Why do people write biographies? What is it about reading about other people's lives that intrigues us so much? Inspiration comes in many ways, and looking at a fellow human being's life to see the hardships he or she faced before becoming successful is a great way to get inspired. There are so many people in the world who went the extra mile and suffered emotional pain but still made it big in life.
We all love to read an inspiring story because it gives us hope that we might have one of our own someday. It makes it easier for us to imagine success in whichever field we want. Be it a sportsperson, businessman, yogi, survivor, they all can push us to make that extra effort that we seem to be lacking at times. This article covers the best biographies in India to help you reach the goals you have set for yourself and also is reviewed by book blogger Suraj Kumar.
Suraj is a reader by passion and profession, and currently pursuing PhD from the Department of English & Cultural Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. He has been book blogging for more than 7 years. Suraj says, "All my life, I have drawn inspiration from others while trying my best to be inspiring for others, for I believe that is the only way to be a better version of ourselves." Check out Suraj's work on his Instagram account and website.
Image | 1 ![]() Robert Kanigel | 2 ![]() Ashlee Vance | 3 ![]() M.S. Ashokan | 4 ![]() Aseem Chhabra | 5 ![]() Abhish B | 6 ![]() Devendra Prabhudsai | 7 ![]() Shakti Sinha | 8 ![]() Carine McCandless | 9 ![]() Swami Nikhilananda | 10 ![]() Bishweshwar Nandi, Digivijay Singh, and Vimal Mohan |
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Name | The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan | Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping Our Future | Karmayogi: A Biography of E. Sreedharan | Irrfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, The Star | BYJU's Miracle: From 8 Students to $8 Billion | A Biography of Rahul Gandhi | Vajpayee: The Years that Changed India | The Wild Truth | Vivekananda: A Biography | Dipa Karmakar: The Small Wonder |
Features | Know How The Gifted Indian Mathematician Solves the Toughest of Problems | The Entrepreneurial Genius - Learn From the Person Who Does the Unthinkable | The Inspiring Story of The Metro Man - Learn the Management Skills | The Actor With the Most Impressive Eyes Who's Known for His Intensity | A Life of a Passionate Teacher | Not Just Another Brick in the Wall | The Poet Prime Minister With an Uncommon Approach | Society is a Crazy Breed - All About Taking Brave Decisions | India's Cultural Ambassador to the West | Pride of the Nation - The First Woman Gymnast to Compete in an Olympics |
Price Starts at | ₹406.00 | ₹546.00 | ₹191.00 | ₹399.00 | ₹0.00 | ₹216.00 | ₹452.00 | ₹599.00 | ₹3,047.00 | ₹279.00 |
Page count | 448 | 352 | 264 | 224 | 458 KB | 300 | 368 | 304 | 216 | 272 |
Harcover | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Kindle edition | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Audiobook | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
Goodreads rating | 4.0 | 4.21 | 4.21 | 4.03 | 3.84 | 3.79 | 4.0 | 3.76 | 4.32 | 4.0 |
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Whether you are a new reader or an experienced one, you will love all the books mentioned here. We have tried to enlist books about people from diverse backgrounds such as mathematicians, businessmen, entrpreneurs, scientists, artists, survivors, etc.
From ₹406.00
Page count | 448 |
---|---|
Harcover | Yes |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | No |
Goodreads rating | 4.0 |
From ₹546.00
Page count | 352 |
---|---|
Harcover | Yes |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | Yes |
Goodreads rating | 4.21 |
From ₹191.00
Page count | 264 |
---|---|
Harcover | No |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | No |
Goodreads rating | 4.21 |
From ₹399.00
Page count | 224 |
---|---|
Harcover | Yes |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | No |
Goodreads rating | 4.03 |
From ₹0.00
File size | 458 KB |
---|---|
Harcover | No |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | No |
Goodreads rating | 3.84 |
From ₹216.00
Page count | 300 |
---|---|
Harcover | No |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | Yes |
Goodreads rating | 3.79 |
From ₹452.00
Page count | 368 |
---|---|
Harcover | Yes |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | No |
Goodreads rating | 4.0 |
From ₹599.00
Page count | 304 |
---|---|
Harcover | Yes |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | Yes |
Goodreads rating | 3.76 |
From ₹3,047.00
Page count | 216 |
---|---|
Harcover | Yes |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | No |
Goodreads rating | 4.32 |
From ₹279.00
Page count | 272 |
---|---|
Hardcover | Yes |
Kindle edition | Yes |
Audiobook | No |
Goodreads rating | 4.0 |
Read our buying guide to know the things to look out for in a biography book. These little details will make you a smart buyer. The factors that account for in buying the right book for your life situation, mindset, and interest are all discussed in this buying guide.
