In my AP Language and Composition class was the first time I got to truly apply my love for autobiographies in a school setting. As a voracious reader with a penchant for the genre, the directive from my teacher to implement real-world examples in my essays didn’t seem like a tough task at first. In reality, though, recalling books to cite and knowing the authors behind them is quite difficult, especially under a time constraint. To help alleviate that concern and increase awareness of autobiographies, let’s explore my top eight favorite works of the genre (in no particular order).
Just Add Water: Katie Ledecky (sports)
Acclaimed American swimmer Katie Ledecky traces her rise from a young swimmer in Bethesda, Maryland to one of the most dominant Olympic athletes in history, emphasizing the discipline and mental resilience behind her elite performance.
As a former competitive swimmer, this book struck a chord with me; more than the actual swim lingo, which was amazing to hear from her perspective, I got an inside look at her awe-inspiring journey. Sometimes, it feels like these athletes were born prodigies; however, the truth is that years of hard work and dedication culminated in their modern fame. Ledecky masterfully weaves stories from her childhood with real competition experiences, and in a refreshing change from her otherwise private presence, Ledecky takes us behind the scenes of each of her competition experiences. To have her voice emanate from the page and display her passion for the sport is an amazing experience, even for a reader without a background in swimming.
How I Learned to Understand the World: Hans Rosling (STEM)
Though this book is relatively unknown, it’s a gold mine of thought-provoking advice. Hans Rosling reflects on his career as a physician and global health researcher, using data and firsthand experiences to challenge widespread misconceptions about poverty and development.
What first drew me to this book was actually one of Rosling’s TED Talks. The idea of presenting STEM data in a way inherently tied to sociopolitical perspectives was incredibly interesting, and with AI reshaping many domains, it becomes more and more relevant.
Even in the early 2000s, Rosling was at the forefront of this revolution. Using his medical experience and learnings from his tenure as a professor, he blends science and art in a unique manner. He eventually ended up advising Gapminder, a nonprofit organization, started by his son and daughter-in-law to combat misinformation and promote statistical awareness. Overall, I’d highly recommend this book for someone interested in exploring the intersection of STEM and policy.
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman: Richard Feynman (STEM)
For my 10th birthday, I received this book from some family friends. I saw the title, thought it was boring, stuck it in my bookshelf and promptly forgot about it.
Exactly one year later in the middle of the pandemic with nothing to do, I begrudgingly pulled it out and began to read. What I found next was more than just the autobiography of a Nobel Prize-winning physicist; it was a window into a brilliant, quirky mind that jumped between STEM and art and many other “nontraditional” interests. I finished it in one sitting.
I loved this book because it showed that scientists aren’t just nerds whose lives are consumed by long equations and boring concepts. Feynman collected universities like Infinity Stones, graduating from MIT (BSc) and Princeton (PhD) and then working at Cornell and Caltech as faculty. He was hand-selected by J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the Manhattan Project and ended up winning a Nobel Prize while simultaneously learning how to play the frigideira, paint detailed art pieces and crack safes (at which he became very proficient). He dabbled in biology, researched Mayan hieroglyphs and learned Portuguese to lecture at a Brazilian university.
His wide range of passions really resonated with me; just because someone’s interested in one topic doesn’t mean they can’t explore others. It taught the importance of curiosity and a commitment to lifelong learning, themes that often come up in the debates and discussions of today.
Playing it My Way: Sachin Tendulkar (sports)
I’m a huge fan of cricket.
Not Cricket, the wireless mobile network. Not crickets, the despicable hopping insects with creepy eyes. I love cricket, the sport. I love it so much that I wrote a full feature article about it.
Within the realm of cricket, one of the legends of the game is Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar provides a rare, candid look behind his “God of Cricket” persona in his memoir, tracing his journey from a mischievous young boy in Mumbai to a global sporting icon. It details his early training under coach Ramakant Achrekar–who famously gave him one-rupee coins for not getting out while playing–and his rapid rise to the Indian national team at just 16 years old.
Notably, though, he covers the physical and emotional toll of the game, a topic seen as a stigma for athletes for a long time. He discusses his “darkest phase” involving a career-threatening tennis elbow injury, the frustrations of his stints as captain and the stinging disappointment of the 2007 World Cup. The narrative culminates with the emotional peak of his career: winning the 2011 World Cup on his home ground in Mumbai and his final, tearful farewell at Wankhede Stadium in 2013.
No matter which sport they like–if they like one at all–readers can relate to his themes of resilience, pressure and emotional moments, all packaged in a tear-jerking story of playing life his “own way.”
