Best Biographies and Memoirs of 2024, as chosen by the Amazon Editors
Putting together the Best Biographies and Memoirs of the year is a thrill—it’s also hard. But this list—the best of the best—represents the wide and varied lives and experiences of humanity. From Ina Garten to John Lewis, RuPaul to Salman Rushdie, Lisa Marie Presley to Henry V, this list has something for everyone. There are stories of underdogs and celebrities, those who have faced tragedy and those looking for justice. Ultimately, all of these books share one thing in common: we couldn’t put them down!
Our #1 pick in the Biography and Memoir category is Ina Garten’s effervescent, relentlessly entertaining and optimistic memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. This was our #7 pick overall, and is a favorite of many Amazon Editors.
And, be sure to check out our full list of biographies and memoirs, our nonfiction picks, the complete list of the Top 100 Best Books of the Year (and our reviews of the top 20 Best Books of 2024).
Ina Garten has been a comforting and familiar presence on TV and in her best-selling cookbooks, but she’s also been a bit of an enigma—until now. In Be Ready When the Luck Happens, Garten throws open the curtains of her life, sharing her story with the warmth and jocularity of chatting at the kitchen table over a cup of coffee. From a childhood characterized by abuse and neglect, to the influence of feminist Gloria Steinem, her relationship with husband Jeffrey (whom she met at age 16), and the highs and lows of taking risks and finding her passion—it’s all here. And there are plenty of surprises—details of her marriage that she’s never spoken about before, her impulsivity, and behind-the-scenes stories—but what kept me glued to the page is her grit, kindness, humor, and optimism. Be Ready When the Luck Happens is as real as it gets, and I’m not only inspired by Ina Garten’s life’s story, but I now suspect that she might be hiding a Wonder Woman suit underneath that chic, practical wardrobe. The team loved this memoir, which is why we named it our #1 pick for the Best Biography and Memoir of the Year. —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
Thoroughly researched and expertly written, with quotes and references perfectly deployed, David Greenberg chronicles the comprehensive and impressive life of John Lewis. Tracing the entire arc—from his childhood in Alabama, to discovering his voice through the principles of nonviolence and sit-ins, to becoming a leader of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, to his ascendance to political office where he became known as the “conscience of congress,” to his ultimate passing in 2020—Greenberg draws on more than 275 documents and interviews with Lewis himself, his friends, his confidants, and peers. The result is a portrait of a man who seemed almost per-ordained to model a life of not just non-violence but of commitment and persistence. With patient grit, Lewis endured the beating of a lifetime, weathered the assassination of his mentor and friend Martin Luther King Jr., saw and aided the first Black president of the United States take office, and stood up against the Trump presidency. This is a man who dedicated his intelligence and body to equality in America and Greenberg’s biography is a worthy and vital artifact of Lewis’ legacy. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
In 2022, the literary luminary (Booker Prize winner, best-selling and Knighted author, etc.), Salman Rushdie was attacked and stabbed on stage at an event in Pittsburgh. He lost the sight of one eye—he describes the aftermath as a “soft boiled egg”—and this lightening rod of a memoir tackles that horrific night, how art is critical not just to him as an individual, but our greater world, and what sustains him. Like Rushdie’s novels, there’s a verve and command of language that is at once wry, all-knowing, and deeply honest. Knife is a powerful read and one that, I suspect, we’ll be hearing about for months—and years—to come. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