A biography is a collection of stories and incidents from a person's life, in which the main aim is to share the person's experience with the world. People want to read the life story of successful people so as to learn from them. A biography is written about a successful person by some other person because he or she may feel their life story worth sharing.
On the other hand, an autobiography is a book written by the person himself as he or she has attained unimaginable success in their career or life. For example, Playing it My Way is an autobiography by the Master Blaster batsman of India, Sachin Tendulkar. This book has received rave reviews as everyone wanted to know Sachin's story of life.
Many people read biographies of men and women whom they know about or follow. It is very rare that you read a book about a person you have no clue about. But, in today's time of reviews and trending topics, you may easily come across books about people you are not aware of.
If you are an avid reader, you might even wish to read the book. However, we advise you to do a background check of the hero of the book. This little research will help you in knowing whether that person's story will interest you or not.
It is easy to read a brief description of the books on websites like Goodreads and Whichbook. The ten best books mentioned by us also contain the necessary details of the biographee and his or her story. This will help you immensely in making your purchase decision.
We all must have heard the story of a king who got inspired to fight by observing the relentlessness of a spider. He saw that the spider tried to throw her web on the opposite wall but kept on failing. Despite so many failed attempts, she did not give up. This inspired the king to charge up his discouraged army and fight.
The point over here is that no matter what profession you are from or what challenges you are facing, any tenacious person can motivate you. However, in today's time, the professions are very specific, and it is accessible to read about people from the area you are interested in.
If you are interested in business and want to learn what the best people do, you should read The Snowball, Warren Buffet's biography. This will not just motivate you but also give you the necessary knowledge of the right things to do in life in order to be like that person.
You must have experienced that talking to a person who has faced similar challenges that you face right now relieves you more than anything else. It instills hope in you to overcome that obstacle in life. Empathy is much bigger than sympathy, and a book about a person who has had a similar life like yours but still made through can be the blessing you were hoping for.
You may read a little about the book's description online to find some details about the person. This would give you an effective idea about a person's life and hardships. It won't be hard to know whether you would relate to this person or not.
Your schedule might not allow you to read lengthy books. This is the reason you must consider the length of the book before reading it. If you buy a really long book and are usually struggling with time to read it, most likely you will get discouraged after a few days to finish reading it. If you usually remain busy, we recommend you to read a few pages of the book every night before going to bed.
If you have time on your hand and wish to delve into some comprehensive reading, you may go for lengthy books as well. In our list of the best biographies, we have mentioned the number of pages of every book in the specifications table. While making your purchase, keep your schedule as an important factor.
Biographies are written about successful people by other authors. This makes it essential for you to read about the background and other works of the biography writer. Along with basing his writings on facts, the writer must also be articulate. The intention behind writing most biographies is to motivate and inspire the reader.
A book should be able to establish a connection between the story and the reader. You can gain knowledge on the author's previous work by reading about them on Goodreads, LibraryThing, Reedsy Discovery, etc. These portals also allow you to become part of a community where you can find fellow readers and their reviews.
A good biography should discuss and describe the life of a real person. It should narrate the story in a way that captivates you. Biography, as a genre, is non-fiction, so the information provided in the book must be backed by facts from reliable sources. The incidents and dialogues must be taken from first-person accounts as much as possible.
It is also important to know the time the person lived in. Many behaviour and incidents can be understood only by knowing the era the person belonged to. So, the writer must also tell you exactly the life situations around the inspiring personality were. Finally, the author must not try and carve the inspirer's image as a mythological or superhero figure as you would have a hard time relating to the person then.
Many talk about the benefits of reading but not many talks about the 'scientific benefits of reading.' Here, check out the information on:
Reading opens up your mind to so many new possibilities. It also gives you unmatched perspective on various things. If you are not a regular reader but want to start reading avidly, make sure you pick a genre first. We have a few articles from various genres here that can be a good start for you. Take help of our deep research into picking the best books for you, and make it a habit to read a little everyday.
Books have the power to uplift, inspire, and push you to break the shackles in your life. Every successful person emphasizes on the power of reading. Reading biographies, especially, make you feel like you are in control of your own destiny. There are people out there who have used chaos to become the best versions of themselves, so you can do it too.
Author: Rudraveer
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