Make Your Bed series: William H. McRaven (leadership)
This trilogy–comprising Make Your Bed, Sea Stories and The Wisdom of the Bullfrog–is built on the foundation of McRaven’s 2014 commencement speech at the University of Texas. The books all distill his 37 years as a Navy SEAL into simple life lessons for readers.
McRaven uses high-stakes military anecdotes–from grueling SEAL training to military combat–to illustrate universal human virtues. His core philosophy is that big life changes and leadership successes don’t all come at once; they are slowly built from the discipline of multiple small tasks.
That’s why McRaven titled his first book “Make Your Bed,” because in his opinion, a day begun with that action is a day set up for success. The nature of the books’ topics and organization means that it’s not necessary to read them in order. As a collection of short stories, it’s a very approachable series to read that still makes a huge impact. Though he’s retired now from the military, McRaven continues to stay involved in public speaking engagements today.
Shoe Dog: Phil Knight (business)
The brand everyone now knows as Nike started as “Blue Ribbon Sports,” an athlete’s partnership with his former track coach, Bill Bowerman, to import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. The memoir covers the period from 1962 to 1980, tracking Knight’s journey from a young man traveling the world and trying to find his purpose to the founder of Nike.
A defining factor across the book is the constant looming threat of bankruptcy. Knight details the “guerrilla warfare” of early business, including legal battles with Japanese suppliers, existential threats from knock-offs and off-the-cuff innovation–like Bowerman literally ruining his wife’s waffle iron to create a new shoe sole. It concludes with the company’s transition into the global powerhouse of today, reflecting on the personal sacrifices Knight made to get to that level of success.
I enjoyed reading this book because it was incredibly interesting to get to dive into the origins of such a famous, well-established company. It really demonstrates that innovation can stem from the most innocuous origins, and persistence coupled with ambition can set the stage for world-changing impact.
My Remarkable Journey: Katherine Johnson (STEM)
When I visited NASA Langley as a freshman in high school, one name kept coming up: Katherine Johnson. American astronaut John Glenn famously didn’t trust the new electronic computers of the time, so he personally requested that “the girl” (Johnson) manually verify the machine’s trajectory calculations.
This memoir is a first-person account of the woman who “counted” her way to the stars. While the book and associated movie “Hidden Figures” brought her story to the public, her autobiography digs deeper into her upbringing in West Virginia and her early career as a “human computer” at NACA (which later became NASA). She was a mathematical prodigy growing up in an era when African Americans didn’t have the same access to education as white people, and women’s abilities continued to be marginalized, especially in STEM. Johnson fought against these stigmas to be included in high-level space briefings, eventually working on the Apollo missions and spreading awareness about her perspective on the Civil Rights Movement happening simultaneously with the Space Race.
For readers interested in space, this is an absolutely fantastic book.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: William Kamkwamba (STEM)
I’ve probably read this book at least ten times. No matter what I’m going through, I can flip to a chapter in this book and immediately become engrossed in an amazing story.
The memoir is set in a small village in Malawi during a devastating nationwide famine. When Kamkwamba’s family can no longer afford his school fees, he’s forced to drop out. Refusing to let his brain go unused, he begins visiting a local library for enrichment. There, he finds an American textbook, “Using Energy,” and becomes obsessed with the idea of a “wind machine” that could pump water and generate electricity.
Despite being mocked by neighbors who called him “misala” (crazy), William scavenges a scrapyard for bicycle parts, tractor fans and old shock absorbers. With rudimentary tools and a largely self-taught understanding of physics, he builds a 15-foot tall windmill that ultimately revolutionizes the fate of his family and his village.
It’s a beautiful reminder that innovation has no age limit, and anyone who cares to make a positive impact in the world can do it with the power of hard work and curiosity.
Honorable Mentions and Closing
Regretfully, a “top eight” list simply cannot encompass all the wonderful autobiographies out there. Therefore, here’s a list of books I wish I could’ve spotlighted above if I had more space: “Red Scarf Girl” (Ji-li Jiang), “Night” (Elie Wiesel), “I Am Malala” (Malala Yousafzai), “Born a Crime” (Trevor Noah), “Soul Surfer” (Bethany Hamilton), “A Long Way Gone” (Ishmael Beah), and “Becoming” (Michelle Obama). These books are important enough to be on the list but are categorized as honorable mentions because the topics they cover can be incredibly deep and sensitive, therefore requiring a certain level of maturity to read.
All in all, this list of autobiographies and memoirs, though not at all a comprehensive one, encompasses some of my favorite titles from a variety of genres. I’d highly recommend readers to explore them; after all, who knows what learnings lie ahead?
