evanna Lynch List: Waterstones
158) The Prisoner: A Memoir – Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Anton List: NPR
159) The Puma Years: A Memoir of Love and Transformation in the Bolivian Jungle – List: Goodreads
160) The Radical Potter – Tristram Hunt List: Telegraph
161) THE RISE AND FALL OF OSAMA BIN LADEN – Peter Bergen List: Kirkus
162) The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames – Justine Cowan List: Waterstones
163) The Secret to Superhuman Strength – Alison Bechdel List: NPR
164) The Sex Lives of African Women – Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah List: Waterstones
165) The Ugly Cry: A Memoir – Danielle Henderson List: Amazon
166) The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear – Kate Moore List: Booklist
167) THERE IS NOTHING FOR YOU HERE – Fiona Hill List: Kirkus 2
168) These Precious Days: Essays – Ann Patchett List: NPR
169) This Much Is True – Miriam Margolyes List: The Guardian
170) Three Mothers – Anna Malaika Tubbs List: Waterstones
171) TOM STOPPARD – Hermione Lee List: Kirkus
172) Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy – Nathaniel Philbrick List: Amazon
173) Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood – Danny Trejo List: Amazon
174) Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern – Mary Beard List: Kirkus
175) Unfinished – List: Goodreads
176) Unprotected – List: Library Journal
177) Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty – Anderson Cooper List: Amazon
178) W-3 – List: Telegraph
179) WALK WITH ME – Kate Clifford Larson List: Kirkus
180) Walking with Ghosts – Gabriel Byrne List: Amazon
181) Want Me: A Sex Writer’s Journey Into the Heart of Desire – Tracy Clark-Flory List: NPR
182) We Are Bridges: A Memoir – Cassandra Lane List: NPR
183) What It Feels Like for a Girl – List: The Guardian
184) When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today – List: Booklist
185) White Magic – Elissa Washuta List: NPR
186) Widowish – List: Goodreads
187) You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism – List: Library Journal
14 Best Biography and Memoir Book Sources/Lists
| Source | Article |
| Amazon | Best biographies and memoirs of 2021 |
| Barnes & Noble | Barnes & Noble’s Best Biographies of 2021 |
| Booklist | Top 10 Biographies: 2021 |
| Booktopia | The Best Books of 2021: Biographies |
| Goodreads | Best Memoir & Autobiography |
| The Guardian | Best biographies and memoirs of 2021 |
| Kirkus | Best Biographies of 2021 |
| Kirkus 2 | Best Memoirs of 2021 |
| Library Journal | Best Memoir & Biography of 2021 |
| NY Post | These are the 35 best books to give as holiday gifts this year |
| NY Times | 100 Notable Books of 2021 |
| NPR | Books We Love |
| Telegraph | The best new biographies to buy for Christmas 2021 |
| Waterstones | The Best Books of 2021: Biography |