Goodwin is legendary for her presidential biographies, winning a Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time (about how the relationship between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt shaped the nation’s response to the Great Depression and WWII), and awards for Team of Rivals (Abraham Lincoln), The Bully Pulpit (Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft), and many more. Now she turns the spotlight around to herself, and her late husband, former presidential speechwriter Richard “Dick” Goodwin. She writes conversationally, providing readers with an insider’s view to history (which to me, evoked that great old TV show, Pop-Up Video) as they experienced it first-hand, while digging through boxes of Dick’s files and memories from his 50-year career (“Oh, look, there's Ruth Bader Ginsburg in your law school photo.”) You’ll revel in these stories of their incredible lives. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Whiskey Tender is a reminder of just how good memoirs can be: emotional and intense, shocking and quotidian, with wild moments that are rendered with the perfect balance of outrageous intrigue and unfiltered honesty. While Deborah Jackson Taffa admits early on that her “story is as common as dirt,” her ability to articulate the complexities of her family’s history—living on the Quechan reservation and leaving it, and their run-ins with violence, oppression, poverty, and addiction—is far from common. With both grace and inquisition, she searches for understanding and how to make sense of her Native American and Spanish bloodlines, and how her family chased assimilation only to later reject the implausibility of the American dream. Whiskey Tender is a special memoir that “celebrate(s) our survival as a culture, as well as the hope, strength, and grace of my family” and then some. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
Griffin Dunne eloquently captures the experience of growing up in a family with complicated dynamics and famous faces. His aunt is the acclaimed writer Joan Didion, his best friend was Carrie Fisher, his parents were part of the lively Hollywood inner circle hosting parties with the likes of Tennessee Williams and Sean Connery. There is tragedy, comedy, and a whirlwind who’s who of Hollywood and the literary elite that has surrounded Dunne all his life. And he lays it all before us, like the incredible storyteller he is—the highs, lows, and everything in between. — Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
All the Worst Humans will make your jaw drop: it’s a juicy, salacious memoir that confirms just how seedy the world is when money, politics, and power come into play (which is why it was our #1 pick for the Best Biography and Memoir in the middle of the year). With the vibes of Michael Lewis’s propulsive Liar’s Poker, Elwood dishes on his decades as a public relations hitman, a hired gun known for pulling off (or hiding) the treacherous, outlandish requests of “dictators, tycoons, and politicians,” as the catchy subtitle promises. From relaying how he helped Qatar land their first FIFA World Cup by sabotaging the United States’ bid, to how he babysat Gaddafi’s son during a Las Vegas boondoggle filled with drugs, guns, and women, Elwood sets dynamite to his career. And that’s what makes this memoir so page-turning; it’s not just his astonishing stories of danger, manipulation, and questionable ethics—but his determination to expose it all, ultimately confronting the choices he made, and revealing how easily we (anyone, politicians, reporters, governments, and countries) can be puppets in a fragile world of egos and power grabs. A wild, oh-my-god-ride that you won’t be able to stop talking about. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
I read this on a flight and barely looked up the entire four hours. Longtime Dateline correspondent Dan Slepian spent decades investigating the cases of six men in the notorious Sing Sing prison, and the more I read, the more shocked and horrified I became. These men had been not only convicted of a crime they didn’t commit, but spent many years of their lives behind bars when they were clearly innocent. And these are only the cases Slepian looked into, in only this lone prison. It makes me wonder how many others there are suffering the same fate, as this is not likely to be a unique or isolated situation. The misconduct by law enforcement and ambitious prosecutors that Slepian uncovered went unpunished, and there is glaringly little hope for others suffering the same twisted fate as the men profiled here. The Sing Sing Files is a powerful, moving and important look at our justice system and its failures. —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
Dishy finance reads are having a moment—Carrie Sun’s memoir of working at a hedge fund, Michael Lewis’s biography of Sam Bankman-Fried and now The Trading Game. In the case of Gary Stevenson, he shares how he went from rags to riches (so to speak) and how he became “the most profitable trader, in the whole world, and it’s a story about why, after all of that, I quit.” Describing deals as “bank robbery,” Stevenson lays bare the high-stakes world of risk and reward that dominated his time in the biz. If you’re a fan of the show Billions or loved the canonical Liars Poker, Stevenson’s memoir will hit like the rush of a deal. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
