While some people like only to read fiction, others prefer to absorb themselves in stories about real-life events, and autobiographies are a great book choice if you fall into the latter group. Everyone has stories to tell about their lives, but some are more interesting than others. Many people who sell successful autobiographies are celebrities or people in the limelight because of their achievements. However, there are also autobiographies written by non-people who have had unusual experiences, achieved remarkable things, or overcome adversity. So, what are the best-selling autobiographies of all time? Here are the best-selling autobiographies of all time by sales volumes.
10 Best-Selling Autobiographies of All-Time
10. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, Jon Krakauer, 1997, 1 Million: Best Selling Autobiography Featuring a Disaster
Jon Krakauer wrote an autobiography that focuses on his experiences as a mountaineer. It recounts events when he climbed Mount Everest in 1996 and disaster struck. Five of his fellow climbers lost their lives on the mountain. A further climber had such severe frostbite it was necessary to amputate one of his hands. The compelling read has sold more than one million books since its release in 1997.
9. Love, Lucy, Lucille Ball, 1997, 1 Million
Many consider Lucille Ball one of the greatest TV stars of all time, so it is hardly surprising that her autobiography ‘Love, Lucy’ was a huge success. Her personal and professional life are equally intriguing, and her autobiography gives her fans a deeper insight into her life. The book was published in 1997, and it has since sold more than one million copies and made it onto the New York Time Bestseller list.
8. A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive, Dave Pelzer, 1995, 1.1 Million
One of the best-selling autobiographies of all time that somebody who is not in the limelight wrote is ‘A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive’. It is also the best-selling autobiography since 2001, says The Guardian. Unlike many autobiographies, a well-known figure did not write this book. The author of the book is Dave Pelzer, who tells the harrowing and heart-wrenching story of his abusive childhood at the hands of his violent and neglectful alcoholic mother. Since the book’s release in 1995, more than 1.1 copies of the book have sold.
7. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, Trevor Noah, 2016, 2 Million: Best-Selling Autobiographies by Television Personalities
Although ‘Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood’ was only released in 2016, the main part of the autobiography covers the period immediately after apartheid in South Africa. Trevor Noah, a television host, actor, and political commentator, wrote the book. He is most famous as the host of ‘The Daily Show’. It is about Noah’s coming of age as a Black South African man in a new world of freedom. Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times listed the autobiography as one of the best books of 2016.
6. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, 1791, 5 Million
One of the oldest autobiographies that are still available and popular today is that of Benjamin Franklin. The writer, scientist, inventor, political philosopher, printer, diplomat, publisher, and statesman wrote an unfinished account of his life from 1771 to 1790. It was first published the following year. Some critics describe the book as one of the most influential examples of an autobiography ever written. It is a best-selling book that has sold more than five million copies.
5. An Autobiography: Agatha Christie, Agatha Christie, 2012, 10 Million
Agatha Christie is one of the world’s most famous mystery crime writers and one of the best-selling authors of all time. She wrote 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections during her career. While she was alive, Agatha Christie was one of the world’s richest authors. Christie also wrote ‘An Autobiography: Agatha Christie,’ which is one of the most popular autobiographies of all time. The book was published posthumously in 2012, 38 years after her death in 1976. Since then, the writer’s autobiography has sold around ten million copies.
4. The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Mahatma Gandhi, 1948, 10 Million
Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian anti-colonial activist, lawyer, and political ethicist. He is most famous for leading the campaign for India’s independence from British rule using nonviolent resistance. Later, Gandhi inspired various civil rights and freedom movements. His autobiography, ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’, covers his life from his early childhood to 1921. Originally, Gandhi wrote the story in 166 weekly instalments for his journal Navijivan from 1925 to 1925. Public Affairs Press of Washington, D.C. published the full autobiography for the first time in 1948, and it has since sold around ten million copies.
3. Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela, 1994, 14 Million: One of the Best-Selling Autobiographies by a Political Leader
Although activist and state leader Nelson Mandela receives credit for writing the autobiography ‘Long Walk to Freedom’, ghostwriter Richard Stengal wrote it. The first part of the book focuses on Mandela’s upbringing and education, while the second section is about the social and political aspects of apartheid in South Africa. Finally, the third part covers the political leader’s time in prison on Robbin Island and Pollsmoor Prison. Little Brown & Co. published the autobiography in 1994, selling over 10 million copies.
2. Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda, 1946, 20 Million
‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ was published in 1946, and it has since sold around 20 million copies. Paramahansa Yogananda, an Indian Hindu monk, yogi, and guru wrote the book. He is famous for introducing millions of people to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga. Yogananda was the founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship/ Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. His autobiography starts with his childhood life and continues into his adult life and his encounters with spiritual leaders from both the Eastern and Western worlds.
1. The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Frank, 1948, 35 Million: Top of the Best-Selling Autobiographies
Not only is ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ the best-selling autobiography in the world, but it is also one of the best-known autobiographies internationally. It is a Dutch language diary with the Dutch title of ‘Het Achewr-huis’. The book is also known as ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’. It covers the experiences of Anne Frank while she spent two years in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. The diary entries came to an end when she died of Typhus while being held in a concentration camp in 1945. It has sold over 35 million copies worldwide. Many curriculums use it as a study book for topics including English literature, social studies, and history.
We hope you have enjoyed reading Purple Mermaid Media’s list of the best-selling autobiographies in the world. If you enjoy reading autobiographies and have some recommendations for others, feel free to comment below. Similarly, if you have read any of the books included in our list of best-selling autobiographies of all time, add your own review in the comments section.
[…] Anne Frank was born in Prussia in 1945. She was a German-Dutch diarist of Jewish origin. Frank is famous for writing a diary while in hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. The diary she wrote was later published and called ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’, which became one of the best-selling autobiographies of all time. […]