Biography that Inspires You

Get inspired by someone else's story! Try one of these biographies, autobiographies, or memoirs. We have many more on our nonfiction shelves - just ask a friendly Ledding librarian. Plant a seed, read!

Updated May 6, 2026
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Shout : a poetry memoir
Anderson, Laurie Halse
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller and one of 2019's best-reviewed books, a poetic memoir and call to action from the award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson! Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and...
Neil Armstrong : a life of flight
Barbree, Jay.
Paper Book
Much has been written about Neil Armstrong, America's modern hero, history's most famous space traveler, and the first man to walk on the moon. Yet shy of fame and never one to steal the spotlight Armstrong was always reluctant to discuss his personal side of events. Here for the first time is...
Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America
Bryant, Howard
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "I loved this book.... I looked forward to [it] more than any other in a long time, and Howard Bryant exceeded my great expectations. Kings and Pawns is brilliantly conceived and powerfully written." -- David Maraniss, author of Path Lit by Lightning...
Shot ready
Curry, Stephen
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Shot Ready is a powerful distillation of Stephen Curry's transformative philosophy of success--centered on preparation, constant improvement, creativity, connection, mindfulness, and joy--delivered in his incomparable voice and style....
Smoke gets in your eyes : & other lessons from the crematory
Doughty, Caitlin
Paper Book
Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin Doughty took a job at a crematory and turned morbid curiosity into her life's work. She cared for bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, and became an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. In this best...
The enigma girls : how ten teenagers broke ciphers, kept secrets, and helped win World War II
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. With numerous starred reviews and accolades, from award-winning author Candace Fleming, comes the powerful and fascinating story of the brave and dedicated young women who helped turn the tides of World War II for the Allies, with their hard work and...
Grandma gatewood's walk : The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail
Montgomery, Ben
Ebook
Emma Gatewood was the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alone, as well as the first person--man or woman--to walk it twice and three times and she did it all after the age of 65. This is the first and only biography of Grandma Gatewood, as the reporters called her, who became a...
It's Trevor Noah : born a crime : stories from a South African childhood
Noah, Trevor
Paper Book
The host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, shares his personal story and the injustices he faced while growing up half black, half white in South Africa under and after apartheid in this New York Times bestselling young readers' adaptation of his adult memoir. ...
Judy Blume: A Life
Oppenheimer, Mark
Paper Book
The highly anticipated biography of one of the world's most treasured literary voices, showcasing a life as triumphant and inspiring as the stories she crafted. To know the name Judy Blume is to know and love literature. Her influential novels turned classics--including Are...
Americanized : rebel without a green card
Saedi, Sara
Paper Book
In development as a television series from Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine production company and ABC Studios! This hilarious, poignant and true story of one teen's experience growing up in America as an undocumented immigrant from the Middle East is an increasingly...
Bad boy : a graphic novel
Sims, Guy A.
Paper Book
A gripping graphic memoir adaptation of iconic, multi-award-winning author Walter Dean Myers's autobiography, telling the story of his coming-of-age in Harlem, adapted by Guy A. Sims and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. Legendary author Walter Dean Myers was once a...
They called us enemy
Takei, George
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller! A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself -- in this gripping tale...
Educated : a memoir
Westover, Tara
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University ...
The counterfeit Countess : the Jewish woman who rescued thousands of Poles during the Holocaust
White, Elizabeth B.
Paper Book
The "remarkable...inspiring" (The Wall Street Journal) true story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg--a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives during the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a Polish aristocrat--drawing on Mehlberg's own unpublished...
Ours to tell : reclaiming Indigenous stories
Yellowhorn, Eldon
Paper Book
NYPL Best Books of 2025 | Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection | 2026 Best Children's Books of the Year List, Bank Street College of Education A wide-ranging anthology that shines a light on untold Indigenous stories as chronicled by Indigenous creators, compiled by the acclaimed...

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