If your knowledge of the Presley clan is informed by the deluge of tell-alls and tabloid coverage, well, Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir (started before her untimely death in 2023 and finished by her daughter, actress Riley Keough) is sobering. That’s an oddly appropriate word to use, given that addiction—Elvis’ in particular, but son Benjamin’s and even Lisa Marie’s own, late-in-life, opioid addiction—shaped the course of her life in profoundly heartbreaking ways. In this raw, revealing memoir, Lisa Marie—a likeable, funny badass with a wounded edge, her recollections clearly steeped in grief—walks us through her version with remarkable candor: the love she and her father shared, her devastation at his death, her stumbling to forge an identity beyond his long, iconic shadow, the balm of motherhood, the eyebrow-raising marriages, and more. With context and commentary ably filled in by Keough, this memoir is harrowing, moving, and fascinating. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
In recent decades, nothing has changed our world more than the tech boom—and it’s clear from reading Burn Book, nobody has had more fun chronicling the movers and shakers than Kara Swisher. Swisher, a longtime journalist and podcaster, is whip smart and self-assured—whether she’s moving cross-country in hot pursuit of newsy scoops about the newfangled internet, challenging the tech titans long before they became billionaires (but just as they’re becoming legendary characters), or finding herself and her voice. This book is a real romp to read—snarky and dishy, packed with gossip about the “boy kings of the internet,” all from a woman who doesn’t back down to anyone. Her stories about every well-known tech entrepreneur are full of wit, nostalgia, and fire—and can only be told by the rare person, such as Swisher, who has had a front-row seat to witness it all. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Hanif Abdurraqib’s A Little Devil in America won the Carnegie Medal for Excellence, was a finalist for the National Book Award, an Editors’ Pick, and that essay collection—besides being a page-turner—has one of the best covers in recent memory. So, to say that we were excited for this memoir that explores his midwestern roots, basketball, and race in America, is an understatement. Using the proverbial “you”, Abdurraqib offers an unmistakable bite and urgency to his life story, which is not so much about basketball (though that forms the backbone—scratch that, backboard of this memoir) but the tightness of what it is to grow up in a community that knows all of your wins, your losses, your shots, and your scores. A moving and poignant memoir. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
With an unshakeable kindness and clarity, RuPaul Charles invites readers into his life, offering the stories of his childhood, coming out, discovering drag, and finding his place among his family and in the world. RuPaul’s voicey joie de vivre makes this memoir stand out—and despite the moments of hardship (poverty, an absent father, addiction, heartbreak), it’s his almost primal understanding of his own agency that will leave you in awe (“I would do the only rational thing I could do: I would act as if I was already famous”). To call him a groundbreaking artist doesn’t even scratch the surface of what RuPaul has achieved, but The House of Hidden Meanings is less about his stardom and far more about becoming himself—a self that he knew in his gut was “preordained.” Easy to read, impossible to put down, this memoir is so much fun. And because of RuPaul’s relentless self-awareness and desire, it’s an inspiration. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
If you’ve ever wondered what goes through the mind of a sociopath, Patric Gagne’s chillingly addictive memoir is for you. Readers are voyeurs into her confusion and compulsions as she comes of age, desperate to feel anything, leading her to act out in increasingly scary ways—from stabbing a neighbor kid in the neck with a pencil, to locking classmates in the bathroom just to see what happens (and that’s just the beginning). Gagne feels no fear, guilt, or shame, and I’ll admit that I wish I could live life with a little less of those emotions—although not on the scale of her tortured experience. Her apathy also comes at a high cost, as she struggles to connect with her parents, find love, and resist the urge to lie, hurt, cheat, and steal. By the end, I was rooting for this self-aware sociopath, seeing her humanity, and understanding why certain people just seem off. As Gagne writes, we all unknowingly live among millions of sociopaths. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Looking for more to read? Check out:
- The Best Books of 2024
- A decade of our Best Books of the Year
- The ultimate books gift guide for the holidays
- The Best History Books of 2024
